Beautiful Instamatics
My friend Mr. X has come through once again, giving me a group of slides (to keep!) date-stamped "August 1970". A few of them have appeared on GDB before, as scans from photo prints, but scans from slide transparencies are always better!
Let's start with this beautiful view of the Carousel of Progress building; it looks so great! I sure envy all the people who are just heading in to view the groundbreaking show on the lower level - and I envy the people who have just seen the show, and then viewed the wonderful "Progress City" model on the upper level.
Folks are enjoying the view from up there, and who can blame them? I like details such as the recessed lighting (placed at seemingly random intervals on that extended overhang), or even that lozenge-shaped sign to the right, which was probably discarded when the ride closed three years after this picture was taken.
Next is this very nice image that gives a hint of the complex layers of activity in Tomorrowland - the Autopia, the Peoplemover, and the Monorail inhabiting the same space by necessity, but doing so in an artful manner. I thought that this might have been one of the "previously posted" images, but not so... I was thinking of the second photo from this post from back in 2017.
I hope you have enjoyed today's Instamatics!
26 comments:
Major-
Ah, the memories...
Thanks to Mr. X.
That one lady on the ramp is pointing and saying, "I WANT TO GO ON THE SKYWAY, NEXT!!! WHEEEEEEEEEE!!!
And the lady just down the ramp from her is smacking her head and either saying, "Oy vey!", or "I could have had a V8!"
Thank you, Major and Mr. "X"!
I could stay all week in this Tomorrowland!!!!
MAJOR : regarding yesterday’s comments: Yup! That info was taken directly from Mark Twain Riverboat narration from the 1970’s into the 1990’s.The information about the “Terms of Treaty “ was taken from the signs along the fences and barricade north of Fort Wilderness cemetery.
Looking closely at these photos, you can tell it’s not really a photo from the future by one giveaway detail - no Nehru suits. If I know anything from what the movies have taught me, it’s that Nehru suits will be all the rage by the late 1990s.
I remember my dad having to pull me from the CoP building because I wanted to check out all the details of the Progress City model. I thought it was awesome.
Hooray for Mr. X;
What will he show us next?
I love how the GE sign lines up with the heads of the palm trees in the first picture. And today's Vintage People Award has to go to he little girl in the first picture, in the primary-colored sundress, white headband, and pigtails.
You're right about the composition of #3; that layering packs a lot of vroom into one shot.
Ah, the 70s. The age of questionable fashion choices and Disco. In all the chaos, there was Tomorrowland, and with it a promise of a bright future of no bell bottoms or Bee Gees. Chuck, we woulda made those Nehru future suits look good. Thanks to Mr X and Major.
Great way to start a Friday. I'd stay a week in this Tomorrowland too. Maybe longer.
MR, It was my sister and I that had to pull my Mom and Dad from the CoP building. They just loved it. The age of GE.
Chuck, I had a Nehru type shirt back then, if that counts. More like a Dave Clark Five, button up the side shirt. Looked good under a fringe jacket. In Tucson anyway.
Thanks Major and Mr. X. Meet you next to that GE sign in the second pic.
Oh man, the Carousel of Progress. Hard to believe it was so short-lived. The soundtrack is embedded in my memory even though I may have only seen the show a few times. Hard to believe they replaced it with America Sings. That transformation was my first inkling that Disney updates might not be as good as the thing replaced.
Major, I have also puzzled over the lighting pattern in that ceiling. No idea what the designer was trying to do.
The Tomorrowland “back lot” was a masterpiece of layering one attraction on another. I always wanted to get out of my car and walk through it, possibly in a Nehru jacket.
Thanks Major and Mr. X.
JG
Just went back to the linked post, that view is taken only a few feet away from today’s vantage. What a coincidence, it doesn’t seem like an obvious Kodak viewpoint, but captures that part of the Park very well.
JG
@ JG-
Add my name to the list of those curious about the 'meaning' of the lighting pattern in the overhanging "ceiling". Perhaps it spells-out something meaningful in code, such as V for victory; or something more mundane, along the lines of Enjoy life... eat out more often. Or better still - Movies are your best entertainment value.
...or, Gorillas Don’t Blog
I think it says Cook your Ovaltine on a GE stovetop.
It just occurred to me that all those wild colors in the fashions those days also coincided with the mass adoption of color TV. And they say TV does not have an effect on us! KS
You know who never had a Nehru jacket? Nehru.
Ok, I totally made that up, but it would be a great trivia question if it was true!
Along with Nehru jackets, jumpsuits will be big. Particularly harvest gold jumpsuits. Great for the whole family! (don't forget the dog!)
The layered shot takes the cake today. It seems like such an obvious design choice, but later imagineers would totally whiff it. Was there something about the early to mid century that made designers better? It seems like it to me. Somebody whip out a scientific paper on that real quick, ok?
Thank you Mr. X!
My degree is in architectural design and I have to say the lighting pattern on the reflective side of the COP’s portico “fin” is very cool! It would have made a dramatic “mural of light” pattern when fully lit .... something a company who’s products sales were 77% lighting fixtures probably would have been very excited to have seen in a WED design proposal.
It’s interesting during that building’s design it has a change order during its construction to greatly lower the tower grill the GE marquee sat atop. There is no explanation but I have a feel GE wanted it so high and there was a Anaheim building code that made it get lowered or WED figured the Santa Ana winds would probably blow it away!
