Black and White Snapshots
Months ago I scanned what I believe is every remaining vintage photo print of Disneyland that I have. It was over 100 images at the time, and I have shared a lot of them! Today I am grouping some of the last black and white images (with a few exceptions) together, even though a few are not exactly the most thrilling things.
First off, from August, 1960 comes this photo snapped in the parking lot. I always assume that these kinds of photos were taken when the guest first arrived, because they'd be too pooped to think of it by the end of the day. But it's impossible to know for sure! What's that sporty little convertible? An MG? I'm sure I'm not even close to being right.
Next I have two photos from the Midget Autopia; they're undated, but the trees and plantings look pretty scraggly, so I will take a guess that these were taken around the attraction's 1957 debut. This happy kid proudly wears his mouse ears; he drives with his eyes closed, steering entirely using echolocation.
Darn! Those little cars go so fast that it's hard to capture one on film without all kinds of motion blur.
I guess the photographer was going for a shot down Main Street, but there's a little too much sky for my taste. That's why I am encouraging my representatives to ban the sky. Who's with me? Think of the children!
This last photo print has seen better days, it is ripped and creased and dogeared, but it is my favorite of the bunch. It's date-stamped "Aug 1955", so the park had only been open a very short time! The young girl in stripes loves the tiny white horses that pulled the old chemical fire wagon - it's the same height as she is. Other kids are aboard the vehicle already, holding plain old non-Mickey-eared balloons.
19 comments:
My guess is that the photographer (of the Main Street picture) was trying to capture the beautiful blue sky.
There’s a possibility the last picture was taken on July 17 and developed on August 1. You never know...
Thanks, Major!
Major-
A 1954 Pontiac; a 1958 Ford; a Triumph TR3 convertible (don't know the year); and finally a 1955 Chevrolet. The Triumph is blocking a 1959 Chevrolet.
...he drives with his eyes closed, steering entirely using echolocation. Yes - the "mouse ears" conceal the echolocation sensing gear.
Thanks, Major.
Cool b&w photos today. I see that Nanook already identified the cars- you can just barely see the Triumph lettering between the headlights of the sports car. I didn't know the car on the left, but I was 100% sure on the '58 Ford- my parents had one up until around 1968.
-DW
The Midget Autopia has always intrigued me. I'm mainly curious about the hill the cars climbed, which went over a tunnel. That didn't seem to ever be photographed - I guess it was out of view (though you can find lots of pictures of it after the ride was moved to Marceline). On the Idlewild Arrow-Flite car ride, the cars move slow, and there's no way they could make it over a hill. Thanks, Major.
Thanks for these great black and white pics Major. Takes me back.
It's interesting to see the difference 4 years makes in the look of automobiles back then.
Major, thanks for your hard work restoring these views!
I love the little girl with the horse. What is the wall mural behind her? Is this a map to help visitors understand the unique layout of the new Park?
The Global or Bekins building doesn’t look right, it’s too plain.
Thanks for the auto ID also, Nanook and DW.
JG
Nanook! I knew all of those cars except the Pontiac! Aren't you proud of me? Those were the years I paid attention to cars and I learned to drive in a '55 Chevy.
I saw my few B&W Disney photos recently and they are bad to worse. They wouldn't even make a Sunday post. But these are great!
As a kid the rides were all great but even Main Street had attractions that could amuse this kid.
I think I see only one trash can on Main Street but I'm not really sure.
Thanks, Major P
Midget Autopia looks so much better than the regular garden variety Autopia. Twists and turns, hills, barns to come bursting out of...sounds like a fun time. I'm not sure if that safety belt is going to help little Mouseketeer Johnny from knocking out his front teeth on the steering wheel, but it's always a good idea to buckle up. It's interesting to me that there are soooo many photos of the parking lot out there. I guess seeing a parking lot of this magnitude was an attraction in itself. Which is why: they should pave Paradise Pier and put up a parking lot!!! Another interesting thing, is those Japanese elms on Main Street. When they hacked those down in the early 80's they were the exact same size as this photo...however ....they were "too big" and "out of scale"...huh? That must have been a long meeting from 1960 to 1980 to approve the removal of those trees! I love all the horsies and animals of Disneyland...even the feral cats and mice and mean swans...there was a real grump/old timer that worked Street Cars. The guests....being guests...would unfortunately treat the horses like they were a big head Mickey or Pluto, not understanding that the animal was actually capable of killing them. So if they didn't ask Mr. Grumpy for permission it was a bad scene...and the horses...even though they were used to it...sometimes would head-butt the guest and knock them clear out of their photos. Or...decide to relieve themselves just as the guest went "click" on their camera. Those horses are smart! If you asked Mr. Grump if it was OK to take photos, or perhaps maybe pet Mr. Horse, then all sins were forgiven and Mr. Grump would go up there with them and tell them all about those Percherons. If you were a pretty girl you went to the front of the line. The things you see on an 8 hour balloon shift in front of the Castle.
Zach, I think you are right. At least one trash can.
From the photo vantage point, we should be able to see three or four minimum, but the elevated angle, combined with black and white make it hard to spy any more.
For me, the bright colors are a big help for the ones in the blurred distance, and that is lost with these views.
JG
Lou and Sue, ha ha, “This deep blue sky will knock their socks off!”. Sounds like something I would do. While I would love to have a photo from July 17, I don’t think the last photo looks crazy enough, crowd-wise.
