Main Street Station, WDW, November 1971

I only have six more slides from Mr. X's 1971 Thanksgiving holiday trip to the Magic Kingdom. So sad.

Look at this beautiful shot of Main Street Station! Very pretty, and taken on a perfect Autumn morning. Could the sky be any bluer? A train is packed with guests, about to take their own "grand circle tour" around the park. 

Zooming in, we can see that there are some costumed characters milling about; there's Pooh, and the Mad Hatter and White Rabbit. It's hard to see even in this zoom, but a boy to the right of Pooh's hunny pot is wearing a coonskin cap. Meanwhile, I originally thought that the young woman with the very short skirt was a cast member, but I guess the small child next to her nixes that idea!

Next is this very nice shot looking toward the west tunnels (plural) under the train tracks, while the Lilly Belle locomotive sits above. the 70's fashions don't look too wild yet, but there are splashes or bold yellow, red, and blue. 

Another zoom-in shows some attraction posters in the tunnel - out of all of my WDW slides, this is the only one that shows posters, I believe! We can see the beautiful "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" poster - a nice update on the Disneyland Submarine Voyage - as well as one for "America the Beautiful". 

I sure wish I had one of these!

Pirate Ship, October, 1963

We're revisiting an old favorite today - we've visited it LOTS of times before. It's the Chicken of the Sea Pirate Ship. The sun could have made more of an effort, I'd say - the marine layer has it whupped. A tour guide stands to our left, while a young girl eats her ticket book.

It was kind of a bummer when Chicken of the Sea ended its sponsorship of the Pirate Ship in 1969; if only Starkist Tuna had stepped in. They could have replaced the mermaid figurehead with a Charlie the Tuna figurehead! With his beatnik cap and dark glasses, Charlie would have brought a different energy to the ship.

In this photo I am intrigued by the rack of postcards to the right; I recognize some rare and valuable Art Corner "squeaker" cards (they squeaked when you squeezed 'em) that can fetch well over $100 apiece for scarcer examples.

Just for fun I put this together so that you can see those rare cards a little bit better.

Richfield Oil Brochure

It's time for more Disneyland paper ephemera. My favorite! This time I have an undated (but certainly early) brochure from the Tomorrowland exhibit sponsored by Richfield Oil, called "The World Beneath Us" (1955 - 1960). Most of you know that Tomorrowland wasn't finished by July 17th, 1955, and Walt needed attractions for people to visit. The sponsored exhibits were glorified ads, but that doesn't mean that they weren't wonderful! I would give anything to be able to see what they were like in person.

The cover shows an unnamed "professor" character, drawn in the classic 50's industrial film style; at first I thought it was possible that the film could have been made by another studio, but after some research I learned that it was indeed produced by Disney. We also see natural gas (the little yellow flame), and water (the blue sailor) being used to push a blob of oil up to the surface.

I'd sure love to know if this Technicolor, Cinemascope film has survived; could the Disney Archives have this in a salt mine in Arkansas?

An ad in an issue of "Vacationland" magazine tells us that the Richfield exhibit "... helps explain the story of man and the forces with have shaped 'the world beneath us'. Mr. Professor narrates a... cartoon depicting the ages when torrential rains flooded the earth, when driving winds and glaciers tore up the face of the land, and monster dinosaurs dominated the Earth's surface". So... the 1920's?

A Fall 1958 issue of "Vacationland" magazine tells us that the Richfield exhibit had "...a Diorama model of the entire Los Angeles Basin area, together with a working model of an underground oil reservoir". Cool!  One interesting thing to note is that Disneyland is never mentioned. Perhaps Richfield distributed these brochures outside of the park, but they aren't common, so it seems unlikely.

I hope you have enjoyed this vintage brochure!

Mad Tea Party, 1960

I only have one photo for you today, but it will feel like a lot more! And isn't that what really matters?

SO... here's what the slide (from 1960) looks like in its unaltered form. Not so good, right? Which is why this image was skipped over many years ago.