I used to wonder why the Disneyland Carousel Theater was rather plain looking compared to if NY World’s Fair predecessor, but knowing what I know now you can see WED was right on future design trends of the time as cleaner more refined shapes in architecture were forming what was considered futuristic-modern -contemporary in the late 60’s combined with heavy patterns or colors done in embossed panels , tiles or murals. This shows up in Civil structure, banks , car dealerships of the same period. I know that the theater’s mural pattern was inspired with something John Hench saw star a GE facility tour regarding electrical current wave patterns on a screen. That was also true for the spiral dome pattern on the roof of the GM Fair Carousel Theater.
Whew! I’ve been busy all morning, only to come home to 17 comments! Neat!
Nanook, these pictures really are worth 1,000 words.
TokyoMagic!, I also have a tendency to pepper my sentences with “Wheeeeeeeee!”, so I know just how that lady feels! I also just like the phrase “Oy vey” a lot, so I’m going with that one for the other lady. You’re welcome!
Mike Cozart, ah interesting, I figured that it sounded very official, but don’t remember hearing that much detail about the dead body on the bier (or whatever it is called). Thanks!
Chuck, you make a good point, even though I am sad that I have never owned a Nehru suit (or jacket). How many other world leaders have inspired such a big fashion statement as the Prime Minister of India?? I mean besides President Parachute Pants.
MRaymond, years ago I read about how an Imagineer offered to restore the Progress City model to its former glory (I doubt it would have been for free, but still), and the company said “No” I guess. Too bad.
Melissa, I still have a great stash of scans from Mr. X that I have not shown you yet, some are real beauties. That girl’s dress is very “Op Art”.
Jonathan, I remember saying to my friends, “Nobody is going to be nostalgic for the ‘70s!”. How wrong I was. Looking back, even disco wasn’t so bad. At least people were having fun. The Bee Gees were so talented, but I never really glommed on to that falsetto vocals thing that they made so famous.
DrGoat, your mom and dad must have been really cool if they were that interested in The Carousel of Progress (and presumably Progress City)! I may not have had a Nehru jacket, but I remember having a few paisley shirts. I’ll meet you under that G.E. sign any time!
JG, it really IS amazing how briefly the CoP was at Disneyland. It’s been at the Magic Kingdom for decades, though in its updated version. I wonder if they’d ever show the “classic version” with all of the original vocal performances and music? That’s for me! And yes, that lighting pattern is so odd, I don’t get it. I know what a Nehru jacket is, but what are Nehru pants?
JG, both photos were taken by my pal Mr. X, and it’s safe to say that he loved that view every time he saw it!
Nanook, every time I see those random lights, I imagine them being arranged in some sort of pleasing pattern - any one of several different iterations. A radial pattern, perhaps. A Fibonacci sequence. SOMETHING!
Lou and Sue, well, thank you for saying it, because I am too humble! ;-)
DrGoat, I guess some barbarians drink Ovaltine warm, but I don’t want to know them.
KS, I guess I assumed that new fabrics and color technology also must have developed, but the color TV idea is intriguing!
Stu29573, when I was a kid, I remember my mom bought me at least two jumpsuits. One of them was red, I loved it. People probably assumed that I was from the future! I didn’t have a harvest gold jumpsuit, but I did have a harvest gold velvet long-sleeved shirt. Groovy! I feel like the engineers and designers of old really knew their stuff, having traveled to Europe and studied fine art. It gave them a depth of experience to rely on.
Mike Cozart, I don’t dislike the random pattern of the lights on the CoP, it just always puzzles me a little bit. Good night photos are so scarce, I’ll have to look and see if I can find one that would show how it looked once it got dark out. I have no doubt that it was pretty. I’d never heard about GE wanting their logo much higher, but it doesn’t surprise me at all! “Make it 100 feet tall and all in neon!”. I think that the Progressland building was beautiful, but probably much much larger than what would fit in Disneyland. I know what you mean about the use of patterns and tiles and murals. I loved that stuff! DrGoat’s uncle did stuff like that, it’s neat. Have you ever seen those models of the Progressland building? They show up at auction once in a while, and I want one so bad!
These photos drum up a lot of mixed emotions. On the one hand I am profoundly lucky/happy to have experienced T-land in this era and with these attractions. On the other hand I am sad beyond words to know it will never be that special again.
Thanks to Mr. X for sharing and Major for posting.
Stu, I could whip out a scientific paper, but I doubt it would make any impact. I was in a lecture on Tuesday where the presenter said that the sheer volume of peer-reviewed, scientific papers published on a daily basis (I can’t recall the number, but it was staggering) in the medical field alone was impossible for the community to effectively digest, and that medical practice in some cases was up to 100 years behind the science.
You're right Major. That would be Cream of Wheat.
@ MIKE-
THIS is about the best image I was able to locate of that area of the building.
The light pattern could do that the lights are illuminating the specific parks of the ramp and walkways and not hitting planters and railings etc.
In the last picture, I love how the leaves on the branches line up - just like the PeopleMover cars and Autopia cars.
Thank you, Mr. X - I always love your pictures!
Thanks, Major!
Fibonacci - wasn't he that guy who always kept a candelabra on his piano?
When I'm feeling down, a rousing chorus of "There's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow" never fails to pick me up. Even on days when I can't quite bring myself to believe it's true, singing it makes me feel better.
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