Knott's Monkey! 1950's

The Monkey That Saved The World! Here are three fun photos of a monkey and his pet organ grinder, from the good old days at Knott's Berry Farm.

This is my favorite of the batch... the little girl in the blue dress has her hands on her hips as if to say, "OK monkey, do something entertaining!". Her friend has her hair elaborately done up, I can picture her mom spending all morning on it. And speaking of moms, there are quite a few of them looking on with various levels of amusement. The pretty mom to the lower right is opening her picnic basket (which she has decorated with lots of seashells), perhaps looking for a nickel to give Mr. Monkey. Her son is a mere toddler, but he has his toy six shooter at the ready!


There's our hairdo girl again, and it's possible that she is handing the monkey a coin while a little boy waits to do the same thing.


There's nothing like a candy apple on a sunny day at Knott's! The monkey kind of freaks me out, with his expressive face. He is commanding the organ grinder to do his bidding with his enormous mental powers!

Tomorrowland 1960

I was feeling lazy, so there's only one photo in today's post. But I think that you'll agree, it's super nice! Our photographer has walked partway into Tomorrowland, and paused to snap a photo of this beautiful scene. The Moonliner is almost perfectly centered, pointed towards a vivid blue sky. Various tropical plants soften what would otherwise be a somewhat sterile land - it's nice to know that we'll still have bird of paradise plants in 1980! The Hat Bar is just visible, as is the Flight Circle, where a show appears to be in progress.

Pacific Ocean Park, September 1959

Not many people remember Pacific Ocean Park (or "POP") these days, but when it opened in 1958, it gave Disneyland a run for its money! I have a few slides from POP, and I'm starting off with these two; not the most exciting examples, I admit!

My knowledge of POP is rudimentary at best, but I'll do the best I can. Feel free to correct me if I make a mistake! The park was built in Santa Monica, on an enormous pier, which gave it a unique atmosphere. I believe that there was more than one entrance, but the most photographed entrance was near this fountain, part of Neptune's Courtyard. The apartment buildings in the background lent a kind of seedy feeling to this scene; Walt's idea of a berm surrounding his park to keep the outside world out was a brilliant solution for Disneyland.


Yeah, I know, more fountains - yawn. This is still part of Neptune's Courtyard, and these fountains were a popular photo subject for some reason! I guess in 1959, a sight like this was pretty unusual. Now you might see fountains like this at an above-average shopping mall!

Pavilion Lanai and Monorail Yellow

I'm still digging through some leftovers, but I think that some of them are pretty darn nice! Like this photo of the Pavilion Lanai from January 5, 1957. The late afternoon sun lights up the thatched-roof building, and it looks great against the cloudy blue sky. I remember the first time somebody pointed out that this building did double duty, with the Main Street gingerbread just visible on the other side... I was amazed! It never occurred to me that the two lands were that close to each other.


Now it's February, 1962... and this might be a somewhat familiar view to some long time readers! I've had two similar shots of the beautiful yellow Monorail from the same lot of photos, and this one was so nice that I couldn't leave it out.

Random Pix

I like this first selection in today's Random Assortment! It's almost a "throwaway" photo, but I still consider it a keeper because of its "you are there" quality. We're on the shady side of Tomorrowland circa 1962, heading towards the Hat Bar (and beyond that, the Art Corner), with a sliver of the Flight Circle to our left. The kid in the foreground is hefting his movie camera, hope he got plenty of cool shots!


Now we hop to 1965, and to the north end of Town Square. All you water fountain fans - - this one's for you! I would head right towards the Magic Shop for a look at the monster masks. To be honest I probably would have skipped the Wurlitzer shop in favor of the Main Street Theater to watch Thomas Edison's "The Great Train Robbery". And then I would stop in to the Swift Market House for a full-contact game of checkers, and maybe some meat.


Here's an early (1956) shot of Tom Sawyer Island and the infamous burning settler's cabin. Ha ha, that settler is a riot, he's entertaining us with the old "arrow through the chest" gag! A classic. The island looks very new, with young trees and shrubs allowing views that would be obscured by foliage soon.

