Town Square, December 1950s
Well, it took a while, but I'm finally getting into the holiday spirit. "What holiday, Major P?". Christmas, you nut! Both of today's scans are from "sometime in the 1950s", possibly 1956 or '57.
The park has just opened, and guests are making their way from the parking lot, through the turnstiles, beneath the train tracks, and into Town Square, which is still wet from its nightly scrubbing. There's a chill in the air, but nothing too bad. A light sweater will do! Our group walked through the west tunnel, and turned right; maybe they are going to head up the steps for a ride on the Disneyland and Santa Fe Railroad.
Zooming in, we can see one of the early painted plywood decorations on the Opera House, an old fashioned (Dickensian?) coach, loaded with a tree and wrapped presents (I think I see a Playstation). There's a group of people listening intently to somebody (over to our left), I'd hoped that a tour guide would be there, but I don't see the familiar Tartan plaid. Notice the Streetcar just beyond them.
Just a few steps farther in, and our photographer looked to his left. Town Square looks great, though the Christmas tree is pretty modest compared to later examples. I love the garlands hanging above Main Street.
There's another painted plywood decoration about the Emporium doorway. And I just noticed that there's a man in the first photo wearing a green cap, and there are two more men wearing similar green caps here. I wonder what that was about?
19 comments:
Major-
If these images are from no later than 1957, that would explain why there's no tour guide in sight: they weren't there yet. 1958 would be it. Based on the 'drabness' of the 'fashions', I wouldn't think the date to be too much later.
Thanks, Major.
Tiptoe, through the turnstiles,
'neath the train tracks, that is where I'll be.
Come tiptoe, into Town Square with meeee.
#1- I'm not sure the Opera House porch roof can withstand the weight of four horses and a carriage full of gifts. At first I thought they were reindeer and Santa's sleigh. But then I spotted the horsey tails. (and I also read your commentary) ;-)
The Omnibus looks like it is listing to the right.
The close up- The guy in the center is looking right at us. How did he spot the photographer through all those people? Maybe he knows the picture taker and he's the person the photographer was aiming at? Except he's not in the center of the uncropped photo... and he's too far away. WHY IS HE STARING AT US?!
Town Square- My, that is one sparsely decorated Christmas tree. I wonder what the Pointer Sisters are pointing at? Maybe they're pointing at the two ladies just to their right, flummoxed at the thought of them wearing unsensible high heels to the Park.
It seems as though clothing styles were much more varied back then, than they are now. Even though, as Nanook says, the colors were more drab.
The close up- I noticed the green caps, too, Major. The two wearers in the second photo are ladies; which deepens the mystery. Is there such a thing as the Tam o'Shanter Club?
Thanks for the people-watching, Major.
The Omnibus looks like it is listing to the right.
JB, Irene Dunne is walking around on the lower level. She's carrying a bottle of champagne and looking for an appropriate surface for christening the vehicle. It's the only possible explanation.
T first glance, I thought the upper level of the Bank of America was on fire, but it turns out those are just red ribbons on wreaths. Note the cutout of the Virgin Mary over the bank entrance.
Thanks for getting me into the holiday spirit this morning!
In the first pic, to the left of the lady wearing the yellow sweater, is a lady who's adjusting her burlap potato sack cape. It was the latest Jaques Marcel fashion trend, from Paris.
Ha! I see what you did, TM!
—Sue
JB, and here I am without my ukulele!
Little Boy Blue in the first picture is so excited he's blurry. Look at all those elegant ladies in their Sunday-go-to-meetin' clothes! Maybe the green-capped fellows are on a group outing with the Ancient Order of Hibernians.
Nice drab photos for a gray day (here at least). I like the simple decorations better than today’s berserk glitz.
I’m stumped by the Green Hat Brigade, never seen or heard anything like that before, on civilians at least.
Thanks Major, good Christmas fare today.
JG
Nanook, I thought that there were tour guides, just not the official Cicely Rigdon-lead guides? I’m probably mistaken.
