Main Street at Night, September 1971
I am very happy to be able to share more of Lou Perry's wonderful photos of Disneyland, courtesy of his daughter, Sue B. This time we get to see Main Street at night - as you know, vintage night views are pretty scarce. These are from September, 1971, and I would imagine that it was a warm and pleasant evening.
I love this first one, you can sense the energy from the busy street as folks head toward the castle (I wonder if this was a Friday or a Saturday?). The lights on the buildings blaze here, making Main Street one of the most spectacular nighttime destinations. I see a glowing red tail light, is that from the Motorized Fire Truck?
The Disneyland Emporium, where you could find so many wonderful souvenirs. Just don't buy any books, who wants to read? Nerds, am I right?
Zooming in, we can see that the Emporium windows are showing scenes from "Pinocchio", which was in fact reissued in 1971. To the left is a scene that had Pinoke skipping to school, before being waylaid by Honest John and Gideon. I believe that the middle scene showed Pinocchio on stage; and then he is held prisoner in a birdcage before being set free by the Blue Fairy.
This one is pretty dark, but we can still see the Magic Shop and the Main Street Cinema.
THANK YOU, Lou and Sue!
13 comments:
Major, I think you're right about the middle window of the Emporium displaying the "I got no strings" stage. Probably my favorite song from the movie; bouncy! Was Pinocchio aboard Stromboli's wagon when he was inside the birdcage?
I think these nighttime photos from Lou Perry create a "you are there" feeling, more than the daytime photos. I can imagine feeling that the air is still warm from the day's heat, but not overly so. Hearing snippets of people's conversations around you as you walk down the Street. Hearing Disney, and ragtime, music playing, and the occasional Main Street vehicle trundling by. The sweet smell of the candy shop. All in all, a very cozy, pleasant, and magical (yes, I said 'magical') mood.
Thanks to Lou & Sue for the photos. To Major for hosting them. And to all three for letting me walk down Main Street in the warm evening air once again.
These are some beautiful nighttime shots! In that first pic, we can seen the "Rx" in the stained glass above the window on the far left. There is also a mortar and pestle in stained glass, on either side of the "Rx." I think I have pointed that out before, in another nighttime shot....maybe even one of Lou's pics. We can also see the three dimensional mortar and pestle light hanging over the doorway (above the word "Company" on the Carnation building's sign).
I love the fact that we can see the Pinocchio displays in the windows, in the second pic. Thanks for that close-up, Major! Now if only those rude people had not stood between Lou and the window! ;-)
I miss the regular changing of those windows, with each new animated (and sometimes even live-action) film that would be released or re-released. The special windows that they did for the park's 50th anniversary (which were a combination of vintage figures from past window displays) were there for 10 years! That's too long, Disney! But I'm sure that saved them a few dollars, from not having to change it multiple times per year. Sad.
Thank you Lou and Sue, and Major, too!
I think sharing Lou’s photos is appropriate for Kickboxing Day (the day after Sue’s birthday), and these are wonderful.
Note the patriotic bunting on the lamp posts in the first photo. I had always assumed those were just up around Independence Day, but thanks to Lou’s meticulous record-keeping, we know that they were up in September, too,
I love the Pinocchio displays in the Emporium’s windows. I made the mistake of diving into research to confirm my memories of that film’s re-release in 1971 before reading that the Major had already pointed that out, but, honestly, you all know that it doesn’t take much for me to dive into a rabbit hole. I saw it on that re-release, and while I have only the haziest memory of the event, my mother told me that it was one of the most miserable moviegoing experiences off her life. I was apparently up and down and off to the bathroom and squirmy the entire film, so much so that she had to hold my arm, sit me down, and firmly read me the Riot Act to get me to sit still. The fact that she was seven months pregnant probably didn’t help enhance the experience.
Thanks again, Lou & Sue & the Major, too!
"It seems like a new kind of magic takes over at Disneyland after dark." Walt Disney, Disneyland After Dark intro.
I always remember this quote because it's so true. The parks do get even more special when the sun goes down. Maybe it's because the "stage lighting" can be better regulated. Or maybe it's just that evenings tend to be more special. Or maybe it's because by that point in the day, exhaustion has pushed your brain into a kind of hazy altered state of euphoria.
As usual, Lou captured the moment perfectly.
Thanks to Lou, Sue, and Major too!
Nothing beats Main Street at night, period. Little white lights everywhere, and back then, on the Hub olive trees as well.
Are there still lights on the Hub trees? I can’t remember, on my last visit I had to be checking my phone for my Mobile Order tutti-frutti churro or my Wookie World “Lightening” Lane. No time to be looking at trees.
We had probably visited just shortly before these photos were made, since our visit was usually in late August just before school started, but after crop irrigation was wrapped up so we didn’t have to worry about that chore. A little quiet period while the weather is still summer but before the routines change to Fall.
Chuck, I watched Pinocchio in that release too. Major, I still have the large-format Pinocchio story book bought at the Main Street bookstore that year. It has the Disney illustrations.
Thanks Lou, Sue and Major!
JG
Major-
The itty-bitty sign for the Story Book Shop seen to the right of the Crystal Arcade, coupled with the September 1971 date, provides another source to ID when that location transitioned from the Book & Candle Shop. The "official" records only supply a generalized date of 'Spring', 1972 for the opening of the Story Book Shop. That date would appear to be 'not so'.
Thanks as always to Lou and Sue.
I love all the main Street lights, but the arcade sign is a sentimental favorite.
