Beautiful Frontierland Entrance, July 1960
I have a pair of beautiful views from July 1960, both showing the entrance to Frontierland. "But Major, that sounds boring as heck! And you smell funny!". First of all, the picture's AREN'T boring, and secondly: RUDE!
This first one is very pretty, with the reflections in the water (and extension of the castle moat) and the trees and shrubs that help to soften the appearance of the stockade & gated entrance. I was tempted to crop off the shoulder/arm of the person to the right, but decided to leave it be. I wonder if those imposing gates were ever closed for any reason?
Photo #2 is even prettier, with that clear blue sky and deep view into the land of the frontier. Notice the sign overhead advertising the opening of Nature's Wonderland, a triumph of artistry and technology. I also noticed the little ticket booth that we saw in THIS post; it isn't often seen in that location.
14 comments:
Major-
Oh boy... Nature's Wonderland is open. Sign me up - sign me up-!
Thanks, Major.
"But Major, that sounds boring as heck! And you smell funny!"
Major, it's gotta be your June bugs.
These are beauties - especially the first one!
Thanks, Major.
Major, those "imposing gates" could never be closed because they're just projections... not really there, physically anyway. If you tried to close them, your hands would go right through them, as if they weren't there... because they aren't! Yet another example of how far ahead of their time the original
Imagineers were!
My, this IS a nice photo! And I'm pretty sure that the "shoulder" you left in the photo is bigfoot!
Ooh, another nice photo! It's beckoning us to follow the other guests and go through the gates, back into yesteryear. I see that the two brothers closest to us are wearing their requisite late '50s, early '60s, stripey t-shirts. Disney really should do something about those wandering ticket booths. Then again, they haven't had any luck stopping the Matterhorn from wandering from one Land to another either.
Nice photos, Major. Thanks.
That first one is very pretty. No further commentary is necessary.
Love that boy’s Union kepi in the last photo. I had one just like it I got at Six Flags Over Mid-America (I had a “cowboy” style Union hat from Disneyland). I also had a very similar stripey Hang Ten shirt some 13-15 years later.
Never noticed the tall things behind or on top/ of the Shootin’ Gallery. Are those lights?
Thanks, Major!
Major, these may be the definitive Frontierland gate photos, just wonderful. Thank you!
Good question about closing the gates, I have no idea if these were ever closed or not, but someone does, I hope.
Nice themed trash can too.
Chuck, I think those things on the shooting gallery roof are torches, which seem like a bad idea over that wood shingle roof.
JG
Don’t they show the Frontierland stocade gates being opened to let the parade of horse drawn vehicles in for the Frontierland dedication Disneyland televised opening ceremonies? I suspect it’s like many early Disneyland elements that were built to be completely and prototypicaly /historically operational but found very little need or use in daily Disneyland operations. Or their use became abandoned or obsolete. …… the DL RR switch sidings … the Mark Twain levee gangplanks …. The Columbia sail unfurl demonstration , the Fort Wilderness Flag retreat ceremony… the lamplighter on Main St. USA …. Etc….
I get excited over the Natures Wonderland now open banner …. But don’t give a you-know-what about Fantasmic …
I agree with Chuck. Just what are those tall poles in front of the arcade? Inquiring minds want to know. KS
You can see the gates closed and then open with Ronnie Reagan as commentator at 26.49:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7G-Hs2UxrA Great pics and sign. I miss seeing Pendleton even though that ended quite a long time ago. I always liked that color they used on the building. Thanks Major.
Nanook, no need to sign up, just present one E ticket to the grizzled prospector in the red shirt!
Lou and Sue, I admit that I liked to have a bunch of June bugs in my pocket. I’d feed them pieces of donut.
JB, I think maybe they opened the gates on the opening day TV show, but it’s been a while since I’ve watched that. Davy Crockett and Georgie Russell rode through them! Your description of projections makes me think of Toy Story 2, where Buzz tries to grab that battery - but it’s just a hologram! I do sort of wonder why that ticket booth moved around, there must have been a logical explanation.
Chuck, Civil War kepis sure were a thing for a while, both Union and Confederate. I don’t think I ever had one - instead I had one of those red felt cowboy hats, much like Jessie the Cowgirl wears. I found a photo of myself at less than one year old “wearing” it (or is it wearing me?). Hang Ten shirts… the best! I do think those things are lights, but they sure are weird if so.
JB, gates that never close seem to not serve much of a purpose, but hey, what do I know? I knew you’d like the trashcan. Huh, torches, I’m’ sure those would look good at night, but I agree, it seems like a bad idea to have them so close to all of those wooden structures.
Mike Cozart, see my comment to JB! I know I could watch that famous opening day episode on YouTube, but who has the time? Not me! And I do sort of wonder if, at some point, hinges were removed, and the gates were fixed in place securely? Probably with Gorilla Glue. Imagine seeing Nature’s Wonderland when it was brand new!
KS, I thought you would know what those things were!!
Bu, aha, thank you for the link! That makes things easier.
Those to poles in front of the Shooting Arcade are torches. You can see the conical “wick” shield … almost identical to the ones at Fort Wilderness and surrounding of early Adventureland. These two seem a tad bit high however. A few of these gas torches still exist in Adventureland today. The Frontierland ones have gone the way of the Keelboat.
this video (of still photos) shows the Shooting Arcade torches at night, at about 0:34 timestamp
link
nice photos!
Mike Cozart, I wonder about the purpose of that metal shield... on the torches... was it some kind of wind protection? Or strictly decorative? Interesting that there are still some of those in Adventureland.
LTL, awesome! Thanks!
I remember getting kepis with my older brother when we went to Gettysburg in the early 1980s. I think we both got Union Blue ones since an ancestor fought in it for the North. Mostly, I remember sitting in a simulated train car in a museum and watching a film about the writing of the Gettysburg Address. I should go out there and see if it still exists.
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