Two Beauties From the '50s
Happy Friday, everybody; what a week, huh? Never mind that I actually am composing this post in mid-January. "What a week?" always applies on Fridays. I have two lovely scans for you today, so sit back and relax.
From what I presume is the late 1950s (or perhaps the early 1960s) comes this beautiful, colorful photo taken aboard the good old Skyway, or "cable cars" as the photographer called them. I suppose that's not completely inaccurate. There's so much detail! It's hard to believe that just over that wooded hill (where the chalet loomed) was a western frontier, but that's the way it was. In fact I think we can even get a little glimpse into Frontierland just above the colorful umbrellas where the "Fan 1" dining area was. We've got Dumbo down below (to our left) and Casey Jr. (to our right), too.
Zooming in, we see the passenger in lucky number 23 trying to take it all in before his smooth trip through the sky ended. Notice the long stairway (non-ADA compliant) where passengers were descending back to sea level (not really, but you know what I mean). Could Kodachrome get any better than this?
Next is this wonderful photo looking into Tomorrowland (definitely the '50s); I always love it when we have bright sunshine and an intense blue sky, especially when it makes the Moonliner look so good. The "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" walk-thru is to our right. Look at all those nautical flags! We get a good look at the planetoid lights on the sides of those buildings, and even a good toothpick and olive light fixture (with a few boomerangs thrown in for good measure). I like the lady's paper hat, and the little "green zones" that were probably not long for this world.
33 comments:
Major-
Details, details, details . There are so many in these images - including one of those fabulous Fantasyland trash cans with the 'tent-like' toppers, sitting near the entrance to the Skyway Chalet. Those 'olive & toothpick light fixtures' really are the best.
Thanks, Major. And happy Friday.
I love these scans, Major!
That first one is truly a 'YOU ARE THERE' shot!
I wish I WAS there!
Man can soar through space...but apparently can't walk without tripping over a tiny earthly fence.
It looks like many have stumbled into or over that border!
And just look at the contrast of that wimpy, crooked, little fence - compared to the tall, proud, beautiful rocket!
Thanks, Major! Happy Friday, everyone!
In the last pic, we can see a man with a dolly, delivering boxes of something, somewhere.
Both shots are winners today. I wish I could step into that Tomorrowland photo and explore the wonders of the future past.
Thanks, Major.
I wonder why everything was a “bar” in early Tomorrowland - the Space Bar, the Yacht Bar, and here we have the Hat Bar. I’d think that the bars would be over in Frontierland. Ol’ Davy needed something to wrassle.
TM!, that guy looks like he is wearing a “white wing” uniform from Main Street. Do you suppose that box is full of, er, “road apples?” Maybe they pre-positioned those things on Main Street so Trinidad could pick them up later, sort of an extra layer of realism to give guests a taste of those “hard facts” that built America.
Thanks, Major. These have set me up for a great day!
These are stunning! I SO wish I was there (Not there now, but there then). The Fantasyland photo wants me to ride everything as soon as I "land!"
And...oh...The Moonliner! Stunning I say (I already said that, didn't I?) One of the best pictures I've seen of her!
Chuck there were bars everywhere in the future because people would get so hopped up on optimism that they needed something to calm them down a bit. That's my theory and I'm sticking with it!
Very cool Disneyland original scans. I think that guy is a Moonliner crew member. That's the inertial navigation guidance computer in the box. You wouldn't want to get lost on the way to the moon. Let's all belly up to the Space bar for a little pick-me-up. Altair Fizz anyone? Thanks Major.
Or is it a box of plush getting pushed into the future?
Nice photos, Major. The first one is so full of things to look at! Oh my, Dumbo is mooning us! And my favorite paper cone hat appears in the second one; I think there’s another in the distance behind our subject. Were they meant to be worn once and thrown away, or did people wear them until they fell apart?