JB, oh man, picking a favorite song from “Pinocchio”… hard to do! Thought it would be hard to beat “When You Wish Upon a Star”, I love the 1930’s chorale background singers, and Cliff Edwards’ singing. I agree with you, these photos really do capture what it is like to be walking down Main Street on a beautiful evening. Makes me want to be there - 1971 style!
TokyoMagic!, yes, I noticed the Rx sign. I assume that it was removed at some point? Or has it survived as an artifact from the past? I hope it is still there! The archives still has that mortar & pestle light, I saw a photo of it on display at one of the D23 Expos (at least I think that’s where it was shown). Lou was always such a fan of details, I’m surprised that he didn’t take pictures of each Pinocchio scene. But… I guess he can’t capture EVERY detail! Wow, I did not know that the current window displays have been there for ten years. Good grief, can’t they change them now and then? Just do two a year. It’s doable! As you said though, they are all about saving those bucks.
Chuck, good point, I always think that the patriotic bunting indicates that it was near the 4th of July, but I guess they left it up all Summer. When you said that you saw Pinocchio with your mom in ’71, I thought you were going to talk about how scary it was. But instead I guess you were a bundle of squirms. I’ve been to movies in which young kids literally run up and down the aisles for long stretches of time, and nobody ever thinks to stop them. Well, I think about it, but I don’t do anything!
JG, I have never heard of Hub Trees, but I don’t know much about Treeology. Hmmm, interesting thought about lights on the trees. I think that there were some? But gosh, I can’t say for sure. Maybe there weren’t any! Seems hard to believe. Interesting that you remember your park visits because of their proximity to farm events. Makes sense. I’m not sure if I’m familiar with the Pinocchio book that you are referring to. When you say it has “the Disney illustrations”, you mean it has vintage artwork?
Nanook, somehow I would want there to be antique children’s books in the Story Book Shop, but I doubt that was the case. It was probably more along the lines of Little Golden Books and such. Not that those are bad! Interesting that the official record of the Main Street shops is wrong. Not super shocking though.
Melissa, I do love that arcade sign, but the Emporium sign brings visions of wonderful merchandise into my head!
Last visit, just before Galaxy's Edge opened, I was kind of peeved not to find books or videos. I only found one CD, a reissue of an old LP about the Haunted Mansion.
Many years prior, a high point of a WDW trip was picking up a newly-released "Lady and the Tramp" VHS. Once upon a time you took bits of it home in the form of LPs, souvenir books, 8mm films, Viewmaster reels, sheet music, piano rolls, video tapes, etc. (Did they ever stock Disney comics in the park or hotel shops?). Walt Disney was, after all, in business of creating what we now call Content. Disneyland was a monument to what he put on movie and TV screens, and it was nifty to take home pieces of the original Disney wares.
Now the company seems to offer very, very little physical media inside the park, which is like Hersheyland not selling chocolate. At the very least, you'd expect some of those coffee table books in the fancy galleries or appropriate paperback novelizations in little themed shops.
I'm a reasonable man. I'm not going to make a scene over the lack of piano rolls. But when you have to go to Amazon to get a souvenir CD of Disney Parks music ...
(Cranky old guy suddenly decides it's nap time)
DBenson, I agree, some of my best memories are of the Bookstore in Disneyland. Bought all kinds of books there, not just Disney IP, but books on nature, insects, and even physics. I still have them all. It's sad that now even memorabilia books have to come from outside.
Major, by Hub trees, I mean the trees around the central plaza, these used to have little white light bulbs, a magical effect, and now I can't remember them in today's Park.
Yes, almost everything about life on a farm revolves around the crop schedules. Planting, cultivating, irrigating, fertilizing, tree pruning, fruit picking, everything has it's season. Our major crops at that time were cotton and walnuts, which need regular irrigation through late spring and summer. This is a lot of work, or it was then. When the crops are maturing, they need less water, and so the work tapers off in the Fall. Walnuts mature in late September and are picked in October (usually), and cotton somewhat later. Dad was picking cotton right up to Thanksgiving many years. Both need that cooler weather to ripen up. This is also why school started in September, as the school schedules originally were set up because most kids worked on farms.
The Pinocchio book I have has original Disney character illustrations using the characters from the movies, unlike some others I got at the Park that used illustrations from other artists. My Alice in Wonderland book has beautiful illustrations, but not the ones from the Disney film.
The science books of course were more like textbooks and don't have any direct connection to the Park, other than that natural history and particle physics were topics related to Nature's Wonderland and ATIS respectively. Looking back, I'm amazed that Disney sold these books at all. Ive been meaning to scan all of them, for my own use primarily, but I would share if there were any interest.
JG
"Thought it would be hard to beat 'When You Wish Upon a Star'"
My vocal group used to do that as an encore. You could see people's faces light up when they heard the first few bars. That, and "Over the Rainbow."
I saw an interview with Paul Williams where he talked about writing "Rainbow Connection," and he said they were trying to capture the same feeling as Jiminy's solo in Pinocchio
Park music is surprisingly hard to find in the parks. In the MK at Walt Disney World, I was only able to find a the generic Disneyland/WDW album, and in EPCOT I had to ask around to get the Illuminations:Reflections of Earth CD even as the show was in its final months. I guess people have moved so far into streaming services that CDs are an oddity.
For lots of vintage Disneyland Park music, I love the web site:
DisneyChris.com
Disneyland-at-night IS definitely the best time to be there, I agree.
Thanks for all your nice comments. Thank you, too, Major.
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