JB, Walt had the foresight to use depleted uranium when building the Opera House, so that thing can withstand a force 1000 hurricane if need be. ‘Cause that’s how Walt rolled! I think that the guy looking at the camera is not looking at the photographer, but at US, some 60+ years later. It’s creepy! I sort of like the more humble tree, it feels more “real”, like the kind you might have found in a midwestern town. Even though the 50-foot tall versions are spectacular, I do admit. And yes, I later noticed that two of the “men” wearing the green caps are actually ladies! Maybe they were all in a group and the green hats were a way of spotting each other if they got lost in a crowd.
TokyoMagic!, Irene Dunne always had a bottle of champagne, if you know what I’m saying (makes gulping noises while drinking from an imaginary bottle). And she did like to hit people with it.
Chuck, just because there are wreaths with ribbons doesn’t mean that the Bank of America isn’t also on fire. Don’t be so negative! And yes, now that you have pointed it out, I don’t think I’ve ever seen that cutout of the Virgin Mary before.
TokyoMagic!, I’m warning you! I don’t even know exactly what you are referring to, but I know enough!
Sue, don’t encourage him.
Melissa, this is another one of those photos where I assume it was a Sunday, people look so nice (in general). But maybe it was just the times. I prefer the New Hibernians, with the cool New Wave hairdos.
JG, Town Square looks so fun in these photos, bustling with people (in a good way), and bedecked with those wonderful Christmas decorations… if I knew what day that was, I’d set my time machine to go there right now! As for the green hats, I started thinking about school colors and the Rose Bowl game; Michigan State was in the Jan. 1, 1956 game, and their color is primarily green.
Major, I did some research and found that the Girl Scouts of Orange County have an organization for alumni called the Green Hat Society.
No idea if there is any connection.
JG
Like JG...there is something charming about the simplicity of the decorating. But the tree...it may still have been under construction because that is WAY too simple. Too bad you don't know the specific date this was taken! I mean...where are the lead icicles?? KS
JG, the Green Hat Society! I'm sure they did all sorts of dark and bloody deeds! Since all of the people wearing green hats (in today's scans) are adults (including a grown man), I'm leaning more towards fans of Michigan State. Who knows!
KS, you have a point, maybe they were still decorating that tree, it does look pretty plain, even if it isn't as tall as they were later. And I always love an exact date... I'd say maybe 1% of my slides have that, unfortunately.
It is possible that there may have been rogue tours going on in '57. They wouldn't have been under Cicely, as I think she was still a ticket seller then, and "real" tours started in '58 as Nanook indicated. There also weren't any costumes in the beginning per se. The program started very ad hoc, (there are many stories written by those who were there.) and somewhat on the fly as communicated to me by Jeanne Grado, one of the first guides. She later became a fixture at Carefree Corner into the 70's and 80's, and they do not build them any more like Jeanne or Cicely!!! Red dress with group is obviously imparting some intel with intently listening guests- this could have been one of those rogue things. As we all know, when the park opened among other things, the concepts were so unheard of and foreign that there were probably some people who visited, got the jist of it, then invited others to take part in their pre-knowledge. The plywood cut outs and the garland are very old fashioned looking and would have been very at home in a real Main Street. All of the plastic now is very molded and perfect with mouse ears and such all over. I like the tree that size, it looks like the tree we have in our little village. Our tree only has lights, and no ornaments. The spartaness of this tree looks appropriate to me. The big tree is impressive, but this tree isn't any shrimp. I would like to see the white flocked ones in the castle moat too. FYI: the current Christmas parade is actually pretty good...some IP...things...and a little sterile, but there is a large cast, lots of dancing and pretty girls. Only wish it ended with the Glock Girls! They were the best after the googly-eye reindeers. I think one year we had real reindeer on something...could I be mistaken? Oh....I think we had them at Big Thunder Ranch where Santa made appearances. A nursery near me brings in live Reindeer every year and it is quite the thing...they even get corporate sponsors for it...the nursery does have the most amazing fresh garlands, in multitudes of tree and bush types...definately an indulgence. I bought them for an event I was designing....tens of thousands of dollars for garland that after a few hours came down...I gave them all to the cater-waiters and the rest of the staff....I should dig out those photos- It was something I did last minute, and was probably one of the best things I ever have done. I am not a "Ho Ho Ho...Christmas kind of dude" however, I do get an A+ for understanding the delicate balance between "overdone" and "appropriate" if I do say so myself.