Simply delightful photos, one and all. Like everyone else here, I'd like to step into the Tomorrowland pic and head for the Yacht Bar. An Altair Fizz sounds good, followed up by a Morpheus cocktail, non alcoholic of course. Wouldn't want the ID to get any strange ideas, Especially in the happiest place on earth.
Kathy, I'd definitely wear my paper cone hat till I fell apart.
Thanks Major, all these pics make worthy desktops.
I don't mind being 'mooned' by Dumbo first thing in the morning as long as I can have a Man-HAT-tan at the Hat Bar. Har!
Who(m?)ever took these had a nice camera and good film, apparently.
Thanks, Major!
zach
Spectacular early views, Major!
The first photo is pretty old, I think, since there are three trash cans in view, all are different.
There is a bullet-type in the Casey queue, plain white; and the standard square one out in the concourse, plain green, not yet themed.
Then as Nanook points out, one of the fancy “hip-roof” models up on the Skyway platform. Interesting combination of styles before the universal theming took over in the late 50’s.
The TL pic has only one in sight, unless the White Wing is toting one. It’s probably a box full of Yesterday, being expelled from the future.
Thanks for the Friday lift!
JG
I like the splashes of green space in Tomorrowland. They look so quaint and temporary, as you said. I saw a photo of Frontierland yesterday from around the same period that had the similar tiny fencing around the grass. Doesn’t really do much other than define the space but it’s so different than what we would see today. I love those little details. Happy Friday!
Celeste
A bar for every day of the week! Dairy Bar, Yacht Bar, Ice Cream Bar, Babar....wait..no...that is Baloo...oh well...it was the era of a whole lotta bars. I suppose "Hatmosphere" replaced the "Hat Bar" later in life. Fantasyland looks so packed full of fantastic, and Tomorrowland...well...I totally support wide open spaces. The guy in the Trinidad hat if I had to guess is an Ice Cream vendor. Another earlier GDB picture shows that costume with a sullen employee standing behind a ice cream wagon on Main St. That dolly he is rolling about I am sure is the same one I was rolling around in 1980...they had very long "tines" on them to hold crates and boxes very very specifically. Those planters...oh dear...looks like they got the short end of the budget. I guess if people are looking at planters and not giant rockets they have bigger problems on their hands. Blue shirt Skyway bucket is certainly holding on for dear life. Are those all single riders? Love the little Alpine Chalet...even with the multitude of steps. what a giant shame that was. The painting was so intricate and impressive. Gotta say it: "they ruin everything."
@ Chuck-
Bu already mentioned the Dairy Bar. But, let's not forget the Welch's Grape Juice Bar at the Mickey Mouse Theatre in Fantasyland-!
Side note to Bu: I just now left you a comment on yesterday’s GDB post.
Ahhh... now THAT'S Tomorrowland!! :)
Sue and Stu, I wish I was there *then* too.
JC Shannon, an Altair Fizz makes all animals love you.
DrGoat, a Morpheus cocktail makes you as smart as the Krell with no Id hangover. ;)
Chuck, "Killed him a bar when he was only Three" :D
Nanook, I do like those fancy Fantasyland trash cans! They aren’t so good for leaning on, but they look pretty neat.
Lou and Sue, it’s funny, considering just how many Skyway photos I have, there are still examples that i find to be beautiful and exciting. It just goes to show you. Now I am imagining people tripping over those tiny fences. They don’t even have cell phones to blame!
TokyoMagic!, he is transporting rare merchandise that nobody bought, it’s going right into the incinerator!
K. Martinez, glad you liked these! Both Tomorrowland and Fantasyland look so wonderful (though I always have a preference for Tomorrowland).
Chuck, I’ve wondered about the “bar” thing too. Was that a trend outside of Disneyland, one that I wasn’t aware of? You’re right, the man with the dolly is wearing a “white wing” outfit, we know from very early postcards that popcorn vendors and ice cream vendors wore those initially. Also, many people don’t realize that the “road apples” were animatronic. Hope your day continues to be great!
