Main Street, 1950s
Almost any photos of Disneyland from the '50s will make me happy, and today's examples are no exception.
This family (Dad, Mom, Grandma, er... Aunt?, and three kids) stand in front of the turnstiles. The sign above their heads says "Pass Entrance", presumably for complimentary guest passes, or maybe to be used by those lucky folks who had annual passes handed out by Walt Disney. If these folks just arrived, they got to the park late; look at those long shadows as the sun was on its way down. I don't understand why anybody would do that, but in those days, visitors from out of state would sometimes try to do Knott's and Disneyland in one day. Crazy.
Here's a "you are there" photo taken from aboard a Streetcar. Look at how busy Main Street is, with another Streetcar heading toward us, an Omnibus, and the horse-drawn Chemical Wagon. Four vehicles in one picture!
18 comments:
Major-
Since the population 'seems to be' 5,000,000, that would place the image from some time starting as early as October, 1956; with perhaps it being as late as December, 1957 - when the Park hit the 10 Million mark. (Based on the clothing worn, December seems a bit late - but one can never be too certain).
Thanks, Major.
The kid in the hat has his pants cuffs rolled up about 4 inches. He should grow into them about the time he starts high school. Of course, long before then he'll wear holes in his knees and Mom will have to repair them with iron-on patches. Those pants look really stiff, too. They'd make good roofing material.
The kid in the Chemical Wagon is wearing, what looks like, an alpine hat. But I don't see any ostrich feather sticking up.
A stroller is hitching a ride on the back of the Omnibus.
Trashcans: I see one for sure; the rest (if any) are too iffy.
Do you suppose our Streetcar will stop on that passing-section of track and wait for the approaching Streetcar to catch up?
Major, It appears that these photos suffered from the "murk monster" disease. I'm sure you worked some magic on them to make them more presentable; thank you.
I assumed "Pass Entrance" was the instructions for what to do if you couldn't afford a ticket.
Traffic on Main Street that isn’t pedestrians heading to Wookiee world!
That entry turnstile picture sure brings back memories.
I see two trash cans and a possible third, at the corners.
Since this photo is “probably” pre-1957, the cans are still go-away green and the bright colors haven’t been adopted yet, harder to see them.
JB, iron-on patches! Mom would put them on the inside of the leg so they were less obvious. I seem to recall one store selling “double-knee” jeans stiff enough to stand up in the corner.
Thanks Major!
JG
Since they are at the "Pass" entrance, maybe they really did have annual passes so showing up late wasn't a big deal? Or maybe they were actually leaving and realized they never got an "in front of the park" picture? Or maybe they are time travellers who didn't calculate their machine accurately enough? Or maybe stripes and polka-dots can go together on alternate Thursdays? The possiblilties are endless! (except I just ran out...)
The lady in the tiny cap in the first is wearing pearls to Disneyland! Wow! The family almost looks like they're posing for another camera -- maybe Uncle or Grandpa was simultaneously taking a photo too. I think I'll buy a jar of jam to use as a quick snack as I make my way towards to castle. Thanks, Major.
Nanook, I like your scientific method! I was going to just half-ass it and guess “maybe around 1956”.
JB, I admit that it amuses me to see boys with cuffs like that. I’m sure he will have a growth spurt, but like you said, by then those pants will have holes in the knees. I remember my mom having to resort to iron-on patches, those awful stiff things that would start to peel off eventually. I can’t tell if that kid is wearing a Tyrolean hat or not, the photo is just too indistinct. Good eye on the stroller on the Omnibus, I don’t think I’ve ever seen that before! I can only assume that streetcar protocol was to wait for both vehicles to be on that passing area at the same time.
Melissa, I wonder what kind of passes they were referring to? Complimentary passes? Or did they have some other sort in those days?
JG, I do miss that old entrance, although I feel like my memories have been augmented by oodles of photos. My mom sometimes put the iron-on patches on the inside as well, which I preferred, but honestly, they didn’t work that great. You can still buy double-knee jeans, I think they are for construction workers and the like.