But I am very happy with the way the restoration turned out! Yellows, blues, pinks, greens, and pretty much every other color have come right back. Looking at it here, I can still see some things I might fuss with, but... I'll sleep like a baby. 

As you may have noticed, I love a nice clear photo of the Mad Tea Party ride from above - the ride itself looks fantastic, but it's the people that are the real fun.

Four adults in a teacup makes for a tight fit. All those legs have to go somewhere.

One kid has his hand to his forehead, like he just can't take any more spinning, while a pair of kids hunker down in their teacup as if gangsters were shooting at them. Hat with ostrich feather at nine o'clock!

There are two kinds of people. People who believe that there are two kinds of people, and people who don't. Or maybe there are people who like to spin the teacup, and people who let them. Think about it.

I wanted to pan up  to the folks watching the teacups, or wandering in front of the Mickey Mouse Club Theater ("Air Conditioned"), with the Welch's Grape Juice Bar next door. Mmmm, ice cold grape juice, it's been a while since I've had the stuff, but it would hit the spot right about now. I wish I could make out the art on those posters flanking the entrance to the theater, but it's just too indistinct.

I hope you aren't too dizzy!

Goofy & Pluto, September 1966

Hooray for the costumed characters! They've always been popular with the guests, and have become even more so in recent years. I don't know if you'll ever see characters just walking around like they are in today's photos. Is there a handler nearby, disguised so cleverly that they appear to be regular schmoes?

Goofy's wearing his classic orange shirt and blue pants, and the white gloves betray the fact that he is a germaphobe. He was also a bit of an obsessive-compulsive, touching the spikes of the portcullis 3 times whenever he walked beneath them. I love how the lady behind him is so delighted; it's as if she's saying, "Only in Disneyland, right?" to the gentleman.

A small crowd has gathered for Goofy, but poor Pluto can't get the time of day. "What's a dog gotta do around here?" he wonders, not for the first time. May I suggest tic-tacs, my canine friend? Wait, wait! The lady in the purple dress might want a picture with her Kodak Brownie! Don't worry Pluto, you are still loved.

Too-Dark Town Square

Whenever I find a batch of slides in which every example is too dark, I can't help wondering if they didn't have hundreds of other photos at home that had a similar sooty appearance. It's a bit of a bummer, but we'll manage somehow.

Town square should look sunny and bright, even if it was later in the afternoon, but instead it looks like the slide was tinted with a glaze of black oil paint. Details vanish in the shadows. But we can still make out  things like the Bekins moving van, ladies in their poofy skirts, and that large round sign for the Omnibus that I don't remember ever noticing before. 

A yellow banner has been hung across Main Street; "Disneyland Welcomes...", but we'll never know who they welcomed. I always like seeing the Wurlitzer shop on the corner; such an odd thing for an amusement park. Did they ever actually sell a piano or an organ to anybody?

Old Cities

I have a couple of random old scans today, from places 'round the USA.

We'll start with this 1952 photo from Central City, Colorado (pop. 663). That stone and brick edifice is the Opera House. The City of Central was founded in 1859 during the Pike's Peak Gold Rush - you all remember that. We all went a little nutso! Everyone knows that a respectable city has to have an opera house. 

A Google street view screen grab shows the area remarkably unchanged over the last 60+ years. But times are tough - gambling was introduced in nearby Black Hawk, and was such a hit that Central City has seen the light and has now removed height restrictions on buildings in the historic districts so that they too can have giant, ugly casinos. I understand that a city can't necessarily be treated like a museum, but it's sad to think of what might become of these old neighborhoods.

Meanwhile, I'm not against gambling, it just surprises me how many people are apparently really into it! To the tune of billions of dollars a year. I'll save my money for valuable Beanie Babies, thank you very much.

I found this neat photo in a box of random old slides. Other than the fact that it is date-stamped "July 1958", I had no information. It almost feels like a colorized photo from the Civil War era. I didn't recognize the city, but there were clues. The steamship "Avalon" is near the shore, and I was trying to discern the words on the roof of that long building. Greene Line Steamers?

