Old and Improved! GDB Rescans

I've had to install a liquid nitrogen cooling system in my new scanner, I've been so busy rescanning  old slides! The neighbors are complaining about all the steam and clanking noises. But I am very inconsiderate, so I don't care!

Some of you may remember this one posted way back in 2006. It's as if the slide was dipped in grape juice (Welch's, of course) - and this is after I had tried to restore it. Yes, it is pretty crummy looking.

Nine years later, the rescan is a notable improvement. The proper authorities have been notified, as well as the Hollywood press. The sky looks appropriately dusky, and the purple has been banished to wherever purple things go. Oxnard, maybe. I love the lights on the Red Wagon Inn, the oranges on the orange tree, and just the general night-is-approaching atmosphere. I wonder if any background music was playing back in 1960?

Keeping with the Red Wagon Inn theme, here is a rare view taken inside the restaurant, with those last golden rays of sunlight coming through the blinds. This 2006 scan is grainy and just plain "blah".

This redo has much better contrast, is much less grainy, and has better color. Looking at the blurry table, I wonder, "Where are the plastic trays? Where are the paper cups? Why does it look like they are eating in a real restaurant for civilized adults?". I wonder a lot of stuff.

Stay tuned for more rescans (also known as "cheaters")!

Jungle Cruise Elephants - August 1968

Some people prefer the Beatles, some people prefer the Rolling Stones. Or, there's east coast vs. west coast. Rihanna vs Nicki Minaj. McDonald's vs. Burger King. What about... hippos vs. elephants? 

Sure, hippos make great pets, but I like elephants. First of all, they look like they are from an alien world. Also, they never forget. And they are afraid of mice, and like peanuts. In other words, they are just like me. The Jungle Cruise added a whole bunch of pachyderms in 1963 for the sacred elephant bathing pool. As always, my favorite elephant scene is the one with Mama, her baby ("Little Squirt"), and a dopey crocodile.

I think that there was a part of my kid brain that wished I was an elephant with a fun pool to play in  (because my mean mom and dad never got a pool even though they totally had room for one and I promised I would clean it and would swim in it every day). Then I wanted to be Evel Knievel. Or was it The Fonz? I forget.

The sculpts for these critters is quite good; taken out of context, you probably could convince a person that this was really taken in India or Thailand.  Then you could reveal the truth and laugh at that person. It would be sweet!

So-So Sunday Again

You shoulda stayed in bed, GDB readers; today's photos are hardly worth the effort. But I scanned 'em, so here they are.

Most pirate ships didn't have much of a view, unless you liked miles and miles of empty ocean. But Disneyland's pirate ship had all kinds of interesting things to look at. Glancing to the north, you can see some of Storybook Land's canals, as well as a Casey Jr. Circus Train full of wild animals. You can also see the C.K. Holliday approaching the colorful Fantasyland Station (now gone nearly 50 years). 

This one is just too dark, but if you put on your night-vision goggles, you would be able to see a group of squirming kids (kids are always squirming!) heading up the staircase to Tom Sawyer's Treehouse, on his eponymous island. Even grownups kind of wish they could live in a treehouse!

At the Airport

Remember when traveling by plane was exciting and romantic? Neither do I, but apparently it was a thing back in the 1950's and 60's. Oh, who am I kidding, when I was a child it was exciting to go to the airport. The hustle and bustle! The planes coming and going! The anticipation at eating airplane food - the most delicious food ever (actually, some of it wasn't too bad, in my kid-memory)! Those weird seat belts! My complimentary "Junior Pilot" pin! And finally... arriving at our destination to find grandma and grandpa waiting for us at the gate, which was the best of all. Good times!

Well, today's photos harken back to that rosy era. How about this first one, featuring a group of smartly-dressed travelers, waiting to walk out onto the tarmac and up the movable staircase into their planes. I have no idea where this was taken, but there are a lot of overcoats. The lovely ladies brought plenty to read. My favorite details are the triple tails of several Lockheed Constellations in the background - one of the more beautiful propeller-driven airplanes. 

Speaking of Constellations, here comes one now! This is from another mystery airport. All of the trucks, luggage-haulers, planes and buildings (love that Shell fuel truck!) look like an elaborate toy layout (see these photos of Madurodam). 

Suddenly I feel the urge to travel.

Wonderful Tomorrowland, 1957

Hot diggity! It's Tomorrowland, circa 1957, in clear, colorful Kodachrome. Doesn't it look great? Everything is so neat and tidy. I wish that we could see into the foyer of the Rocket to the Moon attraction, but those shadows are impenetrable. My impression is that the exhibits therein evolved over the years. 

The rocket itself is impressive as always; it just wants to leap into outer space! At its base, crowds of people are gathered... I wonder if this was their prearranged meeting place? "Synchronize your watches; we'll reconnoiter at the base of the rocket at 1500 hours!". To our right is the giant compass rose of the Flight Circle.

Let's be nosy and look backstage. There's the old Dominguez home (with the Spanish tiled roof), which served as the administration offices. In the upper right is the massive shed that was part of the Main Street buildings, including the Opera House. If you look carefully to the right of the Dominguez house, there seems to be something that resembles a boat (?).

From the same group we have this crooked photo of the Astro Jets zooming in circles; to the left, the old Art Corner building, and to the right, the Skyway tower on Snow Hill.

Vintage Children's Fairyland Postcards!