Stu29573, I know what you mean, these really hammer home how wonderful and amazing Disneyland was back then, no need to plan every meal and drink and fast pass with your phone at 7 AM. The Moonliner really does “pop” against that blue sky, that’s when it looks its best.
Jonathan, the man’s tall hat prevents head injuries during weightlessness. It just makes sense. How can you get lost on the way to the moon? It’s right there! I like the sound of an Altair fizz, gimme one with a cherry in it.
Lou and Sue, hopefully that box of plush was being pushed into the landfill.
Kathy! Dumbo can’t help it, he can only go in circles after all. And his bottom is hard to ignore. I can’t imagine many people wore their paper Disneyland hats once they left the park, unless ladies liked to wear them while tending their roses. Darn few of them have survived over the years, that’s for sure.
DrGoat, a Morpheus cocktail sounds like it would knock you out! Piles of sleeping people everywhere. Hey, that would keep the lines short, at least! Not many people know that if you were pulled over by police while wearing one of those paper hats, they would always let you go (with a wink and a “warning”).
zach, I can’t think about Manhattans without thinking of my grandmother, who loved them. My grandpa liked something called an “old fashioned”, whatever that was. I think you’re right, the photographer had a very good camera, you can really tell the difference.
JG, you’d think that they would have standardized the trash cans for various reasons; they’d all be interchangeable, they could order a bunch of them at once (the more they buy, the more they save), and most people would probably never even notice them. But Walt knew that the details were important. I’ve noticed those green trash cans in other early Fantasyland (and Tomorrowland) pix.
Celeste (a new commenter!), I agree about the green spaces… you see them in early views of Frontierland and Tomorrowland especially, and I wish they were still there, even though the crowds would make them impractical. I wonder what they could have used besides that common fencing material. The benefit to that is that it could probably be replaced cheaply, and if somebody fell on it, it wouldn’t hurt them.
Bu, where was “Hatmosphere”?? I don’t even recall seeing that. It sounds Tomorrowlandish I guess. Somehow Tomorrowland does feel like it should be roomy, while Adventureland could be a little more “cozy”. As I said to Chuck, two very early postcards (both fairly scarce) show cast members in white wing costumes at both the popcorn wagons and the ice cream wagons. I’m guessing that didn’t last much past 1956 or ’57 at the latest. Maybe people didn’t know what the outfits were supposed to be? We know that Walt was running short on money when Tomorrowland was built, but the green areas also helped to soften what could otherwise feel sterile and unpleasant.
Nanook, for some reason your mention of Welch’s Grape Juice brought a vivid memory back, of my mom making me a glass of grape juice with plenty of ice on a hot day. So good!
Lou and Sue, side notes will cost you an extra $20.
Grant, I just want a drink that makes all the cute babes love me! The animals can do whatever they want. “Krell”, a Marvel reference! I sort of get it. Sort of.
Grant, as a kid I always felt sorry for that poor bar.
Hatmosphere was under the Tomorrowland Skyway...a stones throw from the Tomorrowland offices above America Screams where you would get your paycheck. Now, I think we were rather spoiled back then, we were paid every week. As a former brown boozer, a Manhattan and and Old Fashioned are very close cousins. I loved both of them, but was more fond of Manhattans are they were served sans ice cubes and in a cocktail glass rather than a DOF or Double Old Fashioned Glass. Which came first the glass or the cocktail? I have fond memories of those Welch's Juice Bars sold at the Welch's Juice Bar. We weren't allowed such extravagances as kids, but I did like standing around there...the ground was all sticky from melted popsicles and there were a lot of kids saying "what color is my tongue?". You could smell the grape smell from 20 paces. I smelled that grape smell MUCH later in life driving up Rte. 29 in Napa during crush. It is the EXACT same smell...and it took me back 40 years immediately.
