Beautiful & Early Main Street Vehicles
I have two very nice early Disneyland slides to share with you today, featuring some of those beloved Main Street vehicles. No, not the Steamroller, and not the Paddy Wagon. Sorry.
Check out this wonderful look at the Chemical Wagon (aka the horse-drawn firetruck), from a slide that may or may not be from 1955. It's early, at any rate. The wagon is pulled by two tiny white horses, are they 5/8 scale? It's late in the day (look at those long, slanting shadows), I wonder if they were just about to put the wagon away for the evening? The driver and his fellow fireman are discussing the latest gossip with a man on horseback. Who is he? Did he ride up and down Main Street back in those days? Did he wander over from Frontierland? Maybe he was the ghost of an Anaheim rancher from 100 years earlier. (Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you).
Next is a neat photo from July 20, 1960, featuring one of the Surreys (I believe that there were two, this one and a reddish brown example as well) in Town Square. Man, that thing is packed, like a can of sardines! Maybe it's an optical illusion, but the horses look a bit larger than the two that pulled the Chemical Wagon. Notice the little information booth to the left, and the Police Station to the right of that.
Two lucky kids get to ride up front with the driver! One young boy wears a Keppy Kap, it appears to be a rarer version (from what I can see).
Whenever I have an exact date on a slide, I love to refer to "Jason's Disneyland Almanac" for some fun facts. 7/20/1960 was a Wednesday; the park was open from 9:00 until midnight. Attendance was 28,563. And the high temperature was a blazing 107ยบ! By the evening it cooled down to a more pleasant 65. Thank you, Jason's Almanac!
12 comments:
Major-
Based on the 'style/pattern' of the coat being worn by that 'man on horseback' - he's actually from the future.
107°-! I'm sweating just reading about it.
Thanks, Major.
I can absolutely say, with 100% complete confidence, that the man on horseback is Fess Parker. That is the same style of hat that he wore when he played Davy Crockett, and the exact same outfit, too. ;-)
The lady on the other side of the Surrey looks like she's wearing a nurse's uniform. But I'm not sure about that hat, as fabulous as it may be.
Maybe the guy on the horse is one of the Dominguez family members? He showed up one day to see what Walt had done to his orange and walnut grove, "What the...? Where are all my fruit and nut tees? How does Mr. Disney expect to make a profit with all the trees gone?"
There's a clarity to this scan that almost makes it look surreal. Very nice!
One of the 5/8 scale horses is looking at the larger horse, "Whoa! I didn't know we came in extra-large sizes!" The horse didn't realize the irony of him saying "Whoa!".
At 10¢ per person, adult and child, that particular surrey ride garnered at least a whole dollar! Ka-ching! Walt will have those loans paid off in no time! With enough left over for the upcoming '67 Tomorrowland renovation.
Thanks for the transportation photos, Major; 2-legged, 4-legged, and wheeled.
Major- Nice vehicle photos today, thanks.
TokyoMagic!- About the lady next to the surrey that's dressed like a nurse, her hat looks a lot like the one Speedy Alka Seltzer wore.
-DW
DW, you're right! That's a large Alka Seltzer tablet on her head! Hey, be careful when using the drinking fountains, lady! You'll be fizzing all over the park.
The guy in the plaid jacket is obviously a used horse dealer. He’s not trying to make a sale but inquiring about a career change in response to that recruiting poster out front. Hey - I answered the alarm this morning! I wonder if I’m qualified to apply…
Check out the shopping bag two people to the left of Ms. Seltzer. I don’t recall seeing that one before. I wonder what’s in it? Probably a Mark Olszewski Haunted Mansion; they sometimes have those in stock at the Disneyana store.
JB, the first photo is surreal. The next two are surreyl.
At used car dealership, you kick tires, At used horse dealership, tires kick you!
I think I remember the Fire Wagon, but always inside, and the surreys are completely new to me.
Surrey Drivers negotiated hard for those fringe benefits.
