Beautiful Tomorrowland, 1958
Oh boy! Today is the first of many posts featuring some stunning vintage photos from Lou Perry, of "Lou and Sue" fame. Sue recently scanned a bunch of slides (scanning slides is a new skill for her, and she's done a fantastic job) from 1956 and 1958, and there are some real gems among them, I can't wait to share them with all of you.
I've made no secret of my love for early Tomorrowland; if I had to choose just one land to visit in my time machine, the Land of Tomorrow would be IT. Look at this first photo; you could fire a Nerf cannon in almost any direction and you wouldn't hit anybody. I've always wondered if these low-attendance days (of which there were apparently many) made Walt worry at all? I don't know what month these pix were taken, but that sure looks like a chronic case of SoCal's June Gloom.
Any photo with the Richfield eagle automatically goes up 25 points on the Gorilla Scale (developed at MIT in the 1950s), and there's Richie himself watching over the Autopia with wisdom and... hunger. When I first saw this image, I wondered if the Skyway was down due to Matterhorn construction; we don't see the familiar string of colorful gondolas gliding overhead.
Here's another wonderful view, with the Yacht Bar (I love the simple-yet-striking design of that eatery), and the Tomorrowland Viewliner station to our right, complete with Viewliner. In this view, there are Skyway gondolas, with tiny pipples visible, AND the Matterhorn construction was not even underway yet. Snow Hill (or "Holiday Hill") is there, with the dirt trails for those who wanted to climb (and maybe cuddle with their sweetheart).
Thanks so much to Lou and Sue - I am excited to share more of these photos from the '50s in the weeks and months to come.
37 comments:
JGCC (Jr Gorilla Can Counters):
2nd picture: 7 cans with a probable 8th.
These are two vintage Tomorrowland beauties!
There is a Skyway gondola out on the wire, in that first pic. It has just left the station, but it is hiding behind that tree. It's also trying to further confuse us, by changing it's color to blend in with the interior workings of the Skyway station.
Thank you so much, Lou, Sue and Major, too!
Major-
Talk about two images just beckoning folks to hop inside of them-! I'm sure ready to do so. And... I'm ready for a "hike" on the hill, too. (I love those two, lonely 'bubblers' ready to be 'tongued' to death by small children).
Thanks to Lou and Sue. (& The Major, too).
TM! That’s funny how that lonely wimpy tree truly can hide that gondola. Teamwork and determination!
WOW!! These are wonderful early Tomorrowland pics. I especially love the Yacht Bar/Viewliner image. Love the original Tomorrowland style and signage. Right now, I want to leap into that pic and have a Jolly Holiday with Lou and Sue.
Thank you, Lou and Sue. And thank you for doing all that scanning, Sue. I know it takes time. Also thanks to you, Major. I'm very much looking forward to more Lou and Sue pics.
There's that elusive fire hydrant next to the Skyway station in the first pic. In the second, the sportcoated man pushing the stroller has no idea of how rare a photograph he has just wandered into as he saunters past the Tomorrowland Viewliner station. Meanwhile, the Tripod on the left has just activated its heat ray, photographic proof that Paul Frees wasn't the only veteran of The War of the Worlds that found his way into Walt's employment.
Thanks again, Lou and Sue!
Yes, we tend to forget how the Skyway Buckets' natural defense was the ability to change color to blend with its surroundings. The tree was a lucky accident. That eagle won't be feasting on that bucket today, by golly! Ah, nature...
The second shot shows how well the new fururistic neighborhood masks that old out of date castle. In future years, of course, that eyesore of a castle would be painted like a giant plastic toy, so it will fit in better. Bravo planners!
Did Richie join the Chicken of the Sea Mermaid when their corporate sponsorships ended? Demolished, or in a personal collection? With motorized flapping wings Richie would have made a fine addition to Nature's Wonderland.
I love the pine needles framing the second shot, with Snow Hill centered. Thank you Lou, Sue, and Major; this future looks good and green.
So strange to see these shots with so few guests. What did the employees do to pass the time? Look at that glamorous woman in the blue dress in the first photo. I thought the man with the stroller in the second picture was on a scooter at first. Thanks Lou & Sue & Major.
I'm hopping in with Nanook and the urchins, slurping up LA water from those bubblers.