Well well well, if it isn't Cincinnati, Ohio! The tallest building is Carew Tower (completed in 1930). 49 stories. To the left of it is the stately Union Central Tower (now called the 4th and Vine Tower) from 1913. The building to the right with the pyramidal roof is the Cincinnati Gas & Electric Company building (1929) - now the Duke Energy Building. The Greene Line Steamers structure can be clearly seen.

I also found this nice vintage color photo online, probably from the 1960's. Say, ol' Cincinnati looks like a pretty swell place!

I hope you have enjoyed these old cities.

A Pair From May 1966

I think I'm getting down to the last few scans from May, 1966. It was a good batch.

I love this first photo, with an odd combination of olde-time nostalgia and plastic futurism. Traffic on Main Street was gridlocked, with Streetcars, an Omnibus, and a Firetruck completely blocking the road. Darn contraptions! Walt probably loved the hustle and bustle. The firetruck was seen in more detail in this post from last November.

It's strange to see the two Monsanto exhibits (the House of the Future and the Hall of Chemistry), knowing that their days were numbered.

I think this is our last look at our friend Molly Holiday. Some kid probably threw that pack of cigarettes on the ground, and she just picked them up because she is a good citizen who hates litterbugs. Yeah, that's it. Behind Molly is the Trading Post; they did not take cash, but would only trade for whatever you might have on you. "You can have that rubber tomahawk, but you'll have to give me your cast-iron apple peeler".

Around Town Square, September 1966

I wonder if I could spend the better part of a day at Disneyland without ever leaving Main Street? Maybe not, but I could definitely pass many hours there - something that I could never imagine doing years ago. 

This first photo shows one of the busy sweeps, all in white. He's sticking to the shade as much as possible... it can be awfully hot in September, which I just think of as "August: Part Two". Patriotic bunting remains near the train station, possibly from the 4th of July (who knows, perhaps these pictures were taken closer to that date).

Zooming in a bit, we get a tantalizing glimpse of a souvenir stand; Notice the distinctive triangular outline of Disneyland on a displayed souvenir wall map. You can even see that it is definitely a 1966 map, the first that wasn't drawn by Sam McKim. If you look carefully to the right of that, you can see the white blouse and red vest of a tour guide. Love the colorful Mickey balloons.

Here's a nice jpeg of the 1966 map for you!

Nearby, a hay-burning Streetcar clip-clops around Town Square to head north toward the castle. 

Did somebody call a nurse? Perhaps that lady worked in food services, or... could she just be a guest? A water fountain (without the C&H sugar bag) is to the right of her. We can also see the Global Van Lines vehicle, while a surrey seems to be heading backstage.

ToonTown Pre-Opening

It's time for more photos from the Dream Team of Irene, her brother Bruce, and their friend James. 

These photos are related to the imminent debut of Mickey's Toontown - a whole new land inspired by the movie "Who Framed Roger Rabbit". Since Toontown opened on January 24th, 1993, it is safe to assume that these photos are probably from late 1992. 

I especially like this neat picture peeking over an olive drab construction wall - I don't recall ever seeing a photo of that wall before, with Mickey, Pluto, and Roger Rabbit. Roger is holding a hand drill, as if he was going to provide a hole for us to look through. But... where's the hole?

I'm not sure if this sign was displayed along that same wall; in any case, it announced the construction of Toontown Station. The Fleischer-inspired architecture of Toontown Station seems (to me) to be at odds with Disney's animation style, but I guess that is nit-picking.

I wonder if this photo (and the next one) was taken from the Disneyland RR? That might explain why they are not super-sharp (being taken from a moving vehicle). Still, you can see that progress on the new land is moving along nicely.

This one was taken mere moments later, I am guessing.

And lastly, here is an early morning peek beneath the tunnel that leads into the still-unopened Toontown (notice the metal barriers and orange cones in the distance). They could have chosen to put up barriers to prevent photos like this, but I guess they must have decided that these previews would whet the public's appetite.

There are more photos from Toontown, including some from the opening ceremonies. Thanks as always to Irene, Bruce, and James!