3 More From Casa Mexicana

Today's post consists of three photos courtesy of Mr. X, who took these great photos of Casa Mexicana (which took over the space previously occupied by Casa de Fritos, debuting in 1982). You don't see too many photos of this restaurant, even though it was there for almost 20 years!

I'm not sure where this nice mural was located... perhaps on the way into the restaurant? I know some of you will know for sure! It's a lovely acknowledgement of the influence of Mexican culture and history on Southern California.

You could eat inside, or, if the weather was nice, sit at an outdoor table beneath a shaggy awning (palm leaves I guess?). The old Mineral Hall is in front of us; is that part of the restaurant (now Rancho El Zocalo) these days? It would be cool if they would sell fluorescent minerals and that sort of thing.

This one must have been taken early, there's plenty of seating available! 

Many thanks to Mr. X for sharing these photos.

Shoulda-Been-Rejects?

Sunday's have traditionally been days when I share photos that aren't so good. To put it charitably. Like todays examples!

This first one is from sometime in the 1950's (I think), and shows the Fred Gurley locomotive, which debuted on March 28, 1958. This would have been a "prime time" image except for the fact that it is a little bit out-of-focus. Bummer! The train is resting at Frontierland Station, and you can clearly see the siding for other trains to pass. 

This next one (also from the 50's) was extremely dark, and still looks rather gross even after some serious Photoshop action (though I'm actually surprised I was able to get it this good to be honest)! Other than Marty McHurry and a few people walking up to the train platform, the park looks like a desolate zombie wasteland.

Fort Algonquin & More

I have two random slides for you today, along with a few vintage postcards to support each scan. 

First up is this 1955 photo of "Fort Algonquin", located in St. Ignace, Michigan - on the Mackinac Trail, not far from the shores of Lake Huron. After a little research, I discovered that the fort was built to commemorate the site of an old Huron trading post, established north of St. Ignace. St. Ignace is the third oldest community in America, behind St. Augustine, Florida and Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. The outpost was easy to pinpoint from the Mackinac Straits by aiming between the Rabbit's Back ridge and Castle Rock Peak.

This vintage postcard is so similar to my slide! More history: H. Vaughan Norton purchased the property in 1926, and it opened for business in 1927. The tourist trade boomed after WWII, and Vaughan decided to display his collection of “fully intact skeletons, a medicine bag, a huge collection of muskets, and a full sized Eagle Feather head-dress from out west”.

Apparently the roadside attraction experienced some hard times, and a number of the museum's displays fell victim to thieves, who even took finger bones from the skeletons. "Mom will love this!". I found an online article announcing the reopening of Fort Algonquin in 2016, but Google Maps marks the location as “closed”, which is always sad to see.

Next is this scan that was a mystery to me, but after scanning it, I could read the words " Rockerville Stage Line" on the Stagecoach. This is Rockerville, South Dakota, about five miles southwest of Rapid City! It was originally established as a gold mining camp. 

It was a tourist town in the 1950s and 1960s because of its key location on US Highway 16 between Rapid City and Mount Rushmore National Memorial. It had a variety of tourist attractions, including a "Mellerdrammer" (Melodrama) live theatre, a "Ghost town" of various buildings with tourist shops and small amusements, "It's a Small World" Museum (featuring an 1880 Tiny Town model and other miniature collections), a motel, campgrounds and RV parks. 

However, in the conversion of US Highway 16 to four lanes in the mid-1960s, the original townsite was placed literally between the two separate roadways, as there was no way to widen the original highway through the town without completely destroying it. With construction of at least three exits into the town from both directions, the town continued to be a vibrant tourist attraction in the 1970s and 1980s. The tourist could take in daily wild west shows, shootouts, stagecoach rides and gold panning. Fine dining was and still is available at the Gaslight Restaurant. Travelers could stay in town at the local Trading Post Motel, buy groceries and gas up their cars at the Rockerville Trading Post.

Here's a vintage postcard featuring the same Stagecoach that is seen in my slide. In the 1990s, the town virtually died, as a lack of visibility to tourists zipping down the highway at 55 miles per hour sent the local economy into a nosedive from which it never recovered. The only remaining business within the generally accepted city limits is the Gaslight Saloon, which was recently rebuilt after a devastating fire. Virtually all the older tourist-era businesses have long since closed, fallen into decay, and been demolished.

Nice Fantasyland, 1956

I found a couple of very nice 1956 views of Fantasyland - nothing extraordinary, but they have lots of good color and energy, and plenty of 50's charm. 

First up is this view looking southeast-ish - I think the Dumbo ride would be to our right, more or less - and we're facing the Mickey Mouse Club Theater, featuring the "3-D Jamboree". I still keep hoping that this film will pop up, intact and fully-restored. Maybe they'll air it on Disney+! I'm unclear as to whether the entire film had the Mouseketeers performing in color and 3-D, or if they included Disney's few 3-D cartoons ("Melody" and "Working For Peanuts").