These images captured by Lou on one 1950's morning are gorgeous. Here we are, 70 years later, absorbing all the goodness. Can't help but getting very sentimental about the whole thing.
Thanks Major and Lou & Sue. Best regards to all.
Wow, wow, wow. I think the Park just opened. Early TL is so sparsely constructed.
Such good stuff here! Sue, I make it 8 cans, but one is barely visible through the Viewliner station. Harder to predict locations here than Main Street.
Love those utility drinking fountains and fire hydrant.
Thanks, Lou, Sue, and Major!
JG
This is a rare photo indeed! The testing of the 'stealth' buckets that morning is just ending; they are being collected at the Fantasyland station to be stored 'in plain sight'. The idea was never fully developed or implemented due to privacy issues with seeing other guests 'from below'. Some of the technology was later used in the Haunted Mansion.
These photos remind me of a couple of books published a few years ago by the estate of an early DL photographer named, I think, Thiele. Help me out here. They have a behind the scenes vibe that I enjoy.
Thanks Major Lou and Sue. Lou's photos are a valuable retrospective taken as a whole. I feel privileged to see them.
Zach
Wow, even I am not old enough to remember this Tomorrowland. Viewliner shots are super rare and hard to come by. Lou delivers the goods, as always, once again. Is there no end to his photographic prowess? Thanks Lou and Sue, I will be dining out on these two gems all day. Thanks Major.
This WAS definitely my dad’s favorite Tomorrowland. As I’ve mentioned before, he felt they ruined Disneyland when they removed the Viewliner. He LOVED that Viewliner!
Will be back later...
I'm with Major in making the original Tomorrowland my first time travel stop. I've made no secret that it's my favorite land in my favorite era.
Sue, Major, are there any photos from the other side of Tomorrowland? That's where the Crane Co. Bathroom of Tomorrow exhibit was (where mom worked after her tour guide years). I've seen precious few photos of that obscure and short lived attraction.
Thanks Sue for your treasure trove of photos!
Grant, I don’t know for sure...I still haven’t viewed all my dad’s slides and photos...let’s hope we find something on The Bathroom of Tomorrow.
@ Sue-
"... he felt they ruined Disneyland when they removed the Viewliner. He LOVED that Viewliner!" WOW - Your dad is THE original Disneyland Purist. Sakes alive-!
Lou and Sue, I see 10! Not really, I just wanted to “win” so desperately.
TokyoMagic!, oh yeah, there’s that gondola. I think I just looked at the thumbnails when I wrote the text, which I should learn by now is a bad idea.
Nanook, it really would be something to climb that hill and take in the 360 degree view. I guess we’d have time to ride the Viewliner as well!
Lou and Sue, I wonder if that tree was related to Charlie Brown’s tree?
K. Martinez, yes, when Sue sent these to me, I was really blown away. Beautiful shots from a rare, brief period in Disneyland’s (and Tomorrowland’s) history. Sue definitely spends tons of time at her scanner, and even bought a new one for better results!
Chuck, I usually think of fire hydrants as sitting right in one place, and not “elusive”! Those tripod light fixtures look top-heavy, I assume they were bolted to the ground. I can’t think of “The War of the Worlds” without hearing the “BWAAAAA!” of the heat ray that was in the Spielberg movie version.
Stu29573, some Skyway gondolas cover themselves in leaves and lichen to better blend in with their surroundings. NATURE! I never thought about how “Snow Hill” acted as a berm between Tomorrowland and Fantasyland, but you’re right, it is pretty effective at masking anything from outside Tomorrowland.
Stefano, I’ve always wondered what happened to the Chicken of the Sea mermaid, it was such a cool thing. I hope somebody saved it, though I’ve never heard of it surviving. It’s possible the Van Camp Seafood Company (owners of CotS) got it, I guess. As for the Richfield eagle… who knows! Did other Richfield stations have eagles?
Kathy, I’m sure thing could get pretty boring for employees on a slow day. The lady in the blue dress is unusual, by 1958 many (most?) women had transitioned to pants. Maybe it isn’t as cold as it appears, since she has bare shoulders.
DrGoat, these really are exceptional, and there are some more to come! I guess Lou was in his 20s when he took these, thank goodness he’s still with us!