Major, not new, just returning ;) (formerly psysocdisney)
Celeste
Major, Altair, Morpheus and Krell are from Forbidden Planet (1956). One of the best sci fi films ever.
(BTW, Disney animators created the Id monster.)
For any interested parties -
From wiki...
The animated sequences of Forbidden Planet, especially the attack of the Id Monster, were created by veteran animator Joshua Meador,[17] who was loaned to MGM by Walt Disney Productions. According to a "Behind the Scenes" featurette on the film's DVD, a close look at the creature shows it to have a small goatee beard, suggesting its connection to Dr. Morbius, the only character with this physical feature. Unusually, the scene in which the Id Monster is finally revealed during its attack on the Earth ship was not created using traditional cel animation. Instead, Meador simply sketched each frame of the entire sequence in black pencil on animation stand translucent vellum paper; each page was then photographed in high contrast, so that only the major details remained visible. These images were then photographically reversed into negative and the resulting white line images were then tinted red, creating the effect of the Id Monster's body remaining largely invisible, with only its major outlines illuminated by the energy from the force-field and blaster beams.
Grant,
Knew about the Disney connection, but not all the details. Thanks!
I did misspell Morbius...(Morpheus). I must have been thinking about taking a nap.
Bu, that makes sense, like I said, it has a Tomorrowlandish name. I’m not much of a drinker, and have never been a fan of brown booze. My dad used to love bourbon on the rocks, and he would let us taste the melted ice after the booze was gone! At the time I thought it was interesting, but I guess I’d have to water down my booze so much that I might as well just have a beer. You used to be able to get Welch’s grape juice bars at the grocery store, so good in the summer time. I liked Sunist lemon juice bars too, very refreshing. I love artificial grape (and cherry) flavor!
Celeste, ah, I definitely remember you as psysocdisney! Hope you are well.
Grant, gosh, I haven’t seen Forbidden Planet since I was a kid. I’d love to watch it again, though. Anne Francis, rawr!
Grant, I knew about Josh Meador’s work on Forbidden Planet, it was mentioned in various animation books that I owned, and also in sci-fi books. I’d love to see the “making of” featurettes, that stuff is right up my alley, especially for a classic movie like that one. It’s interesting the Meador was primarily known as an effects animator, I wonder why they didn’t use a character animator? He did a great job, I’m mostly just wondering out loud.
Another little detail that I love in old Disneyland, the little white wire "hoop" fences. My Mom used those in her flower beds around this same time. A little bit of home in Disneyland.
Major, it appears that initially there was no standardization in trash cans. The bullet and square types appear interchangeably in many old pictures. I can't pin down a date, but somewhere around 1958, the "go-away" green paint began to give way to the themed cans we know and love, while the bullet cans are no longer found. So standardization did eventually occur, with a few standouts. The "hip roof" variety was exclusively in Fantasyland (at least this is the only place I have spotted them), and Tom Sawyer Island had some very realistic tree-stump types that did not appear anywhere else.
Celeste, welcome back!
Grant, thanks for the fascinating backstory on Forbidden Planet. I can't watch it anymore without thinking of Police Squad, but it is still a great film. I remember when Robbie visited Lost In Space as some kind of alien robot, amazing re-use of props.
JG
Forbidden Planet, co-starring Jack "Bart Maverick" Kelly. It's all related.
Also co-starring Earl Holliman, one of my favorite character actors.
Major,
Major, Do watch it, it will be worth it.
I can’t watch Forbidden Planet either without thinking of Police Squad either, as well as “Where Is Everybody?” But that only lasts a moment and then I’m into it. No complaints.
Now I want to watch Forbidden Planet tonight.
I think I can rent it on Amazon Prime.
JG
Thanks Major and JG! Hoping to stick around more this time!
Celeste
Major ; the HATMOSPHERE was the 1980’s the-naming of the 1967 MOD HATTER shop under the Skyway station entry stairs.
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