At the Disneyland Hotel, 1960s
I have an interesting pair of scans for you today - something a little different from the usual stuff! And that's a good thing.
Let's start with this photo of folks waiting at the curb in front of the Disneyland Hotel, sometime in the mid-1960s. If you've had just about enough of Disneyland, and want to check out neighboring Knott's Berry Farm, there was a convenient (and free) jitney bus that would take you there. In the distance... familiar and somehow comforting signs for Western Airlines and Richfield, and there's the populuxe Convention Center to the left. I love the signs for the Kiwanis Club and the Lions Club, I guess the Hotel was a regular meeting spot for those organizations.
Nearby (and upstairs) was the Monorail Station, where you could take a sleek, futuristic mode of transportation directly to Tomorrowland. Love those "erector set" beams. Here comes Big Red as we speak! I'm so excited I could plotz.
22 comments:
Major-
Behold the mighty babushka (and white gloves-!) This lady appears to be ready for anything. Although the couple behind her seems to have gotten a head start on partying-! Sir... no open containers, if you please - or so it would seem.
Thanks, Major.
Populuxe. That's a new word for me today. Thank you for embiggening my vocabulary.
That's a GM PD-4107 "Buffalo" bus parked in the background of the first image, dating this photo to no earlier than 1966. Some of the cars in the background might put this a year or two later, but I'll rely on Nanook to confirm that.
Jitney bus to Knott's or Monorail to Disneyland... hmm, tough choice. ;-)
The Monorail Station looks very new and clean.
I'm not completely sure, but that looks like a 1966 Chevy wagon behind the lady, so your estimate may be spot on, Chuck!
It makes more sense to cooperate with people in your field than fight. Of course, now Disney just absorbs them like The Blob...
@ Stu29573-
Make that a 1964 Chevrolet.
Really like that second shot of the upper deck. Brings back some good memories. More recently, standing on that platform, waiting for the monorail in 1995, early magic morning.
Nice pics Major. Thanks.
Western Airlines! The only way to fly!
Oh, Yeah. Gotta love those "erector set" beams of the Disneyland Hotel. What memories! Thanks, Major.
Well, I got close, lol!
Major, you continue to amaze. What fun these pictures are!
I'm sure it was worthwhile for Knotts to run a little bus service to one of it's biggest competitors, especially back when it was possible to see Disneyland in a day. Now it takes three days, one of which is entirely spent waiting in line.
I vividly remember all of this, but maybe especially the "erector set" beams mimicking airplane framing and the round skylights. Clearly the way of the future led to the air. Points for the power line in the background!
I am no car whiz like Nanook or Chuck, but the yellow car in photo 2 looks a lot like a Ford that we had, ours was a 73, but the body style might be earlier. Could this photo be early 70's? I don't see any other cars that look that new. Now that I think about, that could be a Dodge, my college roommate had a similar looking car in powder blue.
I don't care, I love these photos anyway.
JG
@ JG-
The Mark III Monorail trains were introduced in early 1969, and those [of course] consisted of five-car trains, so...
So much goodness in that second shot!
The butter-yellow Richfield sign I remember so well, the hexagons of the hotel structure, the hanging fluorescent "Exit" sign, the large circular bug-trapping recessed lighting, approaching monorail, a glimpse of the Disneyland Hotel sign... I'd love to step in and get whisked off to Disneyland in this era!
Thanks for sharing
Miss American Babushka Queen 1964 Dorothy M. Czelusta waits for the open-top limousine that will whisk her off on her whirlwind personal appearance tour of Southern California. She’ll start off on the railroad platform at Disneyland, teaching Lillian Disney the patented two-finger knot that won her the talent competition; proceed to the ribbon-cutting of the new Fancy-Schmancy Hanky-Panky upscale scarf boutique in Beverly Hills; accept a silk square signed by every member of the 1963 World Series champion L.A. Dodgers; and open a ball in her honor by dancing the first schottische with Governor Brown. All without a hair out of place!
Nanook, so I guess that man is smuggling Jim Beam in his movie camera??
Chuck, it’s a good word, and I seem to mostly see it in reference to the Anaheim Convention Center. I was unsure if that bus was parked, or if it is leaving the parking lot (meaning our subjects just missed the bus). 1966, thanks! That seems about right.
Andrew, if I was at the Disneyland Hotel, I’d pretty much have to go to Disneyland (via Monorail), but I do love me some Knott’s Berry Farm.
Stu29573, I was hoping somebody might ID at least some of those cars! You know, the Blob wasn’t so bad, he just needed a little love.
Nanook, how can you tell?!
DrGoat, I’m mostly excited by today’s photos because they are unlike anything else that I have shared, and that’s saying something after so many thousands of photos!
K. Martinez, I can picture that little cartoon bird saying the Western Airlines slogan!
Stu29573, hey, at least you had a guess, unlike me.