Notice how organized the Bekins facade is in the original, before the Ill-considered Global reflagging. The original signs all work with the architecture and don’t block the attic door.
Thanks Major, unusual stuff today.
JG
That might be Elizabeth Taylor during her Alka Seltzer phase.
What else is on that Slue Foot Sue poster? Foot is a funny looking word this morning.
Thanks, Major
Zach
Nanook, could that be a Pendleton coat??
TokyoMagic!, it is always nice to be confident. ;-) I’d love it if it turned out to really be Fess Parker! As for that lady, she does look like a nurse, except for that weird hat. Maybe she has a little cup with meds in it for me?
JB, the funny thing about the guy on the horse is… I believe I have another photo of him somewhere in my collection. Or at least a guy wearing a very similar coat. It’s in one of my unscanned boxes, so who knows when I will get to it! But when I do, it’s going to the the blog post of the century. I hope. I’m sure the horse-drawn Main Street vehicles were not money makers, but they added so much atmosphere to the place. Walt knew it was worth it! And that’s probably why we keep hearing about their potential demise. Atmosphere, shmatmosphere!
DW, plop plop, fizz fizz!
TokyoMagic!, thank goodness we live in a time when Alka Seltzer is only an inch or so in diameter. Those poor people from the 50s! Where do you even find a water glass that is big enough?
Chuck, the man on horseback wants to be a fireman, but only if he’s allowed to slide down the pole a few times a day. Otherwise, forget it! You know, I always set my alarm, but am rarely awakened by it. I almost always wake up before it beeps. Because I am great, you see. Good eye on that bag, I don’t recall seeing one like it before either. Neat! Also, congrats on spelling “Olszewski”, which is always a challenge.
Melissa, you’ve been possessed by the spirit of Yakov Smirnoff! And he’s not even dead!
JG, yes, I don’t believe that I have ever seen the Chemical Wagon out and about, though I did get to see it up close and personal months ago. I’m so glad it’s still there! I know what you mean about the Global Van Lines sign, and yet… I loved their truck, so I can’t feel too negative about them.
zach, which husband was Liz on at this point?! To the left of the Slue Foot Sue poster, I can vaguely make out the words “Slue Foot Su’s GOLDEN HORSESHOE”. I an see the names “Wally Boag” and “Judy Marsh” (the original Slue Foot Sue), and I’m sure Donald Novis’ name is there somewhere.
Horses add a lot to the overall atmosphere of Main Street and it shouldn’t be discounted. Today it’s just too crowded for all of it. Main Street has become the hustle and bustle of crazy town USA (unfortunately). I’m not sure if they even use any other horses in parades or whatnot like they did at one time. Hopefully, the horse cars will stay as a nod to the past…I checked prices for a day in June and it was over $140…a far reach from a dime. It would be nice to experience a Private Party night of 14k people, with a park like atmosphere, and horses on the street. I don’t know if that’s Fess Parker…doesn’t seem to add up to my memory of him. He was kind of a giant. That guy looks very “sheriff-y”. Fess was kind of hardscrabble. (A word I like to use a lot.). Alka Hat is fantastic…and I’m sure she knows it. Was unclear that Global “TRE’d” its predecessor…but I get it. Horsey guy looks like he did stroll in from Frontierland . This is why they did the Utilidors in WDW…it makes sense that in a midwestern town there would be a horse or two strolling about. It’s always fun to see horses randomly strolling through NYC…they are cops, but nice to hear the clip clop. Was nice to see the “shift change” of horses on Main Street as well. The horses leaving would get sooooooooo excited…like squirming and wiggling and jumping around a bit when they saw the other horses coming. They knew that food was imminent. It wasn’t a social commentary on “WE WANNA BREAK”. The horses really love to work and be in service. Food = excited. They were like giant puppies though that didn’t know how big they were. Thanks for the Equine’s this morning Major!
Back then, you had to drop the giant Alka-Selzter down the well and hope the whole village had heartburn at the same time.
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