Main Street, 1973
Today I am finally tackling a folder of scans that I believe are from 1973 (though some may have been taken over the space of a year or two), from a batch of 35mm negatives that my friend Mr. X gave to me many years ago. In fact, I scanned these about nine years ago, and was "saving them". For what? Who knows! But it's time. You've seen a few of them already, but there are still roughly 50 photos that I am looking forward to sharing. Mr. X took some nice pictures!
First up is this lovely shot from Main Street U.S.A., as guests walk toward the castle past the GAF Photo Salon (Kodak ended their long sponsorship in 1970, and GAF stepped in on December 20th, 1970). Notice the woman to the left, checking to see what time it is - late afternoon, judging by the shadows. I love this clear, colorful look at Main Street, atypical of the sort of photos that one usually finds.
This next one is a view of Town Square. No big deal, right? You'd think that I would be more excited by a vintage view of the Crane Bathroom of Tomorrow, or the Viewliner. But it's so great! Vivid color and implied energy with people walking here and there. This is a Disneyland photo that I would love to step into.
Next, just a detail, with more of those people, and a popcorn cart. Scanning negatives is tricky (for me, anyway), determining the correct colors involves a lot of guesswork, but I like the overall warm tones - a perfect day.
And there's the beautiful train station, with the Horse Drawn Streetcar closer to us (is that a security guard?), and possible Fourth of July patriotic bunting on the lamp post.
Stay tuned, there are some real beauties in this batch! Thank you, Mr. X, for giving these negatives to me.
32 comments:
Major-
Everyone in the first image is holding their ticket books. And the clock-checking lady seems to be wearing a 'sheer' babushka. You are so right about those Town Square images - makes you want to jump right into the swing of things and head towards the SBC-!
Thanks to Mr. X.
First photo: I didn't know that Abraham Lincoln wore glasses. Or white cardigan sweaters. Or sheer babushkas.
Thank you, Major and Mr. "X"!
Or carried a purse.
#1 looks a lot like a real Main Street in Anytown USA. Except that the people are walking in the street.
#2 looks great! That one is now in my Disney Stuff folder. :-)
In the close-up, I like that Keystone Kop (is that what they were called in Disneyland?) patrolling his beat. He even has a nightstick! I wonder how often he used it?
Tokyo!, Ha! It sure looks like ol' Abe. It must be his lunch hour, taking a break from the Opera House.
Thanks, Major and Mr. X.
JB, that Keystone Cop used his nightstick on anyone seeking a rain check, from City Hall.
The sun was out, so it was a slow day for him.
Wow! What a beautiful day!! That blonde boy in the first picture could totally be me …. I would have about 5 1/2 when these pictures were taken ( I’m assuming it’s near 4th of July since the bunting is up) the kid looks like he’s even west Sears Tuffskins!!
If these guests stop in at the new Disneyland :A Legacy For The Future exhibit ( later Disneyland Showcase) they would get to see a special display of models and renderings showing visitors the attractions being planned for Phase Two of the newly opened Walt Disney World Vacation Kingdom …. And that several of the future WDW attractions are also being considered for Disneyland by WED Imagineers. I was fascinated by this exhibit …. And I wonder looking back if guests thought Disney was being to commercial advertising Disneyland and Walt Disney World….. today such an exhibit would be a god send as Disney would not allow such a prime space on Main Street to not be selling pins , plush , vacation club scams , and now the newest annoying junk Disneyland fad: those rapid fast bubble blowing guns! Try to take pictures of anything now at Disneyland without a flurry of bubbles blowing right into your view from guests playing with these annoying things. Also I dare anyone to get thru a Disneyland visit now without “eating” a certain amount of these bubbles!! If I do as much slip on a soapy puddle from these bubble guns I’m going to grab my neck in pain and cry out “attraction posters!!!” And sue!!
Mike, and Sue is going to do the same? ;-)
I agree with Mike about the bubble blowers. Nobody takes into consideration that there are people who are allergic to the bubble soap. They even have employees standing there, blowing a constant stream of bubbles out into the walkway, as guests pass by. I don't know which is worse.....a kid running loose in the park with one of those bubble guns, or a kid swinging their light sabre around wildly and hitting guests with it, while their parents are completely oblivious to what their own child is doing. Okay, I guess it is finally my turn to say this, "You kids get off of my lawn!" There. I feel better now.