JG, as crazy as it seems today, there were people in the early days who would try to do Disneyland and Knott’s in a single day. Think of all they must have missed, or run past, to get everything done. AND they probably wanted to be home in time for dinner, so each park probably got 3 or 4 hours each, max. Somehow those pierced beams make me think of airships more than planes, though I guess they were used on both. I am pretty sure that today’s photos are not from the ‘70s, but, being undated, it’s hard to say absolutely.
Nanook, good point!
Tom, I’m also enjoying the details in the first shot. It looks like the Loyal Order of Moose is the third sign (?), while the fourth sign appears to have the United Nations logo on it! Ha ha, I can just imagine the silhouettes of lots of dead bugs inside those translucent plastic lights. One of the best things about photo #2 is imagining that we are about to board that approaching Monorail!
Melissa, you don’t think Ms. Czelusta is waiting for the Jitney?? It’s the way to go, after all. I wonder if Lillian Disney ever went to the park just for fun? Maybe with the grandkids, later on. It sounds like the Babushka Queen had a full day ahead of her!
Talk about cool. The guy in the Andy Williams sweater and the high waders, does seem to be having an eye opener. Maybe he had one too many of those umbrella rum drinks we all wanted yesterday. Kudos to Major for the Yiddish reference. Ah Big Red! The anticipation almost jumps out and bites ya in this one. Remembering the Western Airlines bird, dates all of us. "How many candles Murphy?" "Oh just set the darn thing on fire ." Thanks Major and all.
By the Great Horn Spoon, Major - I think you're right about that bus leaving the parking lot! It appears to be in the process of making a left turn, which explains the slight lean to the right.
It was a big deal in the hotel's life when it got its beams pierced. One more step in growing up and becoming a proper lady. Soon she'd start wearing makeup, fancy clothes and high heels in hopes of attracting the attention of the eligible young Park across the street. I know it's a long shot, but I'd wager they got hitched one day.
Major-
Well at first blush, it just seemed like a partially, foil-wrapped, amber beer bottle. If I must, I'm happy to concede it's a movie camera - for all you teetotalers
The front grille of the Chevrolet gives it all away.
Major-
I also should've mentioned, there's just enough image visible of the headlights and bumper detail to reveal the white car directly behind Miss./Mrs. Babushka is a 1965 Chevrolet. AND... to the right, it certainly looks like a 1965 Pontiac
Jonathan, maybe it’s just me (probably!), but the thought of going to Disneyland “under the influence” sounds like the complete opposite of fun. I know lots of other people would love nothing more, though! I love all the Monorails, but somehow the red one is what always comes to mind first; when I bought a model of that vehicle, I of course got the red version.
Chuck, “By the Great Horn Spoon”? That’s a new one! Are you eating lots of caviar, Chuck? I mean, of course you are, why am I even asking? I never thought about the day the Hotel got its beams pierced. Was it done by a guy with lots of tattoos?
Nanook, it’s OK, I can easily see it as a bottle of some sort too. I like the idea of somebody bringing booze into the park in a flask that looks like a movie camera. Anybody working that hard can have a hangover if they want! It’s amazing to me how you can keep track of all those car details (there are so many different cars!), down to chrome trim and tiny details. I’m not even going to bother to try to learn.
Nanook, so with those two 1965 cars, and Chuck’s 1966 bus, I think I feel pretty comfortable dating this slide to 1966 or 1967 at the latest! Thanks.
Did you ever hear the wolf cry to the Great Horn Spoon?
I wonder if Knott's had bus service every day from the Disneyland Hotel or just on the days that the Disneyland Park was closed? On our vacations in the 60s and early 70s, we would sometimes go to Knott's or Universal Studios, and I would assume it was on the days the [Disneyland] Park was closed (but don't know if those busses ran every day). On the days the Park was open, I can't imagine my parents going anywhere else, as they loved to spend multiple days there. There must've also been a bus to Universal Studios...does anyone recall? (Maybe my dad will remember, I'll have to ask him.)
Nanook, I forgot to thank you for that wonderful link to all those HUGE HAIR beauties, yesterday! I remember seeing a refrigerator magnet that had a photo of two ladies with really BIG HAIR, and below them it said, "The higher the hair, the closer to God." ;o)
Unique shots today, Major - thank you! And I learned a new word: plotz
@ Sue-
Yes, "the higher the hair, the closer to God" quote is a keeper. You're 'welcome.
Melissa, you’re talking crazy!
Lou and Sue, I’ll bet the service was available every day. It seems like Disney was trying to be a good neighbor to Knott’s, I believe Walt appreciated what Walter Knott had created. And making Anaheim and Buena Park a tourist destination could only benefit both places. Glad you enjoyed these pix!
Nanook, that sounds like a good motto for the PTL Club.
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