Snoozles from July 1967
There are rumors that a great director (Spielberg? I can't tell you!) wants to make a big-budget "Snoozles" movie, with Tom Cruise as "Jack" Snoozle, the greatest secret agent in history. He's weary of a life of action and spicy food and wants to work at a shoe store. It writes itself!
Speaking of Snoozles, I have some prime examples for you today, both from July, 1967. Both slides were extremely dark, and Photoshop could only do so much. Like this view taken in the Plaza. Folks seem to be seeking refuge from the sun, so it must have been a sultry day in Anaheim. I was going to zoom in on that sign just to the left of that tree, but even with the help of MIT, it was still blurry. As far as I can tell, it's a sign for the Plaza Pavilion, but why is the sign way out there? I'll bet teenagers are to blame.
Nearby, the Omnibus is careening out of control at 4 miles per hour! Look out! The driver sat on a bee, in case you were wondering. The little girl in the lower left is not impressed with Disneyland, having spent most of her life in Las Vegas, where the action is. "This place is for squares!". Hey, I'm proud to be a square.
14 comments:
OK, I agree, this is a genuine Snoozle. Mostly because of the darkness of the shadows. There is an overall busy-ness to the photo, and there's no obvious focal point. Not very good for people watching either. Certainly not the worst we've seen, but I'm afraid the cons outweigh the pros. And yet, I looked at it for at least ten minutes! So I guess it did its job.
I'm totally discombobulated here. Are we at Town Square? Or the Hub? Or neither? Maybe we're in Oxnard. There's a teeny bit of an American flag at the tippy-top of the photo. And at the left edge, there's a pyramidal-shaped roof of a structure. Is that a Main Street building? Main Street Station? I'm turned around and confused... and I want my Maypo!
Honest to goodness Snoozles! Thanks, Major.
@ JB-
The angle of the 1st image is indeed a bit confusing. That is the Hub or Plaza. If you look at the center of the image, just to the left of the unreadable sign, you can see three awnings above narrow windows. Those windows are on a building on E. Plaza St. This is the 'street' that runs along the front of [what became] INA Carefree Corner, hading towards backstage. The sea of blue and yellow round awnings are above the outdoor tables in the outside patio of the Plaza Inn.
Ok, thanks to the exposition of Nanook and JB, I can follow the location of the first very dull photo, but I’m left wondering if no. 2 is reversed? Should we see the Matterhorn here? I’m stumped.
Congratulations and thanks, Major for your hard work on these truly soporific pics. It is difficult to find Park views that are both hard to locate, yet boring. At least there is a trash can in no. 1.
Thank you!
JG
JG, I also suspected the second photo was reversed, but the visible letters are all correct. I think the streetcar is approaching the "Y" in the tracks at the Plaza, heading north. I'm curious in that photo what is the movie camera(?) or big device someone is holding at lower left edge of photo.
JB, hey, when I say these are Snoozles, I ain’t lyin’! Y’all! I truly don’t know why that first photo was taken. What was the intended subject? It really feels like an “oops”. They didn’t mean to press the shutter. You can see the entry to Tomorrowland in that second photo, so we’re in the Plaza/Hub. The pyramidal-shaped building is Walt’s necropolis.
Nanook, for me the clues that confirmed that photo #2 is the Hub is either the yellow and white umbrellas (always in front of the Plaza Inn, but certainly the metallic entry “gates” into Tomorrowland are the clinchers.
JG, you can read the text on the side of the Omnibus, so that picture isn’t flopped! The Matterhorn was removed every two years for steam-cleaning. I don’t know if I worked that hard on these, but thanks for the nice words!
LTL, everything is so dark in that second photo (no subtleties) that it’s hard to tell what that device is. At first I thought it might just be a black purse, but now I don’t believe that’s the case. No idea!
All the people at the far right of the first picture are looking at something, but I have no idea what. Maybe the menu for the Plaza Pavillion?
JG, based on the fact that the north side of the entrance to Tomorrowland is visible at the extreme right of the second picture, the Matterhorn must be behind the bus and the tree.
Major-
"The Matterhorn was removed every two years for steam-cleaning".
When did Disneyland discontinue using One Hour "Martinizing"-??
That first picture shows evidence of Disneyland Horticultural magic: note how the tree branches completely “go up and over” the walkway of the circular hub. That isn’t natural … and you’ll often see Disneyland’s trees with stringing and cabling “training” the tree’s branches to grow around the clearances of pedestrians. This keeps the trees full and avoids ugly embarrassing branch cut- off scars …. But sometimes the trees get too big and lean and after some artificial branch supports made by the Disneyland staff shop to match the tree’s real bark and color , the tree becomes to girthy and heavy and has to be removed - like the old shade trees between the Plaza Inn & the Plaza Thorofare …
Or were they removed to clear walkways for anticipated guests for GALAXYS EDGE … the the other 33% of Disneyland planters that were removed because of Star wars ???
I hate to speak ill of the dead … but that lady in the coral colored dress has the faces of a man …. {:[
Ha! Nanook, I just used that phrase an hour ago, when my friend told me she was having shoulder-replacement surgery and that it would only take one hour. You have to be an old fart to understand that phrase. ;op
Thanks, Major, for another fun Sunday.
I still have a couple of ancient paper-covered wire hangars touting “one hour Martinizing.”
Chuck, whenever I see a photo where people are looking out of frame at something, I always assume it’s either a character (or several) or one of the bands that could be found all over the park. I could be wrong though!
Nanook, Disneyland decided to save money and instead of One-hour Martinizing, they just used giant Swiffers.
Mike Cozart, I have no doubt that the folks who kept the trees looking good were true artists - they probably already knew their stuff before Disneyland, but the park is such a unique puzzle, they probably learned a lot about how to shape a tree into a desired form. My buddy grows many rare fruit trees, and he always talks about the ideal form for tree branches being (as he describes) an “open vase”, with branches pointing generally upward, but no crossing or areas of friction. Of course trees will eventually do what they want to do, and also branches might unexpectedly break off, spoiling the symmetry. Aw, I don’t want to say anything mean about that lady, maybe it’s just a bad angle (it is certainly bad lighting).
Lou and Sue, which phrase? One-hour Martinizing? For your friend having surgery??
Chuck, fast Martinizing was one of the many side benefits we got because of the Space Program!
Chuck, those hangars are probably more valuable than the 1960s Disneyland Hotel Tinker Bell plastic laundry bags.
LTL, Chuck, Major, thank you for setting me straight. I think I understand photo 2 now. It made me so sleepy that I could not see all the details. I had forgotten the Matterhorn was removed periodically for cleaning.
JG
I think the Matterhorn was dipped in the deep end of the Sub Lagoon biannually before it was coated with pyrolytic dust-shedding paint.
JG
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