Freedomland USA - "Colossus" show, August 1961
I finally scanned the last of my Freedomland USA slides - not that there were that many to begin with. As you probably know, Freedomland was located in The Bronx in New York, and was intended to be the east coast answer to Disneyland. The project was headed by C.V. Wood, who had been instrumental in the development of Disneyland, until he and Walt had a falling-out. Wood even hired away many people who'd helped design the Anaheim park, presumably with larger salaries. It opened on June 19th, 1960.
All four of today's scans were something of a mystery to me, but a little bit of research told me that these are from a show called "Colossus" that was only performed during the 1961 season. As you can see, the show featured riders on horseback - from what little I've found online, it seems to have been an odd mix of cowboys, Roman-style chariots, and so on. One website said that a man named Ben Rossi was in the show and played an American cowboy; he later became part of Disney entertainment. I wonder if that's Ben in this first scan?
It's hard to see, but one fellow is wearing an Arab keffiyeh, two others are dressed as Mongolian warriors (I think?), and the rest are too indistinct. It seemed to be a bizarre combination of disparate cultures, but I found a mention of a segment of the show called, "The Greatest Horsemen in History".
"Ben Hur" had been a sensation at the box office in 1959, so it makes sense that a thrilling chariot race would be a part of this horse show. Gladiators glare from the distance, yelling curses in Latin. The one guy isn't dead, he just yelled "I am Spartacus!". WRONG MOVIE. So he was hit over the head with a rolling pin. Much to my surprise, there is one lady on horseback to the right. She played Gladys Khan.
It looks like the performers could have been in some real danger, those horses are galloping at a furious pace. I hope they each get an apple and a sugar cube after the show (the horses I mean), and if they need volunteers I will give those treats to them. I'm glad to have these photos of this short-lived show!
Freedomland USA closed forever (after its fourth season) on September 13, 1964.
12 comments:
Major-
My eyes immediately were drawn to the backsides of the pennant-topped 'signage' announcing to arriving autos "Freedomland". Odd that the backside of the 'O' has an 'F', and also seems to be the lone panel containing a tubular fluorescent lamp illuminating one side or the other.
Then my eyes were averted to the 3rd & 4th images, giving us a good look at a lone Electro-Voice, Model 644 'Sound Spot Microphone'. This is a highly-directional dynamic microphone, allowing for extended pickup directly in front of the microphone. So I guess if a performer [or MC] knew exactly where to stand many feet away from the microphone, his voice could be picked-up for amplification. (Good luck on that score).
Thanks, Major.
Looks like the Real Nanook has taken back his place...good thing.
Thank you Major as always!
Wow, these photos are super clear and crisp! (A discontinued Kellogg's cereal. Nobody wanted to eat transparent cereal.)
In the first pic, the horse is thinking, "C'mon, man. Hurry up. I've got an appointment to get my mane and tail combed in thirty minutes!"
It looks like Ben Hur's chariot has rubber tires. I was going to go into a long observation about those plaques below the flags and why only the "F" is visible from this side, but Nanook has done the job nicely. But I till don't know why they are arranged that way.
Given that Freedomland was created by former Disney personnel, it sure falls short of Disneyland's degree of coherency and wonder. I guess that's why it disappeared after only four years.
Thanks, Major.
BEN HUR’s Chariot rides on Steel BELTUS tires ……..
Interesting show. I can imagine the chariot races being popular after Ben Hur, hoping no one got Hur(t).
Mike, (snicker).
Major, maybe that lady driver was Mrs. Attila the Hun? With music later by the Hunlets™️.
Did Freedomland have a Tomorrowland equivalent? Or was it mostly Frontierland type attractions? I think we established in an earlier thread that the shorter season due to bad weather was part of this park’s demise?
Thanks for the horse show today, Major!
JG
Nanook, wow, I certainly didn’t notice the oddities to the pennant-topped sigs - Maybe the “F” was the most important letter sort of like the Disneyland “D”. I did notice the microphone, but wondered why it wasn’t a standard example that a host might hold to narrate the action. I’d be surprised if the one in the photo worked, but you never know.
walterworld, he has returned from his home planet!
JB, mmmm, cereal. With little marshmallows! It’s what separates us from the animals. My grandma had a neighbor who had a horse, and my sister would walk over with a regular comb so that she could comb its mane (and give it apples), the horse was gentle and put up with it. Ha, I didn’t notice the rubber tires! I guess they would be safer than wood with iron rims. Or whatever they used in ancient times. And yes, Freedomland looks like fun, but it was missing some secret ingredient (which was probably Walt Disney).
Mike Cozart, Charlton Heston talks about that in the movie!
JG, I have to admit that even the staged chariot races look kind of dangerous - it wouldn’t surprise me to learn that a chariot had overturned and somebody had been gravely hurt. I wish there was a band called “The Hunlets™”. Freedomland had “Satellite City”, but the only attraction I’m aware of off the top of my head is a large giant saucer that people walked through. I have no idea what was inside. I have one good photo of it that you will see here someday.
FREEDOM LAND’s Satellite City had a Trip to Mars attraction , a Autopia Type car ride , and also a SkyRide that used the exact same “ball” shaped cabins as did PACIFIC OCEAN PARK.
SATELLITE CITY - THE FUTURE!! Also had a “replica” of Cape Canaveral and a moving sidewalk that crossed a lake . There are “industrial and science “ exhibits as well but I can’t see exactly what they entailed.
@ MIKE-
"... a SkyRide that used the exact same “ball” shaped cabins as did PACIFIC OCEAN PARK".
I'd never heard that. I always thought their 'cabins' were the same 'round-shaped' Von Roll cabins, a la Disneyland's first design. SEE HERE.
Oh yeah .. you’re right. I must have confused the use of the Von Roll Ball Cabin with Six Flags New England . Not many parks used then as they were heavy and expensive. Even in later years the parks that used them popped out the windows and used the cabin’s “open air”.
Mike Cozart, I have some souvenir guidebooks from Freedomland, but they aren’t handy, otherwise I would have looked up the info about Satellite City. But thank you for doing it! Did they really have the same SkyRide as POP?? I know they had that other one.
Mike Cozart, much like Disneyland, we tend to see photos of the same Freedomland features over and over, while others were virtually ignored by people.
Nanook, yes, that’s the Sky Ride that I am familiar with, I have a number of photos of it on GDB.
Mike Cozart, oh man I sure don’t know anything about what was at Six Flags New England, or most other Six Flags parks, except for Magic Mountain, which I visited periodically since it opened.
@ MIKE-
Ah-ha. I may have actually ridden on those when I last visited [the then] Riverside Park back in the late 1970's. Seen HERE without windows.
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