By the way.....as of August of 2019, they were charging $25 for those bubble blowers/guns, in the park. And as of that same date, they were charging only $2.99 for them at the employee store (Company "D"). And you just know that even at $2.99, they were probably still making a profit off of the employees. Disney probably pays about that much, for a whole case of those bubble blowers.
My eyes are instantly drawn to the guy in the first photo in the ERDL (Engineer Research & Development Laboratories) camo pattern (“lowland” variant) jungle fatigue shirt. These started showing up in Vietnam worn by elite units like Special Forces, the Rangers, etc. in late 1967 or early 1968 and had been issued to all Marine line infantry in-country by the summer of 1968. The plain green jungle fatigues were still standard issue for many units, including rear area troops as well as most Air Force personnel in theater. I always wonder if the person wearing them in vintage photos is a veteran or a hippie (or hippie wannabe).
TM!, Honest Abe apparently smokes, too.
Yes, Tokyo! Whenever Mike slips on soapy puddles, I too cry out, “Attraction posters!”
Beautiful pictures, as always, from Mr. X. Thank you. I would even love to see some of Mr. X’s current photography work.
It's pretty obvious that all the "sunglass people" in the first pic are Feds. They stick out like a sore thumb (whatever that means). They're everywhere, you know. Watching...always watching...
I always look for my family in 1973 pictures, and I did today as well. We would have been there about mid-June. I know it's a long long long shot, but someday I just might spot my grandfather, grandmother, mom and me. For some reason we have NO pictures from the visit (or from that whole visit to California). The ones in my head are getting a little faded, I'm afraid.
Thanks, Major!
….. ok …. Another thing that is becoming so annoying at Disneyland : people on the Cel phone doing whatever but blocking major walkways …. Attraction entrances/ exits …. Shop entrances : FRIGIN” pull to the side … or better yet stay home and don’t clog up Disneyland!!!!
Another thing; what is with idiot people parking their asses or leaning against signs and menu boards!!!??? Are people really that incredibly stupid!??
I’m going to purchase a light saber - adapt it so it can be used as an electric cattle prod and use it on dumb Buffoon guests!!
Regarding Disneyland guests : “there’s no such thing as a stupid question : only stupid people” and “every silver lining has a dark cloud attached to it!”
Man! Disneyland is turning me into a grumpy old man!! I do now understand IRION TAIL the Rabbit!!
Mike, you will make a fortune selling that new light saber!
Major, these are like Lake Wobegon kids, way above average. Certainly a high point in the history of Main Street. Perfect Friday fare.
Total three trash cans, one in the first pic, two in the second, Main Street density. I wonder if people generated more trash on the way in or out, calling for more cans than other Lands, or if the linear layout makes it easy to spot them?
The GAF signage displays a tiny hint of 1970’s design aesthetic, a certain eau-de-Farrell’s Ice Cream, but not enough to spoil the atmosphere.
Big thanks to you and Mr. X.