JG, I noticed that you can see that some of the lights are on in the second photo. So perhaps this was late in the afternoon? If it was the “off season”, it might have been uncrowded to begin with, and if it was nearing closing time, maybe many people had already left. That’s my theory and I’m sticking to it!
zach, they discovered that stealthy Skyway gondolas didn’t have much of a military application. So they switched their efforts toward stealth Keelboats. Not sure how that worked out! You are thinking of the books published by Carlene Thie, with photos taken by her father Mel Kilpatrick.
Jonathan, based on what Sue has hinted at, there are still many MANY photos of all sorts of wonderful things that she hasn’t even gotten to scanning. So much treasure!
Lou and Sue, aw, it’s hard to believe that Lou wasn’t impressed by the Subs and the Monorail! Or the Peoplemover a few years later! But each version of those early Tomorrowlands had their very specific charms.
Grant, I forget, did you ask to work in Tomorrowland when you were a CM? Or did you just luck out? Sue hasn’t sent any photos with the Crane Bathroom of Tomorrow, but that doesn’t mean that Lou didn’t take any!
Lou and Sue, the anticipation is killing me!
Wow! These are amazing. When we went to Disneyland during this time frame it was always in Summer when my dad got his vacation so it was packed with people. I don't really remember what a lot of Tomorrowland looked like during this time frame being so young and all. My Dad took home movies but he never took photos! He would take slides (Kodachrome no less) of away vacations but none of the local attractions. What a treasure trove those would have been.
Major, my dad loved most everything that popped up at Disneyland over the years...but, apparently, he has never forgiven them for removing his beloved Viewliner.
The Viewliner just flat out looked cool. It could fit right in one of the Car movies, with that distinctive front end. I love the doors to the engine car, and the fact that they were modified Oldmobile parts.
True gems from the past. Thanks Lou and Sue! KS
Major, my mom was the CM. I was just a CM's kid. She took me to work often but I was never an employee. If I was I would have definitely asked to be assigned to Tomorrowland. Specifically the Rocket to the Moon. I would have loved giving the spiel, although I think they only had female "flight attendants".
The Viewliner was based on the GE Aerotrain experimental train designed by Chuck Jordan. It was just scaled down. The Aerotrain was built in 1955.
The Yacht Bar always makes me think of a club sandwich with four toothpicks sticking out the top.
Great photos and even better when they have never been viewed by anyone before! Kodak whilst a sponsor (and beyond) always made it a point to say that Disneyland (and later Disney Parks) were the most photographed places on earth. I'm not sure how they got that data, but they certainly plugged it. Kodak had the best color, as Fuji and GAF were not the most reliable. With alllll of those photos taken, I am surprised that not so many surface and certainly with the invention of the Interspace and the Instapix/Pin-Pix et. al. you would think there would be this untapped universe full of photos. Hopefully, photo albums have not been put into the trash. Unfortunately, most of mine ended up there with subsequent iterations of my life in different places. That being said, I enjoy that they call that pile of landscaped dirt "Holiday Hill" and it's fun to see how Walt could envision the Matterhorn and the Monorail as it almost looks kind of like the way everything actually turned out...kind of. With all the detail work in other parts of the park it's amazing to see very utilitarian water fountains akin to a grammar school playground, but perhaps these were the latest and greatest at the time! I'm not sure what a "space age" fountain would look like, but maybe Stoval had one at his many motels in the area! The question: "What do employees do on days where attendance is so low?" Shenanigans! I had my share! Low attendance days were the longest days on human record. You waited for Summer, then complained when it came around! The park runs much better when you had about 40K in the place. 50 it gets tough...more gets very impossible. I can't imagine it now. Give me 15K during the week, and 30K on the weekend with a Saturday Mix-in please...and thank you.
These slides were from April 16-20, 1958.
BTW, I still owe you folks copies of my dad's receipts/budget notes for this trip and other early trips. He did give me his blessing to share them (they are funny/interesting). I have not forgotten.
JG, yep, that's the "probable 8th." At least it is, in my book.
Did any of you Jr. Gorillas ever ride the Viewliner? I would love to hear details. I know that my dad "light's up" when he talks about it. I guess it really zipped around fast and was fun. I can only imagine how disappointing it was for him to go back to Disneyland, the following year, and find it "missing."
Grant, you said you "were just a CM's kid." THAT'S THE UNDERSTATEMENT OF THE YEAR! Remember, you won the "Best Childhood Ever" award, here, on GDB! I still can't imagine having Disneyland as my daily playground!
