Jungle Cruise. 1950s

I scanned a LOT of slides from a batch from the 1950s, and some of those tended to be either a bit too dark, or they were not as clear as I would like. Today's are all a little bit too dark, though Photoshop was able to lighten them up just a bit.

First up is this shot of a fearsome giant spider, patiently waiting in front of a crumbling temple that contains a golden Buddha statue. I wonder if the three crocodile guardians were there at this point? Either they are submerged, or just out of frame. It's interesting to compare this photo to one from just a few years later.

The lush jungle holds many secrets, but for a fleeting moment we get a glimpse of another naphtha-fueled launch, one that has probably been trying to return to civilization for weeks.

We don't typically see a lot of human beings on the Jungle Cruise (though there are some occasional headhunters), but their presence is hinted at by these outrigger canoes (are they still canoes if they have a rudimentary sail??), and by that tiki to our right, I wonder if that's the same one that we would later see on display in the middle of Adventureland, or if it is a different (but similar) one?

Vintage Kids

I was surprised to learn that kids were actually invented sometime in the 1800s (thanks, Wikipedia), but nobody took photos of them until the 1950s. I have two such photos to share with you today.

The place: Somewheresville, USA! The date: who heckin' knows. I assume that this was taken at one of those old-fashioned schools that still used the stocks to punish recalcitrant children. See how mouthy they are after a few hours in the hot sun, right?! To the right we can see the legs of many boys who can't wait for their turn. Nice girls help them, while others pose demurely. 

I have no information about this next scan. This might be ALL of the children who attend a small-town school, or maybe it's a bunch of Sunday-schoolers. If you happened to be standing nearby, you could actually hear the distinct sound of squirming. The schoolmarm (to the right) looks like she arrived directly from Central Casting. 

 

Two Nighttime Beauties!

Oh boy, I'm proud to present two special scans today, from photos taken by Mr. X back in 1973. At night! Arguably when the park is at its most beautiful (and, dare I say, magical).

I can't tell you how much I love this first photo, with the façade of It's a Small World all lit up like a dream. The touches of violet are somehow just right; perhaps there were other colors that didn't show up on film as well, but I have no complaints. Wonderful.

Perhaps even more wonderful is this amazing shot of Skull Rock, with those glowing green eyes that can only be the result of an evil curse. Why is the water glowing green as well? I've mentioned many times that the sight of Skull Rock at night was one of my favorite things when I was a kid, hopefully you can get a sense of what it was like.

THANKS to Mr. X!

Omnibus, May 5th, 1980

Everybody loves a bus, but they really love an Omnibus. Imagine if it was a GIGABUS! People would lose their minds. Both of today's photos are from May 5th, 1980, and the park looks great.

The Omnibus stopped in two locations to load and unload passengers, and to get new loads of coal (the lady in the red (pink?) dress just delivered the coal to the cast member to our right). She said, "Here ya go, Mac! See ya in the funny papers!". She didn't have many friends. I guess I have to be predictable and point out those wonderful mini-posters on the side of the bus that is omni. The Bank of America is to our left, they gave out souvenirs bags of money (with large dollar signs on them, of course) to guests.

Now the Omnibus is at the load/unload spot at the Plaza, nicely lit by the afternoon sunshine. The lamp post to our right has bunting for Disneyland's 25th birthday celebration. We get just a glimpse of one blue Peoplemover vehicle, but that's better than nothin'. Look at all of that greenery to the left of the Omnibus, is it completely gone today?

I'm not even going to comment on the mini-posters. I might mention that Heritage Auctions recently had four of those in an auction, and each one fetched roughly $30,000. EACH. But I won't mention it because it wouldn't be right. This zoom is to point out the young man in the red plaid outfit, who I can only assume is a tour guide. I wonder when the park first introduced male guides?

 

Two Cameras, One Scene - April 1964

Today I have an interesting pair of photos - both from April, 1964, featuring the same family as they posed near the same decorative planters in Tomorrowland. WHY? I have some theories; maybe you do too.

Here's the first view, possibly taken with an Instamatic camera (or at least using film with the "126" format). Those planters are nice, but it was inevitable that they would have to go as the park continued to develop and get more crowded. I wonder what the boy was pointing at? He and his mother seem awfully interested in something.  

Now here's the standard 35mm view, which is sharper and clearer and generally better in quality in all particulars. Tomorrowland has clusters of shaded benches and souvenir booths, along with the Flight Circle, and of course the Douglas Moonliner. 

You can see stacks of souvenir hats to the left of the family (at the Hat Bar, naturally). Above the stacks, other blacker hats hang, looking like giant fruit bats.  

Anaheim Convention Center, May 1984

Today's images are something of a departure from the usual, but that's OK! They are from Lou and Sue, so you know they'll be good. As I have learned from recent conversations with Sue, Lou really did take pictures of nearly everything, and in May of 1984 he decided to stroll over to the wonderful Anaheim Convention Center, which is just south of Disneyland.

Right out front is this giant "A" which also conveniently serves as a sign board. Anaheim loves their giant A's, since there is a "Big A" outside of Angel Stadium as well.

This striking building, looking like a flying saucer that has just touched down, was designed by Adrian Wilson and Associates, and construction was completed in 1967. We can sometimes see it under construction in the distance in photos such as this one and this one. It opened on July 12th of '67.

I am taking notes about details of this building, it is giving me inspiration for my Palm Springs compound.

I really wish you wouldn't buy those artificial dairy products. Buy real ones! No more hyper-yogurt or astro-cheese, please. I see that the Amway Corporation will be at the convention center on June 1st, so you'll know where to find me.