JG
Timex, GAF, Santa Fe RR, sunglasses, beards, cammo, hairography, popcorn wagons...these photos have it all! I'll begin my shock and dismay over bubble blowing machines. Among other things, it doesn't seem safe...even if it's "non toxic". Is this really a current day thing? With employees hawking their bubble-wares by thrusting bubbles into the air? What are they? on commission?! Am I in the lawless nation of Times Square where things are shouted at me randomly? Well...after that rant, back to photos: I do think this is getting close to 4th of July...at first I thought it might BE fourth of July...then I saw what time it was, and thought...well...it's busy...but not 4th of July busy. So- looks like they are gearing up with bunting and banners which were always very festive and tasteful. These days everything has ears. Not tasteful. In the bottom right of the first picture is the ever-famous curb- roguely named by us: "Trip and Fall." During night-time parades, we had to go out to trip and fall with flashlights and a big voice saying "watch your step." Oh they watched it all right...right before they hit the pavement. It got a little embarrassing when ladies fell in their skirts, and they were all messy on the ground...poor things. It was so loud from the speakers in the parade, and sooooo muchhhh distraction that even with two of us there shouting and flailing around our flashlight-cum-orange-light-saber things...there was always a few casualties. I'm not a huge fan of taking out curbs, but making that one into a more ADA compliant ramp (yes...those wheel chairs had to be lifted onto the curb...by me and a pal) was a prudent idea. One new
(and green) supervisor, hired from the outside (never a popular choice, rarely worked out) once referred to the job as "trip and fall"...it was overheard by her supervisor...and that was a pleasant show to watch...oye... "WHAT DID YOU SAY?!!! THAT AREA IS CALLED TOWN SQUARE STEPS!!!"....of course even that supervisor referred to it (off the record) as trip and fall. The curb was made into a ramp I think in 1982 or so. We STILL had to go out there though...people were "stepping up" to the curb that wasn't there anymore and tripping and falling STILL! Too much chaos during that dang Main Street Electrical Parade..which always felt about 3 hours long. (post too long...to be continued...)
Continuing...
Try ending your shift during the MSEP...there is a way...fight through crowds through tunnel...out across Mickey Floral...into other tunnel...down to the B of A bathrooms...to employee safety. It still was beyond chaos. Big attendance days- forget it. Don't even leave the building. You couldn't even go up behind Main St. next to the Jungle Cruise...make it out by Coke Corner, get through the parade crossover (they would let employees dash) run across the street by Carefree Corner...and then through the First Aid/Inn-Between entry. That was the long way around...but sometimes was better in a pinch if you could not even get down the steps of City Hall, or escape through Guided Tour Gardens. Most of the time if you GOT out to Main Street, you would be pummeled by guests saying "How the Hell do I get out of here?!" me: "slowly...like all of us..." If you were really super duper lucky, some one who may have parked behind Main St. would give you a ride allllll the way around the berm, around Harbor House, and then to the lockers. It took longer, but sometimes...it was easier. If you were riding the back of the scooter it was fun too. Those things go fast. Remember...that parade goes through that gate next to the Mad Hatter...which is an employee entrance too...and that's a whole other level of insanity back there with parade people alllll over the place trying to park their floats. Floats also can be driven very fast...especially those spinning bug things. All the parade people would descend upon the Inn-Between...so more impetus to get across that street quickly if you were going there for a bite. Summers were an entirely other animal...and those seasonals that only saw a Summer or a Christmas, I suppose never saw it any other way. I learned how to navigate through large crowds quickly, so it has helped me in crowded airports, Grand Central, etc. etc. It is a skill to me mastered, and there is a technique to pre-determine how guests may move 20 paces in front of you to make the right physical choices.
Nanook, I guess it’s only natural to look at one’s new unused ticket book and think about what to do first!
TokyoMagic!, I honestly did think that the woman was a man with a goatee at first!
TokyoMagic!, it’s called a “murse” or a “man bag”.
JB, I used to like driving through random small towns in the Midwest, so many of them resembled Disneyand’s Main Street - only more run down. I’d like to think that the Keystone Kop regularly beat guests, just to keep them on their toes.
TokyoMagic!, what if they asked about Exinwest model sets?
TokyoMagic!, don’t forget, he could also beat guests for coming into the park with gum in their mouths.
Mike Cozart, my family left California in 1973, much to my sadness. I wound up liking Pennsylvania, it was so different from what I was used to in Huntington Beach! But I sure missed our trips to Disneyland and Knott’s. I wish I’d seen any of the exhibits of “coming attractions” that they used to have at the parks, I would have loved it. The closest I ever got was at the first D23 convention, they had a rather huge model of Radiator Springs on display, with Imagineers to talk to. I would have loved to ask questions, but they were already deep in conversation with others folks. And I hate those bubble guns too! I’m also not crazy about all the glow necklaces and light-up things that ruin the Pepper’s Ghost illusion in the Haunted Mansion.
