1933/34 Chicago World's Fair Buttons

Today's post is a little bit different; hopefully that's a good thing! As part of my interest in World's Fairs, I began to collect pinback buttons from some of them. Mostly from the 1939 Fair, but there are a few from the wonderful 1933 - '34 Chicago Fair ("A Century of Progress"). I need another collection like I need a hole in the head - - but I still love the pins!

This first one is my favorite, with its simple-but-bold design, and the fun Buck Rogers association. "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century" was a 10 minute film (the first one to ever feature Buck), and it was shown at the fair - never released theatrically. You can read an interesting article about the film here, and actually watch the film itself on YouTube here!


I used to think that this button was from the 1939 World's Fair, but a respected pinback button guide says it's from Chicago. So there. It features a popular character, "Abie" the Clown Cop. Abie Goldstein had a long career as a clown (I found a 1946 article mentioning him), and when the sun went down he fought crime, which Batman totally copied.


"Enchanted Island", what kid wouldn't want to go there! According to a postcard, it was ... A playground for children [at the] Chicago World's Fair. Here are old time and new amusement devices for children. Here young people can spend hours of real pleasure while their folks visit the many exhibits of the Fair. "The Magic Mountain" is pictured on the button; all I could find out about it was that you could climb it and take a slide down to the bottom. I guess if you were a kid during the Great Depression, that qualified as magical!


I found this pin when I was in Chicago years ago. "Midget City" was an undersized town inhabited by "sixty Lilliputians" (i.e. Little People)... curious fair patrons could pay a separate admission and gape at the spectacle of smaller-than-average people doing ordinary things. Tasteless by today's standards, and that's saying something. I'll bet there were more than a few future Munchkins working there.


This one seems to be pretty rare... you just don't see many California-related souvenirs from the Chicago Fair. So, even though it's a bit worn and relatively plain, I'm very happy to have it.


I hope you've enjoyed these! Maybe I'll take some pictures of some of my pinbacks from the 1939 New York World's Fair if anybody is interested.

Expo '67, Montreal

Hey! Before I get to my regular post, I wanted to alert anybody who was at the recent "Knott's Preserved" event (or those of you who wish you had been there) to the check out latest installment of the "Season Pass Podcast". Episode #124 has interviews with Chris Merritt, Bob Gurr, Rolly Crump, and more, AND you'll even get to hear the entire Knott's Preserved presentation. The show is almost two and a half hours long. You can download the show HERE, or subscribe to it on iTunes HERE.

****************************************************************************

Somehow I have managed to accumulate quite a few photos from Montreal's "Expo 67", so I thought that I would share a few of them today.

In this first photo we are facing towards the Canada Pavilion's "Katimavik" (the inverted pyramid), with the Saint Lawrence River in the background. At the top of the Katimavik you can see lots of people taking in the view. The orange ball in front of it was the "People Tree", made of many sheets of transparent nylon with images of Canadians on them. The pointy building to our left is the Ontario pavilion. I think that this might have been taken from the top of the French pavilion.


Now I think that we are facing in a north east direction; through the haze you an see the polygons of the "Man the Explorer" pavilion which included exhibits such as a human cell magnified 1,000,000 times. The yellow-striped roof to our right is where you could catch a Monorail; the small building that looks like the Flying Nun's cornette is the Trinidad - Tobago & Granada pavilion.


I'm not entirely positive, but I think that this photo was taken from the top of the Katimavik. We are looking towards Great Britain's pavilion, with the Ontario pavilion in the lower right. The building that looks like a small volcano is the "Western Provinces" pavilion (covered by zillions of cedar shingles). The shiny glass building to our right is the Quebec pavilion. Notice the "Minirail", which somewhat resembled Disneyland's Peoplemover.


Is there any interest in Expo '67? I have about 70 nice slides (we're done with the panoramic views!) if you folks think they are worth seeing.

How Not To Take a Photo

Today's pictures look like the ones that I typically take. Something about that little bit of a delay inherent in non-SLR digital cameras. Yeah, that's it.

Just missed it! It's amazing how a huge elephant can hide so well in the deep jungle.


That Monorail is moving pretty fast, but our photographer pushed the button too soon. By the time he wound the film to the next frame, it was too late.


If the cabin wasn't on fire, you'd hardly know it was there.


See how I turned these crummy photos into a whole post?

Chinese Food & Main Street, April 1966

Here's a fun photo taken from the Monorail, looking at some of the motels that were a burr in Walt Disney's saddle. 40-odd years later and the motels look pretty awesome! I'm sure they were cheaply built, but a few googie decorations and some neat signage added a playful sense of fun that was unique to that era. To the left is "Chao's" Chinese restaurant, apparently a popular hangout for park employees with cast-iron stomachs.


Popcorn isn't just for breakfast anymore, and nobody knows that better than Chip and his mom. The little clown is cranking away; over his head is a sign advertising Fritos brand peanuts. Fritos peanuts? Notice the yellow spotlights to keep the bugs away from the popcorn at night - definitely a good idea!


And finally here's a nice shot of two Gurrmobiles at rest in front of Sleeping Beauty's Castle.

