Random Main Street, 1950s

As a rule, I am pretty happy to have (and share) any photos from the 1950s; that being said, I admit that today's examples are not "top shelf" images. Still, there's details to be enjoyed if you squint hard enough.

We've sure seen plenty of photos of the Horse Drawn Streetcars over the years; in fact, they are probably right up there among the "most photographed features" at the park when you think about it. People just love horses! The only thing remarkable about this picture (as far as I can tell) is that there are no less than three Cast Members seemingly involved in getting this streetcar loaded and ready to go. Nowadays, there might only be one, and he'll have a cudgel to make sure guests follow instructions.

From a different lot (but also from the 50s) comes this photo of the Wurlitzer shop as the Disneyland Band marches past (Vesey Walker is to the left, in the shadows). The lady with the classic striped popcorn box got whiplash from turning her head so fast. To the extreme right, it looks like a few folks are taking a peek at the little viewers that showed concept for the never-built International Street.
 

Snoozles, May 1960

One particular batch has turned out to be a rich source of Snoozles™. So many of them are especially dark and gloomy, as if a cartoon villain has somehow drained the landscape of joy. 

Ordinarily I'd be dancing a little jig when finding a photo of the E.P Ripley (old #2 - which wasn't that old in 1960) pulling into Main Street Station. But you can barely see the locomotive here, a good 60% (maybe even 63%) of the image is just blackness. Try not to be scared by the red hands in the lower left corner. I'm a bit baffled by this one, there appears to be a shadow cast by the station (with sunlight on the right side of the tracks), but it also looks like there are lights in the inky distance. You can see where the train staff walked their emotional support poodles.

Just for yucks, take a look at this view of the E.P. Ripley from 1971 - so much nicer.

From the same dark batch comes this drab and dismal look at the cursed Matterhorn, as seen from the Town Square side of Main Street Station. Even the usually-bright-yellow Hills Bros. Coffee Garden looks dreary. Well, I'm going to go cry now!

Mystery Amusements

Just between you and me and my collection of Post-Impressionist masterpieces, I like looking at old photos of amusement parks and carnivals/fairs. It's true! I first admitted it on "Geraldo" back in 1989. Yes, I threw a chair at somebody.

Here's an undated slide featuring a death-defying high dive act. As if that wasn't enough, the daredevil is in flames! Pretty exciting. That tank of water doesn't look very deep, but if he does it juuust right, he'll be OK. Except that there are also hundreds of piranhas in the tank. As the sign in the lower left tells us, we're watching the U.S.A. High Diving Team. They won the Gold Medal in Montreal in 1976, a memorable upset. I have no idea where this thrilling show took place, but maybe the lighthouse out on that jetty will give one of you a clue. 

This next one was scanned from a clipped color negative, and it was a pain to scan. But I'm no hero! When I held it up to the light, it was obvious that this was an amusement park or fair of some kind. Now that it is scanned (yes, I agree, it doesn't look that great) I'm guessing that the photo might be from the 1990s (or later?) - those guys to the right would not look out of place if  they walked past me today. Because the rides are sort of "standard fare" for an event like this, there is not much to go on as far as determining the location.

And lastly, here's a September, 1971 photo of some kids on a little merry-go-round. Those horses have seen some stuff, look at those eyes! The haunted eyes of the damned. The kids don't care, however... right after they got off this ride, they went and got some beers and then they beat up a kid who didn't go to their school.

Tomorrowland Leftuggies

There are certain things that make me happy. An episode of "Bonanza" that still has Adam in it. A packet of Pop Rocks. Any song by Barry Manilow. AND... vintage photos of Tomorrowland, of course! 

Take a look at this beautiful view of the Land of Tomorrow, circa July 1960. The Matterhorn is dead-ahead, still giving off the aroma of fresh lumber and paint (probably). I'm guessing that our photographer had just exited from his Skyway gondola, and was about to take the stairs down, when he noticed this view. The blue sky sets off the other colors nicely; I apologize for Screechy for this indelicate view, but it just happened.

Nearly 13 years later (it is May, 1973 this time), we have a whole new Tomorrowland, and it looks pretty great as seen from the Plaza. Judging from the cold-weather clothing (coats, babushkas, cardigans, anoraks made of seal pelts), this must have been taken a few months earlier. Peoplemover trains come and go, the Rocket Jets are soaring, and I get irrational joy from seeing the Bell System and Monsanto logos.

