Monday, August 08, 2022

Omnibus, June 1970

If you're going to build a bus, and you want to carry more passengers, you might consider making your bus longer, or wider (or both). But you could also add a second story to your vehicle! GENIUS! Let's call it the "Omnibus", shall we? 

Here's a nice photo of an Omnibus as it passed the Swift Market House. Ironically, the market house just sat there, it wasn't swift at all. The folks on the upper level can see into the second story windows, I hope that the people inside are "decent". What if a child saw a bare ankle? There's nothing more shameful or traumatizing. Notice that C&H Sugar gets a mention on the Market House sign, they shared the space starting in 1965, but 1970 would be their final year. 


This next one is from a different lot, but is also dated "June, 1970". The bus is jam-packed! Those guests will ride all the way to the Plaza, while the rest of the suckers have to walk. Let's point at them and laugh, shall we? You can throw things too, just don't be too obvious about it.   

15 comments:

TokyoMagic! said...

This is 1970. Clear all passengers off of the Omnibus, so that E.J. Peaker and The Osmonds can come aboard. (She has always wanted to ride on one of these!)

Omni-bus. Omni Magazine. Do you think there's a connection?

MIKE COZART said...

Wow!! Look at Main Street USA !! It looks like a real town or street scape ….. no annual pass-holders lining up on the curb 9 hours before the parade starts!! And guests looking around and taking in the sights of beautiful Disneyland and not with their heads down in their phones!

Actually ANY bus is a OMNIBUS …. ( it’s from a Greek word to carry everyone - for everyone) The term was basically obsolete by the 1930’s and now we just say “bus” - the same way we no longer say TAXI ( Greek to make payment) CABRIOLET or TAXIMETER COACH , and just say TAXI or CAB. The Ancient Romans had forms of omnibuses that served the city. After the ancient Roman’s There were only long distance road coaches ( stagecoaches - also called celerity coaches) and private city coaches a traveler could pay for , but between Ancient Rome and 1820’s New York City there were NO public city transports for the masses - they walked. The first modern city omnibus ( horse drawn ) debuts in New York City in 1827 .. “the Broadway-Bleecker - Wallstreet City Omnibus company . By 1829 New York City had two omnibus companies. At the time people referred to them as “SOCIABLES” because of the group seating arrangements . By the 1850’s the term OMNIBUS becomes common. Shortly after the debut of the American public city transport service similar services began to show up in London , Paris , Berlin. The first double-deck omnibus with a set of stairs debuts in the 1870’s in Philadelphia. The first double deck omnibuses in London were were built in the United States by the John Stephenson Company Limited of New York. The horse drawn street cars of Disneyland Paris are also based on Stephenson products and used their #323 1888-1890 Deluxe Enclosed horse drawn streetcar model.

…… “The More You Know……”

LTL said...

Mike Cozart, thanks for history of public transit, I will share some of this with my son who is interested in urban planning/design.

Major, the second photo shows the short-lived water cannon that would tease a blast at the Omnibus riders... but just when you thought you made it past, it would fire and drench the people in the back.

JG said...

Major, these are good clear pics of Omnibae, (Latin plural of omnibus).

These appear to be the earlier two-story model. Later, the invention of the elevator in the 1880’s would allow creation of multi-story Omnibae that were too tall to move, and became known as “skyscrapers”.

I see two trash cans in photo 2, but none in photo 1. Must be behind the vehicle. I think Bambi is in the bank window?

Thanks for starting the week off right!

JG

Melissa said...

At first I thought that kid in the front of the top level was wearing boxing gloves, but it's just his red Mickey balloon. I'm glad he's not cruising Main Street looking for characters to punch.

For the life of me, I can't figure out what the second attraction poster on the Omnibus is for. (Between the Autopia and Jungle Cruise.) The artwork looks kind of like the Haunted Mansion, but the lettering looks more like "LEMON CLERIC." Can anybody with better eyesight or attraction poster knowledge help me out?

Chuck said...

Melissa, that is an adaptation of the Rainbow Caverns attraction poster.

I think the Lemon Cleric attraction would have been awesome.

Major Pepperidge said...

TokyoMagic!, no mere mortals can withstand the beauty of the Osmond’s voices! It would drive everyone mad. “Omni Magazine”, there’s a blast from the past!

Mike Cozart, the park has certainly changed, and not just due to the people to run the park, but because the locals have completely changed the way we all visit. It’s no fun, but I don’t know what they can do about it. It sounds like Omnibuses, along with many other old vehicles, are one of your interests! I also think of the term “omnibus” as a book that is a collection of stories, such as an omnibus of Arthur C. Clarke’s books. Thanks for all the info!

LTL, that water cannon is a feature that they should definitely bring back!

JG, I actually wonder if anybody ever built a bus that was more than two levels? It wouldn’t surprise me! I wanted to see if “Bambi” had been rereleased to theaters in 1970, but it wasn’t (1966, and 1975 were the closest)… but that doesn’t mean they couldn’t have a Bambi display in their window!