TokyoMagic!, imagine how much money they must make on those stupid toys. Who cares how much it negatively affects the other guests! I’m surprised they don’t sell toy trumpets or shrill whistles, $20 a pop. I just found a “Grad Nite ’83” plastic button, it still has a $15 price tag on the back. That is the equivalent of about $45 today. For a stupid plastic thing about 3” in diameter! But they are all over eBay, for as little as $3 today, so they sold plenty of them.
Chuck, I noticed that fellow as well… he was definitely a hippie, or he was hippie adjacent! 1973 is about when my Dad came home from Vietnam, so I could totally imagine that guy being a veteran.
Lou and Sue, just think, if you get just ONE attraction poster, it will be worth it! I have some more recent photos (like from the mid-1990s) that I just scanned for him, I’ll post them eventually.
Stu29573, studies prove that at least 45% of the guests at Disneyland were undercover Feds. Hey, their money was as good as anybody else’s. I’d love it if you saw your family in these shots, keep looking, there’s lots more to come!
Mike Cozart, the cell phone thing is a problem everywhere. I’ve gone to concerts where I can hardly see the band because everyone in front of me is holding their phones over their heads to video the whole show. It’s SO annoying. They’d rather get the video than just enjoy the show. They should definitely make toy light sabers that also shock people, I see no downside to that idea! ;-)
Lou and Sue, I admit that I want one.
JG, I would assume that at that point, guests didn’t have much to throw away as they were coming in. Whereas on the way out they might have accumulated all kinds of random napkins, receipts, and other junk. I have a cloth patch that was supposedly used on the costumes of Disneyland GAF employees, but I have no way of proving it, unfortunately.
Bu, since Disney does their fake “snow” around the holidays, and that is basically a kind of suds, they are as guilty of adding soap bubbles to the mix as anyone else. I’m sure those poor employees would rather not be standing outside with those dumb bubble guns, but they MUST follow orders. “Tasteful” is a dirty word at Disneyland these days. “Trip and Fall”, you’d think that they would slowly eliminate anything that people might trip on. But obviously it hasn’t happened. Once, just before a parade, Town Square was so packed with people sitting on the sidewalks and paths that we had to carefully step our way between them, in the dark. So of course we stepped on some body parts, unintentionally. I didn’t feel that guilty about it! That supervisor was obviously hoping to prove what a good solider she was by yelling about protocol. I’ll bet it got her nowhere.
Bu, something tells me that it is worse today than it was back when you dealt with the MSEP. One of my last visits got SO crowded due to the fireworks that I took a bad photo with my iPhone just to show people how insane it was. It was unpleasant, to put it mildly. We made the mistake of deciding to try to eat dinner AFTER the fireworks, but by that point every eatery had long lines and no places to sit. It was at that point that I started to think that Disneyland was not the fun place that I used to love.
Major, is the '83 Grad Nite plastic button octagonal in shape? If so, that was a plastic "dog tag" that the plush "Grad Plutos" wore around their necks, along with a mortarboard cap on their heads. There have been a lot of those tags listed on ebay, without the plush Pluto. I think the plush Pluto would be priced around $15, back in 1983. The grad buttons back then should have only been $1 or $2. If it's a round metal "pinback button" like the one pictured in the link below, then they were REALLY gouging the grads, if they were charging them $15 that year!
https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KSJGFadFda4/XpEx2cfN_rI/AAAAAAAAR2Q/OG2dt6y2HT0qqef5k2yhvDZVw005L4TdQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Grad%2BNite%2B1982%2B-%2B1987.jpg
Patchwork shorts and saddle shoes is an absolute fashion statement. So is a sheer babushka with Clark Kent glasses. Also digging the scruffy-looking young men at the far right in #1.
Mike, One of those guys in the in the back of pic #1 could have been me too. I was 23 at that time but never wore camo to Disneyland. The shades, that brown shirt and big tin Disneyland button looks about right though.
"Scruffy-looking...? Who are you calling Scruffy-looking...!?"
Major, you are describing my last two visits, in 2015 and 2017. I never felt happy to leave the Park until those two trips.
As much as I would enjoy seeing Wookie World, I don't think I will go back again. Every FreshBaked video about the latest money-gouging innovation and having to use your phone to do everything just doesn't sound like fun at all.