Gotta run, again, will check back later. But I truly do want to thank ALL of you for always commenting such nice comments (and fun comments, too). You still bring my dad LOTS of happiness, and I'm having fun, too.
Yacht Club sailed over from another location a bit north (about where the boat dock pier is today?), rotated completely around to face north instead of south, and changed its ‘dressing’ a little (gaining poles poking thru the dramatically angled roof); while dropping the pretense of being a “Club” to become a more accessible “Bar” not, long before this phabulous photo was snapped.
Nanook, I’ve always wondered how far back the purists go… I guess we can safely say “1958” for a start!
Irene, yes, the person who usually goes to the park with me usually wants to go on a Saturday, which is very frustrating. Plus she doesn’t want to get up early, so we get there at 11:00 in the morning. It’s already crowded! Do you still have your home movies?? Digitizing them isn’t cheap, but you might have some real “gold” there!
Lou and Sue, I wonder why Lou loved the Viewliner so much? It’s cute, and fun, but not the most amazing ride ever. Maybe there was just something about it that tickled him. Is Lou a train fan in general?
DrGoat, don’t get me wrong, I love the Viewliner! But we got the Monorail in its place, which seems like a pretty good trade overall. Too bad they couldn’t have kept both. And yes, the fact that it used standard Oldsmobile parts is clever.
KS, hear hear!
Grant, ah OK, I’m sorry about my mistake. Somehow I thought you had worked there too! Hey, if you’d been the one male “flight attendant”, you would have been surrounded by cute young ladies!
Stu29573, speaking of the Aerotrain… I have a photo with one (though it is not the main subject) coming up! Stay tuned.
Melissa, the Yacht Bar never made me think of a club sandwich, but I do love its simple yet modern (mid-century modern!) look. It looks like a gas station to me.
Bu, true, other than Lou and Sue, we are probably the first people to see these! I wouldn’t be surprised if Disneyland really was the most-photographed place on Earth, but on the other hand, there are places like New York City or the Grand Canyon - I’m sure they had their fair share. I’m sure there are many MANY photos that are still in the hands of families, and unfortunately many that wound up in the trash. There is concept art of a “toboggan hill” that looks much more like a landscaped hill, and not a Matterhorn - you could imagine how they might have reshaped the hill for that use. The Matterhorn is certainly a lot more spectacular! The audacity of building such a thing is pretty great. The fountains might have been regular old fountains just because that’s what people look for when they are thirsty - not a “space age” thing that looks like an Alexander Calder sculpture. I have no doubt that CMs got into all sorts of shenanigans when days were slow.
Lou and Sue, wow, I’d love to see Lou’s notes! I wasn’t born until after the Viewliner was long-gone, so… no such luck. It was touted as the “fastest miniature train in the world” or something like that.
Anon, I’ve heard stories about how the Yacht Bar was literally picked up and dropped down in a nearby location. Amazing that it could withstand that, many buildings couldn’t! Unless that is yet another one of those stories that sounds good but isn’t actually true.
No doubt the Skyway tower was trying to camouflage itself by adding some yellow to the bottom and some dark blue higher up but it's chameleon-like skills are no match for those stealthy buckets. I like the way they put that fence around it to keep it from wandering away.
The side view of the Viewliner station really shows off it's Googie styling! I love the holes cut in the columns.
Now I'm wondering what exactly happened to Holiday Hill. Did it become Holiday Berm when they expanded the park?
Many thanks to Lou & Sue & Major for sharing these wonderful photos.
"Lou and Sue" said:
> These slides were from April 16-20, 1958.
Wow - my parents would be honeymooning there six weeks later. I remember they had some slides from that trip too; I just hope my dad has kept them.
Great shots, Lou and Sue! Keep 'em coming! And I'd give anything to see what those signs next to the Autopia ticket booth say...
Those chairs with folding desks next to the Yacht Bar always put me in the mood for a Physics exam. Pencils down!
I’ve seen vintage Kodak items that claim in the 60’s that Kodak technicians claimed that the Disneyland Floral Mickey was the most photographed item on earth — how exactly they determined that is unclear. In the 1980’s Kodak claimed that Walt Disney World’s Cinderella Castle was the most photographed subject in the works. But from Majors photo collection I’m gonna have to vote The Mark Twain River Boat!!