Stu29573, some lucky people had gold or silver passes issued by Walt, or at least by the studio; maybe someone in this family worked for the company! Man, that would have been the way to go. The difference between the gold and silver passes had to do with how many guests you were allowed to bring with you.
Kathy!, we do sometimes see ladies wearing pearls, or mink stoles, or long white gloves. It’s awesome! In about four months you’ll see a post relating to the Jams and Jellies store!
@ Stu29573-
Disneyland first issued Annual Passports in September, 1984 (September, 1982 for WDW); so this 'Pass' must be referring to something else. And being as this image can't be any newer than 1957 - one wonders just what sort of pass it is... [A Silver or Gold one seems the most-likely, as The Major already stated].
Major-
"In about four months you’ll see a post relating to the Jams and Jellies store!" Where's the Puffin Bake Shop-?? (I'm a big fan, if you can't tell-!) Okay - not really; but someone needs to step up to the plate and defend these early 'lessee's' in the Park. (Admittedly, the Sunny View Farms Jams and Jellies is an opening day lessee, and The 'ol bake shop didn't appear until July, 1960 - but still).
JG, yeah, my mom ironed the patches on the inside, too; for the reason you stated. Of course, they were still very prominent when seen from the outside. They looked liked hockey shin-guards.
Kathy!, I think you're right about the alternate photographer theory. They all seem to looking at someone else.
Major, those patches made stiff jeans even stiffer. I remember tapping on one of the patches once; it made a sort of dull, hollow, scratchy sound. Like tapping on a microphone to see if it's on (but not amplified). And yes, they did tend to peel.
That's quite a shot of the horse's rear end. Don't follow too close and have a shovel ready. Thanks, Major!
Ken, you just got me wondering...I would assume at least one or two CM’s were always on watch for any ‘accidents.’ It would be interesting to hear stories and/or facts about that job, from Mike or Bu or somebody.
-Sue
Nanook, I always see that date of 1984 as the first year annual passes were offered, but I had one in 1983. I think 1984 was the first year they were offered to the general public, and in 1983, they were offered to Magic Kingdom Club members, only.
I meant to specify Disneyland annual passes.
It looks like Nanook's demographic research and JG's skubalochronology support a similar date range. It's nice to see the hard sciences backing each other up.
The “pass” entrance would be WDP Silver passes , RETLAW passes and other executive corporate passes … Santa Fe, United Airlines, Goodyear etc….
Nanook, I do like the name “Puffin Bake Shop”, it was run by those funny little birds with the colorful beaks. I am unaware of any paper ephemera that was directly linked to the Puffin Bake Shop, but there might be some. If so, I need it!
JB, I know that my mom needed to make those pants last as long as possible, having four kids and a Navy salary. I do remember my mom having a package of plaid iron-ons, and that I was super embarrassed when she put one on the outside of a torn knee. Funny how even then I knew it was not cool!
K. Martinez, it’s hard to not get a photo of a horse’s rear end from a Streetcar!
Sue, I always assumed that it was up to the sweepers to deal with any horse stuff. They used to have those sweepers with the trash cans on wheels, just like they used in cities at the turn of the last century, probably mostly for just such an instance.
TokyoMagic!, oh boy, I’ll bet you were pretty thrilled to have an annual pass in ’83! Still an amazing time to visit the park.
TokyoMagic!, it’s too late, there are no take-backsies!
Chuck, that’s the beauty of science, it is based on real, verifiable data. This is why I hope my niece goes into skubalochronology.
Mike Cozart, aha. I own some of those vintage passes, it must have been pretty sweet to be able to go to Disneyland as much as you wanted in a year. I’ll bet the users did not abuse the privilege the way they probably would now.
@ TM!-
Why am I not surprised to hear that 1984 date is incorrect-? I was a bit less than confident while rooting through the internet trying to verify that date. Probably everyone was "verifying" the date by looking at all the other 'wrong' entires, with that same wrong date.
Nanook, everyone knows that true facts only come from WDW bus drivers.
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