New Orleans Square Shops, September 1976

If only I had more slides featuring wonderful New Orleans Square! I love it; it feels so intimate, and the details are impressive. It's a little world of its own. 

Today's images date from 1976, and show two shop façades. This one is "Laffite's Silver Shop". My Summer 1976 gate guide (no longer sponsored by INA, apparently) says that Laffite's has a "Wide selection of silver gifts. For person wear and the home, engraving facility for personalizing". In case of a vampire attack, this is where I plan to hide! And while I'm there, maybe I'll buy a little case to hold my business cards ("Major Pepperidge - GorillaCo Incorporated"). Classy.

Next we have this shot of "Mlle. Antoinette's Perfumerie". "A complete line of select perfumes and the services of a perfumer to blend unique fragrances, to your choice". I wonder if they carry "Hai Karate" gift sets? 

Look at the beautiful cast iron - it is a different pattern than the cast iron on the Haunted Mansion. I wonder how many different patterns were used throughout New Orleans Square?  Even the lamps, arches, signs, and columns around the doorways are awesome. These slides are a bit washed-out, but one can be sure that there is not a trace of bright blue or purple, like you might find in some places today. A+ (and two smiley faces), Imagineers!

More Instamatics

It's time for more vintage Instamatics, courtesy of my friend Mr. X! Talk about the gift that keeps on giving, these things have lasted for months and months. I'm super grateful that he generously gave me all of these wonderful images.

Let's start with this beautiful shot of the Matterhorn. I don't know what to say about it except that it is sunny and colorful and awesome.

Here's an interesting picture, taken as the sun was setting; Tomorrowland is backlit dramatically, but we can still clearly see the Matterhorn, Peoplemover, Monorail, Skyway, and some of the Autopia. The photo was taken aboard the Disneyland Railroad while it waited at the Tomorrowland station. I really love this one.

And finally, here's a closeup of the Disneyland Band. Everyone loves a tuba player! EVERYONE, do you hear me?!?! The ladies loved him, which made his bandmates jealous as hell. But what could they do? He played the tuba, and there was no way they could compete.

Stay tuned for more Instamatics!

The Columbia at Tom Sawyer Island - July 1960

The first photo in today's post is an interesting/unusual view from 1960, showing the Columbia sailing ship apparently moored next to the fishing dock at Tom Sawyer Island. I wonder why? You can see ropes securing it to the shore to our left, as well as another rope heading towards the opposite shore on our right (which would seem to indicate that the Mark Twain wasn't in operation at this time). 

While these slides are date-stamped "July 1960", they could (of course) have actually been taken months before. Could both of these big boats that shared the Rivers of America been temporarily out of commission due to the impending opening of the "Mine Train Through Nature's Wonderland", which opened in May of 1960?

Here's a boring picture of the Matterhorn!

Two From July 1967

Here's a nice, postcard-worthy shot of Sleeping Beauty Castle on a bustling July day. The Anaheim castle is much smaller than the Orlando version, but I still love it. It looks just right here.

Let's zoom in for a little bit of vintage people-watching! 

I don't want the folks on the right side of the photo to feel left out.

This one, taken in front of the floral Mickey portrait, cracks me up; that kid doesn't need any fancy rides. All he cares about is that awesome drainage grate in the cement. Disneyland really is as awesome as everyone says it is!

A Few From August, 1961

Here's a nice photo of Sleeping Beauty Castle on a bright sunny day (not a cloud in the sky!). From the angle of the sun, it must still be morning-ish; the semi-circular seating areas on the bridge where those boys are relaxing were recently removed because they were deadly and dangerous!

Darn this traffic! If I want congested streets, I'll stay in Los Angeles. 

Japan, 1950's

I recently found some really neat 35mm slides from Japan, dating from what I assume is the early to mid-1950's (they are unmarked, as is often the case). It is interesting to see the country in the immediate post-WWII period, where traditional ways were slowly being replaced by more modern life.

I wish I had more information about where these were taken; one slide (among many) was labeled "Yokohama", so it's possible that all of these are from that general area. If any of you readers out there can glean anything from these, please let me know!

I wonder if this lady worked in a place like a tea house, where customers expected traditional garb, or if this is how she dressed every day?

A brother and sister walk down a city street, perhaps on their way to school. I love the stores in the background; paper lanterns are side-by-side with neon signs. Notice the western-style mannequin.

Folks gather outside a restaurant & cabaret - signs in English might have been there for American servicemen. Look at all that firewood!

I love this fascinating look at a bustling city street! If only I knew where it was, just imagine how modern it must be today - probably with shiny glass buildings and flashing signs everywhere.

The clock in this town square tells us that it is a little past 9 o'clock; there's snow on the ground and the skies still look a bit stormy. One tall sign says "Toshiba"; I wonder if those small cars are Toyotas, Nissans, or Hondas? Or even some other brand?

This one fascinates me because Japan certainly had modern ships by this time (as was seen during the battles in the Pacific), and yet this harbor is full of old-fashioned wooden boats equipped with sails instead of engines. Presumably they were mostly used for fishing.