Welcome to the 11th post featuring Ken Martinez's collection of vintage amusement park postcards! We'll be visiting a place that I have never seen - Children's Fairyland in Oakland, CA. Here's Ken:

Children's Fairyland, Oakland, California

Children's Fairyland opened in 1950, and is located in the city of Oakland next to Lake Merritt. The park has many storybook sets which contained "talking storybook boxes" that you could purchase a plastic key for. When you turned your key in the box, audio would play telling the story of the fairytale/fable portrayed in the storybook set. Walt Disney also visited here and incorporated ideas from Fairyland into Disneyland.

The original entrance to Fairyland was through "The Old Lady in the Shoe" structure. I remember my mother purchasing tickets at the window in the heel of the shoe. Adults would have to squat to get through the entrance. While the shoe still stands, the newer "Fairy Gates" entrance is just beyond the shoe today.

This storybook set features the home of Peter Rabbit. I love the simple small and intimate architecture of these sets. Children's Fairyland had and still does have small animals in their storybook sets and exhibits, like the rabbits seen here.

The Happy Dragon has been at the park ever since I can remember. As a little boy, my mother would hold me up as I pulled his leather tongue, which would activate a speaker so he could tell a story of Fairyland. The Happy Dragon is still vocally active to this day.

This storybook set features the home of the Three Little Pigs. Can we assume that all three of them live there, because the brick house is the only structure that can withstand the wolf's huff and puff?  I love the white picket fence and crooked roofline.

The Jolly Trolly train opened in 1954. I remember riding this train along the shores of Lake Merritt and through the parklands surrounded by the city of Oakland. I also remember sticking my head out the oval windows of the cabs as shown in the postcard. The train reminds me of a cross between the Casey Jr. Circus Train and Toonerville Trolley. It still runs along its track today and looks basically the same as it did when it first opened.

As a child I remember sitting here at this storybook theater many times to watch the marionette performances at this little theater. It just seems so small and old fashioned now. The size of things certainly seemed bigger when you were a little kid.

Fairyland was the park I visited regularly as a very small child, since we lived in the Lake Merritt neighborhood in the early 1960's. Because of that, this place holds special memories for me. I hope you enjoyed your visit to Children's Fairyland. The park is still going strong to this day, is a source of local pride, and has kept most of its original spirit and feel. If you plan on visiting, just remember that no adult is admitted without a child and no child is admitted without an adult.

Information source material:

www.fairyland.org Official site of Children's Fairyland, Oakland.

I DID enjoy my visit to Children's Fairyland! Thank you as always, Ken Martinez!

Classic GDB - The Douglas Rocket

The Moonliner was an impressive feature of the pre-1967 Tomorrowland. I loved it best when it had the TWA colors; that airline ended its sponsorship in 1961, and the TWA name was painted out. About a year later, Douglas Aircraft Company took over, and remained the sponsor until the rocket's removal in 1967.

This first picture was originally posted in 2010 (the photo is from April, 1966); it's a beautiful view of the rocket in its natural habitat. The rocket was 76 feet tall, but was based on a concept by Werner Von Braun that (had it ever been built) would have been over 200 feet tall and powered by an atomic reactor. Imagine that!  

Zooming in to the right we see part of the oval Flying Saucer area, and the new Administration Building under construction. 

This next shot is also a beauty; it was taken in October, 1963 (originally posted in 2008), in the late afternoon. I don't think I would be able to deal with crowds like this!

Two Snapshots, September 1971

Snapshots, we love snapshots!

Up at the Plaza end of Main Street we see a returning Streetcar. The horse looks especially peppy because he just had his morning trough of coffee (espresso, of course). The girl with the brown patchwork pants is mighty excited about lunch at the Plaza Inn.

This peaceful Indian village shows Native Americans scraping hides, drying meat, grinding corn (I call it maize), and making an early form of the frozen daiquiri. It's always cocktail hour in Frontierland.

More Walt Disney World at Night, November 1971

Here are more vintage photos of The Magic Kingdom, taken at night!

In this first one we see the Crystal Palace, which bears a striking resemblance to my summer cottage (the little one, not the big one). Today it is a buffet-style eatery where you can meet characters such as Winnie the Pooh, but I believe that in '71 it was a full-service restaurant. It looks pretty great with hundreds of lights aglow on this November evening.  

Still on Main Street, we see a place called "The Cup and Saucer", which obviously sold propane and propane accessories. One humble garland and string of colored lights is all that we get to clue us in on the fact that Christmas is near. Hint: nothing says "Happy Holidays" like a tank of propane!

So-So Sunday

People do all kinds of different things on Sunday. Barbecue; watch the big game on TV; go to the  movies; work in the yard; or perhaps they like to curl up with a good book. I like to share sub-par slides with my readers on Sunday! Today I have two fuzzy offerings.

Like this one, from 1957, looking down on the new House of the Future, with a crowd of "Leave it to Beaver" extras waiting to get in.

"Patty, you don't think that sofa is made of plastic, do you?". "You bet, Mary! The whole darn place is plastic!". "My, what will they think of next?". (End of scene)

In spite of the blurriness, I think that this is still a somewhat worthwhile image. For a Sunday.

More fuzziness abounds in this picture (also from 1957) of a Dumbo clone. Yes, it's a clone - how else can there be so many of them? They were grown in petri dishes. I heard about it from my cousin Clem, who saw it with his own eyebones when he worked as a janitor at Cal Tech. The truth must be known!

The soft, desaturated colors almost make this photo look like it is 58 years old.