Two Random Views

I have a pair of RANDOS for you today. Or are they Leftuggies? Only the finest minds can tell the difference, and I don't have one of those. This first scan is from August, 1960, and shows a family enjoying their lunch break, having found a table with plenty of shade (sorry kid, you get the sun, you can take it). I admit that I am at a loss as to where they are seated - even looking at what's in the background (which isn't much) doesn't help. Any ideas?

Next is the August 1976 scan showing Sleeping Beauty Castle at night. This is an orphan slide, it was all by itself in a box, which always makes me assume that there used to be more, but they were cherry-picked and sold separately. Call me cynical. It's exciting to see THE STAIN at night - not just exciting, but life-altering. Your friends and relatives will sense a deep change within you, and treat you with reverence. They might even bow to you!

Randos

I have a pair of Randos for you today, though they are not very inspiring - perhaps I should have classified them as Snoozles™. But what's done is done. Both of these were found in boxes of slides, the only Disneyland examples in each case. Mighty suspicious if you ask me.

First up is this view (from June, 1970) of a newkewlar submarine as it glided not-so-quietly through liquid space. The photographer was aboard the Peoplemover, and it's good to know that there was no way he would accidentally plunge into the lagoon. Zooming in I can see that the name is "Sea-something", probably "Sea Gorilla" - the most feared gorillas of all.

Next, from an undated slide, here's an interesting (?) view looking along the bowsprit of the Columbia. As most of you know, the bowsprit was used to frighten angry, troublesome whales and walruses - they took one look at that pointy thing and headed for the hills (which is a weird thing for a whale or walrus to do). This photo reminds me of my years at sea, singing shanties, carving vegan scrimshaw (aka "wood"), drinking grog, and getting scurvy. Fun times!

 

Kellogg's PEP Military Insignia Buttons, 1943

Here's something different! Among my many collections you'll find a lot of pinback buttons of all kinds. And you know I love a complete set! Today's examples come from 1943, smack-dab in the middle of WWII - a set of 36 pins featuring military insignia, given out in boxes of Kellogg's Pep cereal (one pin per box).

I find the history of these pins to be fascinating, and of course there are the great graphics that seem to concentrate on air & bomber squadrons. Here are the first four (in my order, anyway). My favorite is the one on the left, with the grinning pilot, looking forward to dropping that bomb. You'll notice a number of pins with American Indian-inspired designs, probably because they looked cool. The 25th Bombardment Squadron pin is odd, is the axe-wielding man wearing swim fins?  And how about a turkey for the 27th Fighter Squadron?

For reasons that are not entirely clear to me, the inks used on these wartime pins were particularly susceptible to chipping and wear, so it is pretty difficult to find these in decent condition. One person said the inks were meant to be child-safe, though that doesn't make much sense to me, considering that they all have a sharp brass pin on the back. Plus, did they make things "child safe" in 1943?

The rabbit riding a bomb is fun, is he wearing boxing gloves? The 34th Bomber Squadron "thunderbird" (?) graphic is particularly striking. And the creepy bat of the 44th Fighter Squadron gives me the willies.

I'm guessing that there was some ingredient that would normally have been used (bald eagle oil?), but was unavailable to Kellogg's during the war years. I thought my set was in pretty nice shape, but seeing them blown up reveals many flaws!

Here are four bombardment squadron pins, with animals dropping bombs, a gloved hand punching downward, and one large bomb heading straight toward its target.

We have two insignia with classic American iconography - Uncle Sam's hat, and a leaping bison. There's also a mischievous red devil for the 96th Bombardment Squadron, and a flying Pegasus for the 103rd Observation Squadron.

Some wartime insignia included some humor... the 306th Bombardment Squadron has a man with a swim cap holding his nose while dive-bombing. To the right are more American Indian influenced graphics.

Walt Disney's artists (particularly a man named Hank Porter) designed many striking military insignia, though none of those was used on these pins (perhaps there were rights issues?). The bear to the right resembles the slightly-angular characters you might see in an old Felix the Cat short. Sort of.

A two-tailed imp rides a bomb (or is it a torpedo?), while throwing a bomb. I think I need to upgrade that one. I particularly like the tough tiger on the Marine Fighter Squadron VMF-224 insignia. And to the right, another Indian eagle graphic that looks like it would be right at home on an old piece of native earthenware.

Flying animals were a natural choice for Bombing (and Scouting) Squadrons. And I like the details in the Navy Patrol Squadron-23, with the ship's compass and what might be the Big Dipper. 

A red dragon delivers a bomb for the Navy Torpedo Squadron-3. The classic cartoon bomb (black circle with a fuse) makes for an appealing insignia for the Navy Torpedo Squadron-32. And the rabbit for VO-3 looks a lot like Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, though that's probably a coincidence.