Nanook, ah, a Triumph, I should have known! I like its “expression”.
DW, my mom still talks about her ’58 Ford, she must have loved that darn car. It’s the one she had when my parents first married.
Andrew, hmmm, I guess I didn’t know (or forgot, more likely) that the Midget Autopia ever went over a hill, or climbed any kind of gradient at all. Now I need to look at maps or aerial photos to find that tunnel! Remember when Marceline did a Kickstarter (or maybe it was a “Go Fund Me”) hoping to raise a large sum of money? It was a disappointing (but predictable) fail.
DrGoat, those designers in Detroit were on fire in those days. Unlike today! My not-new Honda looks very similar to the new versions.
JG, I didn’t do much to these! No color to adjust, and if they were blurry, well, they just stayed that way. The broadsides on the wall behind the little girl are ads for the Golden Horseshoe Revue. I think that Daveland has some better views.
zach, ha ha, we are always proud of you. The important thing is that you tried. That’s what Pa Cartwright would have said, I’ll bet. And Ward Cleaver too. Aw, now I want to see your B&W photos even MORE! Don’t be shy!
Bu, they did a lot to make that Midget Autopia attractive, with lush landscaping that the Marceline version will not have (that one is as flat as a pancake). I’m sure that safety belt was more about keeping Johnny from flying out of the car in case of a collision - teeth can always be replaced with quality Sears dentures. I wonder if the photo of the parking lot was taken because the man (and it was probably a man) liked that Triumph convertible so much? I think the problem with the trees that were replaced was not so much the scale, but the fact that they blocked the views of everything. I’m often amazed when I have a vintage photo of a city, and then try to find a contemporary view of Google Street View… the large trees of today make it hard to see the buildings! Ordinarily that’s a good thing, but for my purposes, not so much. And what’s more important? Real life, my my blog?? I hope that little girl (or her mother) asked for permission to pose with that tiny horse.
JG, I thought perhaps I could see two cans, but it’s too blurry. Maybe one of them is just a short person!
The Midget Autopia was an "off the shelf" ride, although I can't remember who produced it. It's been said that Walt didn't care for it because families couldn't ride together, but that doesn't "feel" true to me. For one thing Walt had the final say on everything that went into his park, so why would he have approved something he didn't like?
The last I heard, Marceline was still trying to get enough donations to rebuild it. Covid threw a monkey wrench in plans, but they say they are going forward. I hope they get it up and running!
A 1958 Ford Fairlane..could be the 500 model. It's either a two or four door sedan with the B pillar. We had the 4 door hardtop which didn't have the pillar. I had hoped this picture was in color. Ours was white and aqua. But since it's 1960 and we were living in Utah at the time, it couldn't have been ours. Plus this one has a CA license plate. Dad regretted selling that car. As for the Midget Autopia...I loved bursting out of those barn doors back into the end of the ride seeing my folks waiting for me by the fence. KS
@ Stu29573-
Arrow Development manufactured the Midget Autopia, using similar technologies as in their other 'land-bound' dark rides.
I thought they did, but I couldn't remember. Thanks!
Stu29573, yes, you are correct - the Midget Autopia was definitely an off the shelf ride, although Walt’s guys did make it much nicer with the pretty landscaping. Not sure if the “garage” with the bang-doors was unique to the Disneyland version or not. I agree, if Walt didn’t want that ride, it wouldn’t have made it into the park! But I wouldn’t be surprised if he always intended it to be a temporary space-filler.
KS, it would have been amazing to see YOU and your family’s car in the parking lot! But… what are the odds? 1 in 5 at least! (I’m not good at math). Aqua and cream sounds like the best color combo. Or maybe coral and cream. If your dad’s car didn’t have a California plate, what DID it have?
Nanook, I want to see some of Arrow Development’s sea-worthy car rides!
Stu29573, yeah, I would have guessed Arrow, but couldn’t say for sure without doing a little research. They sure did build a ton of “little car” rides.
Nanook,
Didn't know that Arrow Development was now a subdivision of Super 78 and they have bought Walt (and Roy's) birthplace home and are restoring it to it's original state.
Thanks for the notion to look them up.
Major...In 1960 it would have had a Utah plate! KS
Nowadays people take a picture in the parking lot to remember where they parked, but I guess that wasn’t much help back when you had to wait to get your pictures developed.
It always surprises me how much more like a real town Main Street looks in black and white pictures.
It is amazing how quickly car styles changed in the 50’s and 60’s but after world war 2 automobile companies conditioned Americans to buy a new car and trade in last years model every year. On average Americans kept their automobiles 1-2 years before replacing it with a new model. Today it’s 7-11 years!! Also back then .... and it hit its zenith in the mid 60’s were the number of models car company offered .... it was crazy! I think Oldsmobile had the most offerings in 1966 .... two variations of the Toronado , .... sports sedans .... holiday sedans ... standard sedan , Town and Country , , estate sedans , no Saccharine sedans , Deluxe sedans .... the Buick 88 .... and those all had variations... there’s 6 different station wagons ... then there’s the economy offerings ...... . The color selections had toned down compared to the 50’s offerings when everything was offered in standard , deluxe , two tone .... then car manufactured learned too many color options slowed the buyer’s decision time and all those options trimmed down greatly.
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