I can see that the little souvenir booth has some "jumbo" postcards on display - those things can easily sell for $30 apiece today for "common" examples, up to hundreds of dollars for rare ones.

Next is this great, lively view looking past the Mad Tea Party toward the Chicken of the Sea Pirate Ship, with the Skyway overhead. 

There's yet another souvenir stand, with Keppy Kaps, sunglasses, more postcards, plates and spoons, and other items that I can't quite discern. 

More From "1937Fan"

It's time for more great photos, thanks to "1937Fan", who so generously allowed me to share these with you. The pictures were taken by her aunt back in 1964 (the day after Thanksgiving).

The setting November sun has left half of Main Street in cool shadows - it's hard to tell, but I think the clock on Main Street Station only reads "4:20" or so. It's definitely "sweater weather". I love seeing the classic old Main Street shops, like the Carnation Ice Cream Parlor, the Sunkist Citrus House, and The Coke Corner.

Here's a pretty and colorful picture taken at the Plaza, with a Horseless Carriage, a Horse Drawn Streetcar, and a Surrey all rounding the bend. Hello, House of the Future! It's funny, the taller boy sitting on the bench appears in a couple of photos in this batch, and I thought he might be the son of 1937Fan's Aunt. But she says that she does not recognize him!

And here's a second view of the Plaza, bustling with people. Everything looks so great! You can see Auntie standing just to the right of the ice cream vendor's cart, facing us (and wearing sunglasses).

Thank you, 1937Fan!

Costumed Characters, June 1960

Some of Disneyland's early walk-around characters were not so huggable, but by 1960 it looks like they figured out the key to capturing a faithful likeness. Pooh bear is covered in a thick plush fur that insulates him during the winter, and makes him extra squeezy. I like this version with the hunny pot on his head (and a hitchhiking bee). It's kind of neat that they had pooh out in the parking lot for folks to enjoy before they even set foot in the park (or maybe to wave goodbye as they headed home?).

Since "Pinocchio" is probably my favorite Disney animated feature, I would have been very happy to see these two rascals - J. Worthington Foulfellow (aka "Honest John") and his mute flunky, Gideon. Honest John is sizing us up to see if we are likely candidates to send to Pleasure Island!

Snapshots, 1970's

I have a batch of square photo prints from sometime in the 1970's (the early part of that decade, it's safe to say). They're not the most amazing images, but still fun to look at.

Over on Tom Sawyer Island, General Andrew Jackson is in Fort Wildnerness's Regimental Hdqrs. Today he's being played by Ralph Fiennes. It's interesting to see how this scene changed over the years, see THIS PHOTO as an example. I can't tell if guests used to be able to get much closer, or if the photographer of this image just took a less-inspired picture.

This kid is just the right age to love the Autopia! It's a dream come true.

I love this photo, with Chipmunk Dale having a little fun with the security officer (who is playing along like a champ).

"Well, now that I've caused a little anarchy, I can take a break and meet a few of my fans".

Here comes at least six of the famous Seven Dwarfs! I thought that Dopey might be missing, but I can see one of his ears sticking out in the background. Notice that the Mad Tea Party has those ornate arches around it - I'm pretty sure I've been told when those were installed, but I can't remember now. That might help narrow down the date of these photos a little.

This isn't a great photo, but it shows one of my favorite scenes in the Jungle Cruise; the one with the happy elephant sitting beneath some waterfalls, splashing and spraying like an oversized baby. I think there was a part of me that wished I was right there with him.

There are more photos from this batch coming up!

Shooting Gallery

The Mysterious Benefactor continues to provide more wonderful vintage slide scans; these are all from June of 1978, and even though I titled the blog post "Shooting Gallery", perhaps it would be more accurate to say that this is the plaza in front of the Shooting Gallery. As is often the case, the vintage people-watching is the most fun!

First of all, how about that slurry, eh? I've seen a lot of slurry in my day, but that stuff is choice. Those people don't even realize that their happiness is up a full 9 percentage points just because of what they're walking on. It's been scientifically proven!

There's Chip the chipmunk, looking pretty cute as he poses with a family - one shy boy has to be pushed closer. Doesn't mom know that those characters are kind of scary? Dale doesn't seem to be anywhere nearby, maybe this is like when Lou Costello tried to make movies without Bud Abbot.

The next three are also from June, 1978, though they may have been taken on a different day. Or just at a different time? There were actually a few others from this series, but I figured you didn't need to see five very-similar pix in a row. 

Same scene, different pipples. 

And one more. The photographer seemed to wait until the view of the Shooting Gallery was wide open. 

Well, that was all for today, but we're not done with the Shooting Gallery just yet!

Main Street Station, September 1966

Ordinarily, Sundays are when you can almost always expect to see some pretty iffy scans on GDB. But today's photos are pretty nice! Sharp, clear, good color... it's just that they each show Main Street Station for the millionth time.