I'd love to know what other designs might have been considered, but I'm glad that they settled on this one. Over the years the convention center has undergone many expansions, and it is now the largest exhibition facility on the west coast. The last time I went there was for the first D23 Expo in 2009, though that was held in one of the newer additions. Apparently this building stood in for Star Fleet Headquarters on "Star Trek: Picard".

The architectural style of the old convention center is known as "Populuxe", a portmanteau of "popular" and "luxury". The style evoked a sense of luxury with the design of consumer goods such as radios and clocks typically featuring pastel-colored plastic in curved and angular shapes and metalized plastic trim that simulated chrome. Structures commonly used pastels geometric shapes, and surfaces of stucco, sheet metal, and often stainless steel.

MANY THANKS to Lou and Sue!

It's a Small World, April 1973

Happy Memorial Day! Please take a moment to think about the sacrifices that so many men and women have made for us.

People sure loved to take photos of "It's a Small World", especially the outside (the inside was trickier because it was dark). Some say that if you took all of the pictures of IASW world and laid them end-to-end, they would wrap all the way from Los Angeles to Oxnard. Unbelievable! 

There it is, in a possibly POSTCARD WORTHY™ photo (I could see this on a postcard, can't you? Or maybe as a two-page spread in a souvenir guidebook). I can see the Leaning Tower, and a Shinto shrine, and an onion dome from someplace in Russia. And a windmill from Windmillvania. Let's all put on our floppiest sun hats and enjoy this picture together. But don't snap your gum!

Our photographer was interested in those funny little side structures, which (I suppose) extended the façade even further, and also gave the people aboard the Disneyland Railroad something to look at, since the bulk of the attraction would have been behind them. Notice the joy and excitement on the guests' faces in the lower left! 

It's not too busy today, we can ride IASW over and over, belting out the song at the top of our lungs, as we usually do (I do my Sinatra impression). That one boat only has two passengers, which seems borderline illegal to me. You know, local ordinances and such. I've always been kind of fascinated by those raised platforms where the folks who control the boats are born, live their lives, and die (the circle of life). I would have built them to be hundreds of feet in the air just because it would be funny.

Either they had a visitor from The Netherlands, or that woman is a cast member. I didn't think that they still had the women dress is approximations of foreign costumes in 1973, but clearly I am mistaken. I've never been mistaken before, what a funny feeling! Notice the plaid skirt and red stockings of a tour guide, mostly hidden behind that observation platform.

Shoulda-been-rejects

It's always a bit of a bummer to scan vintage slides, only to find that they are flawed in ways that were not apparent when I just held them up to the light. Usually the problem is that they are out of focus, like the following shot. Imagine if that one had been nice and sharp! It's certainly an unusual angle showing the little Rainbow Caverns Mine Train passing through the dangerous tumbling rocks of the Painted Desert. I wonder where the photographer was? On a Pack Mule, perhaps?

This next one would have been nice, but it has that darn light leak. It was perhaps the first photo on the roll of film, or maybe the last, but it would have been a very nice view of the Moonliner.

Just for fun I thought I'd try to restore the image, and it looks OK. Not perfect, I realize. Still, it's nice to not have that blown-out section at the top!

New York World'sFair, September 1965

I'm always happy to take a detour to the New York World's Fair - this time the photos are all from the second season in 1965.

Sure, these days every other house looks just like that giant egg, but back in 1965, the IBM pavilion was pretty stunning. The "egg" contained a theater with steep grandstands that lifted guests up into place in order to watch an amusing 12-minutes show projected on 15 screens that showed how computers and the human mind solve problems in much the same way. Beep.

The Illinois pavilion is best-remembered for Walt Disney's audio-animatronic triumph, "Great Moments With Mr. Lincoln", but it also had the largest collection of Lincolniana ever assembled for an international exposition, including copies of every known photo of the 16th President, and an original manuscript of the Gettysburg Address.

We're looking west-ish along what I believe was "New York Avenue", with the Maryland pavilion to our left, along with the Singer Bowl, an open-air stadium, which hold 15,000, is scheduled for a variety of events - U.S. Olympic trials, folk festivals, Judo and Karate exhibitions, and so on. It is paved in green macadam, has lights for night use, a movable stage 60 feet long and dressing room facilities for 200 performers. It is now "Louis Armstrong Stadium". Notice the Greyhound "Glide-a-Ride" tram, and the Brass Rail's giant moonberry.

And finally, there are the two familiar towers of the New York State pavilion; at 226 feet high, the tower on the right was the tallest structure at the Fair. You can see one of the capsule-like yellow elevators climbing up the side of the column. I love the color and energy of this photo. And the luminaires!

I hope you have enjoyed your visit to the New York World's Fair.

Bear Country, 1973

Here are two more beauties from a batch of photos taken by Mr. X! These are "Souvenir Guidebook-Worthy" for sure.

On March 4th, 1972, a new land (its seventh!) debuted in Disneyland - Bear Country! Built on the site of the old Indian Village, it only had one attraction, the Country Bear Jamboree. And for a while, the CBJ was extremely popular - Disneyland had two identical theaters side by side to handle the enormous crowds. I love this bright, sunny view with the C.K. Holliday crossing the trestle to our left, and all of the folks in their groovy 1970s fashions.

The covered bridge near us was the entrance to the entrance, if you will; you can see the turnstiles and actual entrance in the distance to our left. The Great Stroller Infestation has begun!