Melissa, if you wear boxing gloves it makes it hard to bite your nails. Just sayin’. And the poster in question is for Rainbow Caverns! This was long after the Lemon Cleric attraction had been removed.

Major Pepperidge said...

Chuck, great minds think alike!

Anonymous said...

I saw Lemon Cleric open for Sunshine Balloon in 1968 at the Tomorrowland Stage.

JG

Kathy! said...

In the first photo, the giant horse head is about to devour them all! I see a cute lil pirate ship in a window too. In the second photo, there are some nice souvenir feather hats. And Mr. Yellow Shirt has worn his coordinating yellow socks, nice. Speaking of yellow, is there a yellow character in the window to the far left of Bambi, or is that something else? (Family Circus dad voice) “Kids, stop playing on the stairs!” Thanks, Major.

Anonymous said...

I can only assume this was taken in the first couple weeks of June after Memorial Day. The park would be pleasantly uncrowded then. I'd tell everyone to visit then. KS

JB said...

Ooh, attraction posters! Let's see, there's: (left to right) the Skyway, 20,000 Leagues, Frontierland, Enchanted Tiki Room, and of course, Rocket to the Moon. ;-p
Seriously though, what IS that second poster? The text looks like "Brain Sludge", although that might not be right. I don't think I've ever seen this one before. (Edit: I see Melissa mentioned it first. Lemon Cleric? That's just silly.)
Oh, and the driver has his finger up his nose.

#2: Gee, I wonder if the two boys on the right are related? Same shoes, same socks, same shorts, same hairstyle (sorta). Oh, but different colored shirts... so, no. Not related. Mom is too busy scrolling through her iPhone to notice her surroundings.

Tokyo!, you left out Omni Hotels.

Mike, thanks for all the "bus" info. I didn't know that the double-decker buses were made in the U.S. first, and then sent to London.

JG, thanks for the origin story of skyscrapers. Who knew?

Chuck, hmm, Rainbow Caverns. Are you sure? Because it looks like "Brain Sludge". The poster even has that drippy goo running down on the right. (Somebody needs a kleenex.)

Thanks, Major. Was today's post late in getting published? It wouldn't come up on my computer at 12:01 last night.

DBenson said...

In "The Cameraman", Buster Keaton gets separated from his date on an omnibus and adjusts:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uesWJm0IIec

A Charley Chase short, "Bromo and Juliet", features a sneaky omnibus gag. Charley, in costume for a play, pads his skinny legs with sponges and sets out for the theater. After some incidents with bootleg liquor he is pursued by a cop. Start at the 14 minute mark:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qcd6wgt16Y

The Harold Lloyd feature "For Heaven's Sake" ends with Harold's drunken buddies trying to get him to his wedding on time. Around the 48 minute mark they hijack an omnibus:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wq9AblAPRv8

Be aware that emulating any of these will likely get you ejected from the park.

DrGoat said...

I didn't know they used those cannons to shoot water. I knew they were real 19th century 3" artillery pieces, but I didn't know that one shot water at the Omnibus! Guess I missed that one. I always like the cannons in the square. Real spiffy looking ones of course. All the boys did I'm sure. A perfect spot for a pic of your loved ones around the field piece pointed right at you.

Major Pepperidge said...

JG, was that when Jimi Hendrix was in Lemon Cleric?

Kathy!, ha ha, I read your comment and thought, “Giant horse head?!”. Now I get it. Maybe the windows featured a bunch of the most-loved Disney animated features, somehow I feel like I remember something like that when I was a kid. I just can’t quite make out what that yellow thing is, it might be a character…

KS, oh if only I could go back to those days!

JB, er… um… er… indutidably? I’m glad you recognize the Brain Sludge attraction, one of Walt’s favorites. Doesn’t that driver know that he is supposed to put TWO fingers up his nose while at Disneyland? I’d say it’s safe to assume that those boys are brothers. Dress ‘em alike, no muss, no fuss. As for double-decker buses, I am sure I saw one on the Flintstones once, so they must get full credit. Yes, today’s post was late, I have a big gap in posts, a dumb error. That’s OK, later tonight I can just move some posts from December and fill in that gap, but it was a real dumb move.

DBenson, I love “The Cameraman” (and so many other Keaton classics), so fun. I’ll have to check out the Charley Chase film later, I don’t think I’ve ever seen one of his movies! And while I’ve seen lots of Harold Lloyd, I have not seen “For Heaven’s Sake”. I took a film class in college just so I could watch a bunch of movies that I would have never seen otherwise, and the teacher started out with a lot of silents. He even had an actress come in and talk to us, she was ancient - I remember her talking about Douglas Fairbanks. But sadly I don’t remember what her name was!!

DrGoat, it is just possible that LTL was pulling our collective legs! Maybe it would be fun if they did an effect similar to what we see on “Pirates of the Caribbean”, with smoke and an orange light, and a loud BANG! That would wake people up in a hurry.