I hope you have enjoyed these vintage photos of Japan!

The Haunted Shack, Knott's Berry Farm - November 1960

I was very happy to find today's photos from Knott's Berry Farm! One of the "most missed" extinct attractions from Knott's is the beloved "Haunted Shack" - a wooden cabin built at such extreme angles (and on a slope), that all kinds of crazy phenomena could be seen there; phenomena that could only be caused by GHOSTS! 

The Haunted Shack debuted in 1954; the story goes that it had once belonged to Slanty Sam and Shaky Sadie in Esmerelda County, Nevada. After they passed away, Walter Knott had the shack moved to the Berry Farm.*

The guide (or host?) looks like a gas station attendant. "Fill 'er up?". I remember this illusion; a guest was chosen from the audience, and challenged to get up out of the chair. They couldn't do it!

This next one was known as the "Scare Chair"… it was placed high up on the wall, resting only on its back legs on a thin piece of wood. We saw the host put it there himself! And yet there was no danger of falling. What audience members didn't know is that this kid was a "plant", and he stood at that angle no matter where he was. Because he was the great-grandchild of Slanty Sam and Shaky Sadie.

WHUT THE…?? Water is flowing uphill! He is a demon! Stone him! I remember another water illusion: a spigot hanging in the air above a sink, supported only by two thin wires, with no pipes running to it. And yet water was gushing out of it continuously! "How does it work?" someone invariably asked. "Very well!" would be the reply.

It looks like this guy is dancing with that broom, a la Fred Astaire, but in fact he was demonstrating how it would stand up on its own, and at a ghostly slant! There's nothing spookier than a haunted broom.

The Haunted Shack was demolished in 2000, replaced by the "VertiGo" ride.

*Info gleaned from Chris Merritt's book, "Knott's Preserved".

Walt Disney World, December 2, 1975

I recently noticed an interesting phenomenon: whenever I post vintage photos of Walt Disney World, the number of views quadruples! This is primarily a Disneyland blog (as you know), but I can be swayed by popular opinion. Which is why I am sharing some old Magic Kingdom pictures today. There are some nice pics in the lot - and a bunch of the usual suspects, as you'll see over the coming weeks. 

I like this interesting (to me) view as guests approach the Speedramps up to the Monorail Station. It must have been exciting for visitors, knowing that they were going to take those futuristic trains to WDW.

As always, I have plenty of photos of Cinderella Castle. There's nothing to be done (unless you want me to skip them, and I wouldn't blame you). Still, at least you get a great view looking up Main Street; it's so uncrowded. Wow. These have the hand-written date of December 2nd on them… and look at how gorgeous the day was.

Moving northward, and crossing the street, we get a look at the Horse Drawn Streetcars, and the buildings on the west side. Notice the patriotic bunting, as well as the shields on the lamp posts, all in anticipation of the impending Bicentennial. There's a guy up on top of that building to our right, apparently repainting. Or whatever.

I have no idea where this photos was taken; somewhere up near the castle, I guess? It's a topiary swan, maybe it has something to do with the old swan boats that used to be there.

My unfamiliarity with the Florida park drives me crazy. This walkway seems to lead from the Plaza toward the entrance to Tomorrowland? There's Space Mountain in the distance, which debuted in January of 1975 (Disneyland's version wouldn't open until May of 1977).

That's it for today, but there's more to come!

Main Street Station & Town Square, August 1961

Sometimes I wish I had something more exciting to offer all of the GDB readers out there. But if I only posted the exciting stuff, this blog would have been over and done with long ago! 

The classic floral Mickey portrait is a wonderful touch, and he looks especially good here; sometimes the flowers aren't in full bloom, making the mouse look a bit anemic. I like that they used the same Mickey that was seen in front of the early short films; he's been updated these days. Wouldn't it be cool if the photo of the mother and her kids turned up in a separate lot??

This is actually a pretty nice shot of Town Square at the base of the train station; there's an Omnibus (with a "Disneyland '61" banner on the side), a Surrey, and a Horse Drawn Streetcar, as well as a popcorn wagon. It looks like it was a great day to be at the park!

Exciting Rocks, August 1969

Ya know, that ol' Rainbow Desert sure was a popular subject for shutterbugs. Some say that the desert heat drove 'em plum loco! I seen it happen. 

I've seen so many pictures of these buttes and natural arches that they now seem like old friends. Some of my best friends are rocks. They are easier to get along with than most people! Even my mule (Fred) gets along with them, and he doesn't like anybody.

I dream of someday building a series of shops here. I will call it a "strip mall". There will be a nail salon, a frozen yogurt place, a Panda Express, a Starbucks, and a Supercuts. And it will all be air conditioned.

The rocks to our right are rare examples of "tumbling rocks". They sway and turn with the wind and the vibrations from our passing train. I haven't figured out how to make money from these yet, but dagnabit, I will, eventually.