Knott's Viewmaster

It's taken me long enough, but I'm finally posting scans of the third vintage Knott's Berry Farm Viewmaster reel. See reel one here, and reel two here.

"Old West 'Mellerdramer' in Bird Cage Theater". Thrills and chills galore! Not to mention the pretty girl in the red dress.

A helpful reader identified some of the folks in the photo. On the conveyor belt, Melody Westmorland. Red dress, Kathy Battistone. Top hat, Ronnie Morgan; Hillibilly, Jon Stuart.


"Butter 'n Egg man soon loses his money." At least he still has plenty of butter and eggs. Those scheming hussies know that he'll do anything if you tickle him with a feather.


"Crazy things happen in the Haunted Shack by RR track." So crazy that these clean-cut kids turned into hippies the very next day.


"Visitors tour Independence Hall replica at Knott's". When Walter Knott was trying to eke out a living by farming (in the desert!) I'm sure he would have never imagined that he could build something like this one day.


"Knott's Liberty Bell", in case you couldn't tell what it was. It sure looks like the real McCoy!


"The Declaration Chamber". I remember buying an authentic-looking copy of the Declaration of Independence at Knott's, but am not sure if there was a gift shop here or if I bought it elsewhere.


"Thanks for visiting Knott's. Please come again."

Damaged! 1956

I found a group of early Disneyland slides a while ago; they were a mess! Faded, covered in mysterious orange blooms and blotches, and generally awful. I got rid of about half of them, they were beyond salvaging. But I think that there is still something worth looking at in the rest.

This shot of three cute kids on Mr. Toad's Wild Ride is probably the worst of the bunch that I kept. I didn't even bother to try to fix any of the damage; too extensive.


See what I mean? What the heck?


BUT... some of them were still relatively OK. With a bit of time and a lot of help from Photoshop's cloning tool, I wound up with this charming shot of the Teacups.


Stay tuned for more next week!

New York World's Fair, Clairol Pavilion & More

For no particular reason, I am featuring images of the 1964 New York World's Fair's Clairol Pavilion.

Although it looks nice in this early-evening photo, the Clairol Pavilion would ordinarily be of little interest to me. But that little sign (which you can't read) says "ENTRANCE - Color Carousel Is For Adult Women Only". NOW I'm interested! Lingerie? Pillow fights? Truth or dare?


Just to give you some context, there's the Clairol building near the "Fountain of the Planets". Just out of frame out our left would be the Progressland building, while the red-domed Traveler's Insurance building is to the right. This photo was probably taken from the top of the "Better Living Center".


Here's a description from the wonderfully helpful website http://www.nywf64.com/; Designed for women only, the carousel encloses a revolving turntable, divided into 38 individual booths in which the film is shown. Elsewhere, ladies may peer into a mirrored device to see themselves in several different hair colors, and beauty consultants provide formulas for the colors desired. Well that doesn't sound spicy at all! The women can have it. There's the Better Living Center in the background...


... and here it is close up. You could ride up the elevator in the Life-Saver tower for a great view like photo #2, and then descend a ramp inside the building to view various displays including the "Palace of Fashion", a "Dream House", the "Ladies Haven", and a 15 minute animated film starring Elsie the Cow.

Golden Horseshoe Revue, July 17 1968 (Part 3)

Here's part three of my Golden Horseshoe Revue series! See part one here, and part two here.

Fulton Burley has a 1000 watt smile as he introduces the one and only Wally Boag! He's got his carpet bag with him, so you know right away he's up to something.


One of Wally's trademark bits was making balloon animals, which I believe he gave to kids in the audience. This one's a bunny! Or maybe an anteater. I love that painted backdrop with vignettes from the story of Pecos Bill (from the movie "Melody Time").


You should see these slides, the photographer included an amazing amount of information: Wally Boag shows Fulton Burley that he is the fastest gun in the west. Pespi-Cola's Golden Horseshoe Revue, Disneyland, Anaheim, Calif. Yes, that's actually written on the slide! The other side has the film speed and apeture information as well as the exact date. Amazing.

Main Street, April 1966

It's time to give up a little love for Main Street USA!

OK, technically we aren't there yet, having only just walked through the turnstyles, but that is Main Street Station after all.


The street is busy but not too busy; a little bit of a crowd adds a pleasant energy to the place. I don't have much to say about this photo, except that I like it!


A bit later in the day (4:20 to be precise - thanks Timex clock!), the shadows have gotten longer but the crowds haven't abated at all. Then again, there are a lot of people who appear to be headed for the exits. Why would they leave so early, I want to know! You can see at least one cast member, a woman in a long skirt, speaking to another woman in the street. Not sure if she is also a cast member!

The Columbia, April 1966

Just a couple of Columbia pix for you today...

This one is kind of nice, with the Dance Circle in the foreground. It should have been taken with a stereo camera! The river looks great too, hard to believe that this is a theme park creation.


And now for a profile; you can appreciate some of the ship's complex carpentry in this picture. At least I assume it is carpentry... maybe most of it is cast fiberglass.