( just kidding Major!!)
I’m sure you have all heard the announcement that Disney will be relocating a big chunk of the company from California to Florida. That includes Walt Disney Imagineering .... all the final details are not ironed out yet , but Disney has been planning this for at least 5 years now.
A few months before the pandemic flared up a friend of mine I worked with in the model shop at WDI mentioned that WDI BOUGHT a brand new laser cutter .... we both thought that was odd because WDI always leased/rented their two laser cutters .... then we found out it was being sent to Florida ...... (?!??) why Florida ...??? Now we know!! Yesterday many imagineers were notified that they have a 90 day window to decide if they will join them on the journey to Orlando...there was lots of crying and pants craping yesterday.
"Kodak whilst a sponsor (and beyond) always made it a point to say that Disneyland (and later Disney Parks) were the most photographed places on earth."
"In the 1980’s Kodak claimed that Walt Disney World’s Cinderella Castle was the most photographed subject in the works."
When WDW started releasing pictures of the garish new repaint of Cinderella Castle, I made my opinion of it known on several Disney forums and social media accounts. I wish I had a nickel for every member of the "Disney Can Do No Wrong" brigade who scolded me, saying that is MUST "just not photograph well." To which my reply was, of course, that it would be a pretty boneheaded move to paint one of the world's most-photographed landmarks in such a manner that it looked beautiful in person but didn't photograph well.
@MIKE COZART, I was dismayed to learn that so many of the people currently working at the Disneyland Hotel are subcontracted and not Disney employees. I knew that was the case at many WDW hotels, but I had thought it was different in California. Where it all ends, who knows.
DanSt3/SkyMagic, my words of advice: Get over to your parents' house and get your hands on their slides/photos/movies ASAP. Am serious. My dad tossed A LOT (thousands and thousands) of priceless negatives, photos, etc. Ugh. On a side note: If your parents married in 1958, you're probably a Sr. Jr. Gorilla, like most of us. Glad you're here and I hope you can find some fun photos/slides to share here!
Melissa, regarding the new WDW castle colors..."YOU GO GIRL!"
Putrid, is the one word that comes to my mind...NONE of those new colors look good together, let alone against the original grey. Just my opinion.
Mike, the one word that comes to mind regarding Florida: Sauna.
Omnispace, we needed to camouflage our Skyway tower technology so that the Russkies wouldn’t steal it. You know how they are! I also love that Googie look of the Tomorrowland stations, it’s perhaps not quite Steampunk, but it’s in the neighborhood. Holiday Hill was bulldozed flat, and that’s where the Matterhorn was sprouted!
DanSt3 / SkyMagic, very neat that your parents honeymooned at the park right around there. Did they tour other SoCal landmarks? I hope your dad kept those slides too! My folks honeymooned in Las Vegas in 1958 and saw Nat King Cole and Ella Fitzgerald. Pretty neat.
Dean Finder, yes, they look SO much like desks from grade school, it’s kind of funny to see full-grown adults sitting there eating their hamburgers (in other photos, I mean).
Mike Cozart, in a way I think it’s a little weird that Kodak was keeping track of what photos they were developing. Ha ha, I might have to agree with you, that Mark Twain sure was a magnet for shutterbugs. SO MANY PHOTOS. Yes, I did see something about Disney relocating much of their operations to Florida, I’m sure they must have a tax deal (“incentives”). I feel bad for the folks who have to uproot their whole lives if they want to stay with Imagineering, especially since Disney will not hesitate to lay them off the second it is in their best interest. No “loyalty”.
Melissa, all you have to do is look at Facebook’s many Disney park fan pages to see that the “Disney can do no wrong” folks dominate those groups. Any dissenting opinion is shot down. Like most fandom, it can be pretty toxic. I did NOT know that many Disneyland Hotel employees are subcontracted - that way Disney can mistreat them and claim no responsibility. My opinion, anyway.
Lou and Sue, oh man, it just kills me to think of what Lou might have tossed into the trash. My mom has a tendency to get rid of things and then tell us afterwards. It never goes well. As for any color changes at any Disney park, I know now that the comments will be super enthusiastic, no matter how garish and tasteless they may be.
Major, you have now inspired me to create my own Calder water fountain! In the form of a mobile, and you have to sip and the mobile spins around! Totally impractical. Totally cool.
Post a Comment