JG
I always loved Main Street Station in its original color scheme. It always looked so gosh-darn "railroady!" Always awesome seeing the Santa Fe logo as well.
Ha! Welcome to Rant Day, here at GDB!
Major, yeah but, if the Kop beat the guests to keep them on their toes, wouldn't said guests be lying on the ground (not on their toes) after being beaten? ;-)
I don't know if it's the same at Disneyland, but at WDW everybody's face is buried in their phone because they make you do so many things through the stupid MDE app.
Parade crowds! I think I've told this story here before, but one time I was in the Magic Kingdom with what was later confirmed as walking pneumonia, feeling very sick and trying to get back to the hotel. But the parade crowd was so heavy that when I asked a CM for help they said unless I literally needed to be evacuated in an ambulance there was nothing they could do to get me out.
Melissa : I had never heard of “walking pneumonia “ before until I started getting weak, tired and a cough in October if 2017 and was diagnosed with it. It wouldn’t go away. And into December I had 2 more doctor visits. Still telling me I had walking pneumonia. In January I was getting really weak and then they discovered it wasn’t walking pneumonia it a failing heart valve!! And in 5 days I was having valve repair surgery!!
So anyone out there: if a nurse , nurse practitioner or a doctor says you have walking pneumonia: DEMAND A CHEST X-RAY or a second opinion!!
TokyoMagic!, yes, the Grad Nite thing is octagonal. I had no idea that it was a dog tag for a Pluto doll, at least that would make the price seem a LITTLE more reasonable. Did you graduate from high school from all of those years?? ;-)
Melissa, that girl was sort of pre-New Wave, pre-Ska, and pre-something else!
DrGoat, I’m not sure I have ever owned anything with a camo pattern. I’ve had Army surplus pants, but not camo. And yes, the thought of leaving Disneyland before it closed was never in my mind until that night. I couldn’t believe it.
Steve DeGaetano, gosh, has Main Street Station’s color scheme changed a lot?? I guess I’m not very observant. I thought that at least that building stayed more or less the same. And yes, I love that Santa Fe logo.
JB, you make a good point about the guests, post-beating. I guess the Kop would just have to beat them some more!
Melissa, I agree, the thought that they are trying to figure out more ways for you to use your phone while you are in the park is aggravating. The one time I met Tony B., he talked about how they were considering adding features to “It’s a Small World” that would require you to get on your phone. I didn’t say so at the time, but I thought it was a horrible idea. You have mentioned your walking pneumonia (man, my fingers don't want to type that word), it sounds miserable.
Mike Cozart, a failing heart valve, YIKES! Good thing you got it checked out!!
Mike, glad they caught it before it was an emergency. I've transported more than a few people who went to the doctor a day or 2 prior and told it was nothing serious, only to call 911 for a cardiac problem that was missed.
I think the train station needs more pink and blue accents, maybe that "earidescent" scheme they're using on everything at WDW for the 50th.
Major, a few years ago, the WDW iASW added a few of those multilingual "Goodbye" signs at the end of the ride with cleverly hidden computer screens that would show guests' names. It used those magicbands, not phones. I'm not sure if they still do that, though.
The necessity of looking at a phone to visit the parks really feels like a failure. The whole point of the "magic bands" was to come up with an unobtrusive way to integrate technology in the parks. They seem to be abandoning that for more screens. I'd have expected that Disney would have come up with a better interface than the usual phone app, but it seems like the appetite for that kind of innovation is long gone at Disney.
Mike, glad they caught that and that you recovered.
JG
Mike, I echo what JG just said. I’m glad you’re with us, and I’m assuming you’re still doing well, now - I hope and pray!
Melissa, I can’t imagine being sick in WDW and stuck in a crowd. The trip back to your hotel had to be awful, and loooooong. I always say that when you’re sick - away from home - you’d gladly hand over $10,000 to instantly be transported to your home. There’s no place like home.
Re: Keystone kop - “The beatings will continue until morale improves.”
Mike, holy cats! Sorry to hear that happened to you. That’s good advice.
Sue, you can save yourself $10K by bringing along a pair of ruby - or silver - slippers.
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