It's almost 5 o'clock, and the shadows are starting to lengthen as the sun sinks lower into the west. All of the usual details make me happy, such as the Kalamazoo hand car, the Santa Fe logo, and the posters (Tiki Room, Jungle Cruise). And Mickey's smiling face, of course.

A second angle is almost as nice. Notice that the "population" is listed as 50,000,000 in September of 1966 - it took 11 years to get there. Only five years later the park celebrated the "Year of 100,000,000 Smiles"!

Stone Mountain Scenic Railroad, Georgia, July 1969

Let's take a trip to Stone Mountain Park, in the north central part of Georgia!

Stone Mountain is a large quartz monzonite dome that is 825 feet (251 meters) high. Today it has the largest bas-relief sculpture in the world, depicting Confederate heroes Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee, and Stonewall Jackson. Like most Confederate monuments, this one has been the subject of controversy, and I would prefer to not open that can of worms here, if it's OK with you folks! There are plenty of appropriate forums for such debates.

Here's an early photo when work on the bas-relief had only just begun.

And here's how it looked in 1969. I did not know that Gutzon Borglum was originally approached to carve the monument. That deal fell apart, and he went on to carve Mount Rushmore years later. 

The real subject of today's post is the Stone Mountain Scenic Railroad! It's a standard-gauge railroad that was once an industrial spur of the Stone Mountain Granite Company. Wikipedia sez: In 1960, Stone Mountain Scenic Railroad, Inc. was formed to construct a tourist railroad encircling the mountain, operating it under lease from the Stone Mountain Memorial Association. Between 1961 and 1963, two miles of former quarry trackage were rebuilt, followed by construction of additional new trackage to complete the road around the perimeter of the mountain.

Man, there's lots to read today! Feel free to skip ahead if it's all too boring. Here's some Wiki info about the original locomotives: Stone Mountain originally had three steam locomotives, the "General II," "Texas II," and "Yonah II." The SMRR named the engines after the famous engines of The Great Locomotive Chase, and were given nineteenth century style smokestacks and headlights. Despite these modifications, the engines, having been built between 1919 and 1927, still have noticeably modern appearances, with larger proportions than their ancestors and have more advanced cylinders, valve gear, and other modern applications.

Seen here is the Texas II: #60, The Texas II - a former San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway 4-4-0 built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1923. Through merger, came into Southern Pacific Railroad subsidiary Texas and New Orleans. Paulsen Spence bought the engine for his proposed Louisiana Eastern Railroad and was sold to Stone Mountain after his death. Withdrawn in 1983 when it came in need of boiler work and other mechanical issues, though it continued to occasionally "pull" the train while pushed by a diesel until 2002, and remained within the rail yard thereafter. In 2011, the engine received a partial cosmetic restoration, including the removal of the undergrowth and repainting the portions of the engine that are visible to passing trains, similar to what was previously done to the General II. The Stone Mountain Memorial Association donated the engine to the Gulf and Ohio Railways in Knoxville, Tennessee in 2012. The engine was moved to Tennessee in March, 2013 and is undergoing restoration to operating condition for use on the Gulf and Ohio's Three Rivers Rambler tourist train operation.

Presumably the locomotive really did use wood to fire up the boiler (instead of coal or dilithium crystals) and that the stack of wood seen on the tender wasn't just for show - although it does appear to have been darkened by long exposure to smoke.

Let's go for a ride! Pay no attention to that flaming railroad car, that's probably where smokers can go to satisfy their tobacco cravings.

Well, hey! There's a peaceful Native American encampment. 

Camp McDonald? I'll have a Quarter Pounder combo with a Sprite. Ha ha ha ha! See what I did there? I looked to see if there really was a Confederate "Camp McDonald", and as far as I can determine, there wasn't. This one looks like it was built from a mobile home.

Uh oh, I don't like the looks of that guy with the war bonnet and spear.

Here he comes! It's actually kind of a neat picture of that horse caught in mid-gallop. The brick-red makeup smeared on that actor's face was apparently OK 50 years ago. In 2020... not so much.

Based on the photos (posted in order), I guess we escaped to the safety of this prosperous little town located at the base of Stone Mountain without incident. I see a man on the balcony of the Hotel Ringgold, but can't tell if he's friendly or not.

Somebody's getting a shave and a haircut at Joe's Barber Shop. Next stop: Kitty's Saloon for a hot bath, and a game of poker. 

Well, the hostile warriors followed the train, and now they're attacking the town. It's pandemonium out there.

The fellow to the right is holding on to a fright wig, most likely part of a hilarious scalping gag. 

The little red schoolhouse is aflame, and for once it wasn't caused by the children.

While you can still ride the Stone Mountain Scenic Railroad, I am not sure if any of these sets have survived, or if there is any sort of show performed for the guests while aboard the train.

Let's take one last look at the burning schoolhouse; nearby, a dead Indian warrior still sits on his horse. Fun times for everyone, eh? 

I hope you have enjoyed your visit to Stone Mountain!