Here's a colorful ad for the insignia buttons, presumably a store display of some kind (scrounged from the internet, not in my collection). I guess I lied about having a complete collection, because there were an additional 8 (I think) different larger pins featuring various fighter planes and bombers. And some of those 8 pins have variations, so you need to look for a total of 12 pins. PLUS there is one rarity that was possibly never actually released to the public. They are expensive and I just never got around to looking for those.

As you can see, kids could get a nice felt beanie cap that would be the perfect place to display their insignia pins and show their support for our boys.

Here they are, all together!

Whew! That was a lot of work. I hope you have enjoyed these military insignia pins. Just a few years later, kids would be able to collect a famous set of 86 comic character pinback buttons from boxes of Pep cereal (stay tuned for those!).

Frontierland, November 1961

Here are two pretty nice photos, taken (I assume) from the top deck of the Mark Twain as it churned along the Rivers of America. Well, OK, maybe this first one is merely average, but I still like it. Being November, the trees are not as lush and full as usual, but there are some Fall colors. It seems as if the saplings along the shore grew so quickly that you had to have a speedy shutter finger - but the important thing is that you can see the dead guy, he always brightens my day.

Now this one is nice! A lovely view of the li'l yellow Mine Train as it trundled past Cascade Peak, where guests might feel the refreshing spray from some of the waterfalls. Once again, it appears as if we would hardly see a thing if this had been June, those skinny trees would have blocked most of the view. Still, my appreciation for the Beautiful MTTNW grows year after year.

Snoozles™

Here we go - two more Snoozles™ for you to glance at before you go to church, or IHOP, or wherever.

I'm generally very happy to find a photo of the Flying Saucers attraction (this one is from November of 1961), but not when they are blurry and too-blue. Admittedly, it was early evening (notice the lights on in the background), and everything took on  the cooler colors of the night. As in most photos of the Saucers, there is hardly any line for this ride.

When I previewed this early 1960s photo of Skull Rock on my light table, I thought it looked particularly pretty, with the last rosy rays of sun giving this natural formation a warm glow against a slightly violet sky, but wouldn't you know it - it's blurry. Bummer.

Universal Studios Orphans

My cache of vintage Universal Studios slides is getting smaller and smaller by the month (it's the humidity), but I just scanned a bunch. Among those were five orphans. Ordinarily I would have immediately sent those orphans to go work in the nearby woolen mills and coal mines, but first I thought I'd share them with you in one magnificent post.

First up is this August 1977 view of the entrance marquee (aka "sign"). Check out that font! "More curlicues!", an MCA executive shouted. "But boss!", whined the flunky. "The people want curlicues, and that's what we're gonna give them!", the boss said, waving his stinky cigar around flamboyantly. In the background, "Victoria Station", which was brand-new in '77. It was a restaurant, and one site claimed that it was "the social hub of the park, where visitors could bump into stunt performers from Miami Vice after their last show".  Sonny Crockett might've bummed a fry from you.

Next is this scan from January 1976, featuring Bruce, the (dead) shark from Stephen Spielberg's mega-smash hit from the previous summer, "CHOMP". The guests look a little tentative, as if Bruce might still have some life left in him ("I think he blinked!"). I used to like to stand near this tableau dressed as Captain Quint, and I would burp the alphabet. Everybody just assumed that I was part of the show.

OK, I admit that this scan from February 1988 is not that great, but at least that flash flood is not heading directly toward us. As I learned a few years ago, depending on where you are seated in the studio tour tram, you might barely be able to see what's going on (if you can sit near the middle, do it). As I've mentioned before, there is a dead tree that slowly falls over due to the fury of the flood waters, and it's always fun to look back to watch it reset.

Alright, alright, this one isn't so good either, but what do you expect from an orphan? It is from August, 1969, and as you can see, the tram is about to enter a terrifying ice tunnel, aka The Glacier Avalanche. The tunnel would rotate around you, which was truly a dizzying effect that made me cry. It appeared in a Bigfoot episode of "The Six Million Dollar Man", famously. Later it was retooled into "Dante's Peak Volcano", and then "The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb", before being torn down in 2013 for the incredibly lame "Fast and Furious Supercharged" abomination. 

And finally, from October 1977, we see two guests meeting the Phantom of the Opera (whose real name was "Kyle"). In spite of his hideous appearance, Kyle found himself loved and admired at Universal Studios. He eventually married, had three kids, (Phineas, Phoebe, and Phil) and then retired to a spacious home in Simi Valley. A happy ending indeed! 

I hope you have enjoyed these photos from Universal Studios.