Enjoyed your insight Bu. Seems to me I once saw a picture of a tour guide on the back of a Vacationland magazine dressed in a sort of a tailored blue blazer. Wonder if that was an early tour guide uniform?
This is the first time I've seen the plywood cutouts. Wonder if they ended up as Christmas decorations on someone's lawn? Which reminds me ..back in the early 60s or late 50s there was a street in the San Fernando Valley where many of the houses were decorated for Christmas which included Disney character cutouts. The story was that a Disney artist lived on the street and did all the cutouts and let his neighbors display them.
@ Bu-
"I do get an A+ for understanding the delicate balance between "overdone" and "appropriate" if I do say so myself". OH... if only Disney had just the slightest idea of that concept-!
As I'm always heard screaming on these 'pages': Less is more. It REALLY can be. But as Disney lacks any sort of 'filtering' these days, all we get is More is never enough-! 'Tis more the pity; as Disney, more than anyone, really could create greatness with restraint, but that idea seems to be lost to the ages - permanently-!
Chiming in late today.
My mom was one of the original "official" tour guides in 1958-59. They definitely wore tailored blazer and skirt costumes with a beret type hat. Very plain looking. I can see why they were changed after a short run.
Bu, I’ve seen a number of photos of tour guides, pre-plaid. They wore white blouses, blue jackets, and a red beret. But I don’t have a date, so we still might be talking about 1958 or so. I’m looking at the smiles on some of the guest’s faces, and am making the assumption that this might be their first visit to Disneyland, and that they are extremely charmed by Town Square and Main Street. As they should be! I’m not sure I’ve seen plywood cutouts like the ones on MS, but they “feel” right. I personally feel like lights are more important than ornaments on Christmas trees, though ornaments can be fun and can express personal taste. Or you can have those pipe cleaner and glitter ornaments that your kid made in 2nd grade. I do love a good white flocked tree, especially when they have all-red ornaments. Or I once saw a photo of a “tree-less tree”, with ornaments and candles suspended in the shape of a tree. Kind of fun in a mid-century way. Now that my family mostly spends Christmas at my sister’s home, we do almost nothing ourselves. I almost put up some lights, but got lazy.
Sunday Night, yes, the blue blazer! I have one or two photos of guides dressed like that as well. It was definitely the early version of the uniform. I would love to believe that the plywood cutouts wound up in someone’s yard or on their home, and not in the dump. I’m not sure what street you are talking about (with all the decorated homes), but six or seven years ago I went to a part of Woodland Hills that temporarily went by the name “Candy Cane Lane”, hundreds and hundreds of people were there to stroll around and look at the homes with their extreme decor. And then we’d laugh at the Grinches who turned off all their lights.
Nanook, based on what I’ve read, most guests LOVE the “more is more” ethos, there is no such thing as tasteful restraint. If the park is in the business of making guests happy, I guess they succeeded, but it would be nice to see a little class.
Grant, YES, you’ve generously sent me photos where we can see your mom (and other guides) in those outfits! I think the costumes are fun, but the plaid was definitely an eye-catcher.
Major-
I don't doubt for a second how much LOVE the fans - regular and über - have with the over-the-top approach to everything Disney does; the problem is, it's ALL Disney's fault. They've ceded control of the horse, and it's running away with the cart in tow. This is all the public knows, now, and any diminution of what is most-surely 'excess for the sake of excess' would be interpreted as yet another "gyp" for the Disney guest - as the prices continue to go up, and the value continues to go down. But in this case, Less would be more.
As Main Street receded from a thing that resonated with some guests' memories to a place no guest ever experienced, it became Historical American Fantasyland. That made it "reasonable" to go with over the top decorations no real town would ever have.
Bu - I'd like to see those photos of the place you decorated. Some of the best projects are done on a tight timeline.
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