Two From August, 1959

It's the hub, bub! Nothing too extraordinary about this photo, although it is a nice one. I like the three ladies to the right, each with a different souvenir hat. And the Omnibus has a banner celebrating the new 1959 attractions (looks like there are also various small flags leftover from the day of the "rededication" two months earlier.


There's a Conestoga Wagon, trundling along the dirt trail near the shore of the river. The wagons were painted a lovely cobalt blue in 1956 after the opening of the movie, "Westward Ho! The Wagons" in 1956. [That's right, I said 1956 twice in the same sentence!!]. In the lower right [arg, I mean left!] corner, you can see ferocious deer. Looks like it smells blood!

A Trip To Disneyland, July 1958 - Part Fifteen

Today marks the last of the images from this fun lot from the summer o' fifty eight! It had to end sometime...

There's something about this great photo looking down Main Street USA that just makes me happy. I can imagine the clip-clop of horses hooves, the faint sound of music, and the smell of popcorn. Check it out, it looks like there are TWO Surreys, not to mention the Horse Drawn Streetcar and the Horseless Carriage. This photo evokes a strong sense of nostalgia for me.


And now for a rare vintage night shot, taken from a similar angle! The long exposure has turned the milling crowd into vaporous ghosts. Boo! I've always had a fantasy of exploring the park after hours... they should leave the lights on and everyone else can go home. Then I'll have the run of the place!


I can't think of a more perfect way to end this series than with this beautiful night shot of Sleeping Beauty's Castle.

Lots of Parking, September 1964

Photos of the old Disneyland parking lot have proven to be more popular than I ever would have expected, so hopefully today's main photo will bring joy to the hearts of millions.

We've seen this nice lady on board the Columbia, and in Tomorrowland in front of the House of the Future, and shaking hands with a monkey on Main Street. We're talking two different trips, you understand! But before she got there, she had to brave the vast Disneyland parking lot.

I'm a bit discombobulated, does anyone know what part of the lot she is standing? There isn't much to go by, I admit. You can see the striped tram back there, she'll never make it.


If I zoom in we can try to make out what the distant buildings are to the left, while there appears to be exposed, diagonally-crossed steel beams, part of a railroad bridge, to the right.


Well, wherever she was, she's arrived at the entrance, and is celebrating by hangin' with Pluto.

A Trip To Disneyland, July 1958 - Part Fourteen

It's the penultimate posting of images from the 1958 tour of Disneyland! Today's pictures are a bit out of order, but somehow life will go on.

This is a nice overview of the classic Autopia, with its winding clover-leafs and hilly landscaping. I love the cool Richfield sign with the futuristic space station! Looks like that might be the new Fred Gurley - new to Disneyland that is. The locomotive was built in 1894, but made its debut in Anaheim on March 29, 1958. Beyond the berm, farmland as far as the eye can see.


Here's a familiar view... we're heading over Snow Mountain, looking back towards Main Street, with the fairly new Monsanto House of the Future below.


And lastly (for today), a fun shot looking up and mom and junior. Dad would do anything for a fun photo, including chasing the Skyway from one end of the park to the other! We (Speedy and I) salute him.

A Trip To Disneyland, July 1958 - Part Thirteen

We're still in Tomorrowland, or rather over it, as we come close to wrapping up the slides from this great trip to the park. I'm not superstitious about it being number 13 either!

The Skyway is heading towards its final destination, so our photographer fired off several shots as fast as he could. Looking slightly to the left, we see the Autopia, and the Disneyland Railroad sitting at modest Tomorrowland Station. Beneath us you can see the Viewliner track encircling the lake, and unless my eyes deceive me, you can see a tiny, itty-bitty sliver of the Viewliner in the lower right corner. Arg! It's the only view we get in this entire lot.


Panning quickly to our right, there's the Space Bar, a single Astro Jet, and the Administration Building backstage. Does that structure still stand?


Mr. Wiggins, loyal reader of this blog, used his time and Photoshop expertise to try to "de-blur" the closeup view of the Flight Circle featuring Coxpilot (and friends). I think he did a fine job! Thanks, Mr. Wiggins!