An Amusing Assortment

Just to start things out, I'd like to wish our friend Andrew a very Happy Birthday! I hope you have all kinds of fun today, with no clowns involved in any way. Here's a delicious chocolate cake for you, from a scan from one of the Junior Gorillas (I think you can guess who)!

And, since Andrew is a musical prodigy, Sue B. thought it would be fun to share two photos of the American College Marching Band, from September, 1971. Their outfits remind me of Dick Van Dyke's "Jolly Holiday" costume. 

I wonder if  the American College Marching Band played versions of much more recent songs (as opposed to the classic marches and Disney songs that the Disneyland Band played)? I hope Andrew sees a marching band when he goes to the park!

Being a Sunday, I ordinarily share photos that are not so great. But I can't do that to Andrew! So instead I am sharing three more scans from photos taken by Lou Perry, shared with us by Sue B. (what would we do without her?). Hey, it's the Flying Sorcerers! From April, 1963.

In spite of the many operational issues that plagued the Saucers, it sure made for some great picture. The white spacecraft with the "International Orange" accents looked especially striking against that vast blue air hockey table. It is the exact same blue as Neptune. COINCIDENCE? 

Even though the saucers were powered by Element 322, there is still wear on the blue surface. Due to micro-meteors and dust storms, most likely. Disneyland prided itself on being pristine, so why did they let this part get so shabby? Then I learned that real flying saucer paint, developed by DuPont right after WWII, cost $1000 a gallon in 1963 dollars. TRUE STORY.

Right in the middle of  this photo, there is a woman and a cute little girl (you can see her red bangs from here) on one of the saucers.  Who could they be??

Whoo-hoo, that woman is working that saucer with MAD SKILLZ (as my rapper friends say), I hope that she doesn't accidentally overcome the bonds of gravity and fly up into space. I like how the mystery girl is leaning into it too. She has Saucer Mania!

Many thanks to Lou and Sue!

The Magic Kingdom, December 1978

I'm using up the last scans from a batch of Magic Kingdom slides, date-stamped "December, 1978". Still pretty early... 44 years ago. Yikes.

Here's the exterior of "It's a Small World", which (from what I hear) is superior to the Disneyland version - EXCEPT for that rather uninspiring facade! Considering its location, I guess that a duplication of the white and gold city and the smiling, ticking clock wouldn't have fit in right next to the castle and those half-timbered structures But... it's still a little underwhelming.

I can't tell if it's later in the day, or if some clouds had just moved in. You know those sudden Florida rains. I have so many photos of the entrance to Frontierland at Disneyland, but not many (maybe this is the only one?) in Florida. So much of the Magic Kingdom is so big, but that gateway looks rather small, to be honest.

I've been told that the Swiss Family Treehouse is on its own little island. Or is it on Tom Sawyer Island? I'm not sure! Anyway, here you can see a crude suspension bridge that led to the treehouse. If marauding pirates showed up, I guess you could cut the ropes and make things much more difficult for raiding pirates. 

Our brave photographer attempted to take a night shot, and it didn't turn out too bad! 

This one is a bit of a mystery to me, I assume that this is part of the moat, or waterway for the Swan Boats (were those one in the same?), since we can see the track underwater. But I have no idea what that building is to our left.

Another night shot! This time we have the entrance to Tomorrowland, and while most of it is black, the colored highlights (with Space Mountain in the background) make for a pretty picture.

And finally, here's a cute photo of a trepidatious boy approaching Br'er Fox (near the Gerber Baby Center). I'd be nervous too, that fox is not trustworthy! But Br'er Fox has his finger up to his mouth, the universal sign that he also is uncertain. With "Song of the South" sliding into (well-deserved?) obscurity, I wonder if the animated characters from that film will ever be seen in the parks again? If so, it makes me kind of sad, even though I do understand the concerns.

I hope you have enjoyed these photos from The Magic Kingdom!

Three Beauties from April 1963

I have a trio of photos for you taken by Lou Perry, and (as always) generously shared with us by Sue B., who scanned 'em. These are all from April of 1964, and are from some sort of smaller-format slide film. But they look great!

First up is this shot of the Disneyland parking lot, looking toward the Hotel, when it was just the Garden Apartments, and the still-relatively-new Sierra Tower to the right (completed the previous year). Hey, Nanook, what's that car? Cool tail fins! Let's go for a swim in the Olympic-sized pool.

Speaking of the Sierra Tower, Lou either somehow got to the roof, or he probably had a room pretty high up, affording him this bird's eye view of the parking lot, with the Monorail beamway running right through. No Monorail though, oh well. Where are all the cars?? Was the park closed this day? Perhaps the most interesting detail is seeing the "Melodyland" theater under construction in the top right corner.

And lastly, here's a wonderful shot of an L.A. Airways helicopter. While this air service ultimately had a sad history, it sounds like the coolest thing ever; land at LAX, and fly directly to the Disneyland Hotel! No  clogged freeways to deal with, and you'd almost surely get amazing aerial views of the park, so have your cameras at the ready.

MANY THANKS to Lou and Sue!

Fowler's Harbor, 1950s

Today I have two vintage views of Fowler's Harbor - the place for all your steamboat needs. Need a new boiler? Fowler's Harbor has a huge selection to choose from, including the new "Steam-o 5000". You could stop for a good meal at Fowler's Inn while you were there, don't worry about that leaning building falling down. What are the odds?  I recommend the bowl of random turtle bits. Crunchy and delicious. There's a flat barge (painted mostly blue) moored in the harbor, I wonder what it was used for? This was before the Dixieland at Disneyland river shows. 

The first view was taken from the Mark Twain, but this one was taken from Tom's Treehouse on Tom Sawyer Island. It wouldn't be too long before the trees on that little peninsula would entirely block the view of Fowler's Harbor. We can also see people walking from the Indian Village, accessed via that rocky tunnel just above the buildings of the harbor. And to the left of that, there's the stair-step masonry entrance to the train tunnel. Is that a tent I see in the distance? Holidayland, perchance?

 

A Pair From April 1973

1973 was a good year to go to Disneyland, oil crisis be darned! Just like there's always room for dessert, there's always enough gasoline to go to Disneyland.

First up is this shot of Rainbow Ridge, named after Sir Albert Rainbow (are you sick of this joke yet?). We might be in the Wild West, but this little mining town has everything we need. A dentist (with a strong arm and rusty pliers), a saloon, a school house, several hotels, a hardware store, and even an opera house. 

Well, shoot, it looks like the Submarine Voyage was down for rehab. I suppose it was bound to happen sooner or later, they have to scrub the algae off of the rocks once in a while. There are ladders and drop cloths aplenty. If you remember a post from back in February, we saw that the Monorail was still operating at least.

Let's zoom in for a better look at the sign (kind of generic, but still fun), along with the chaos and clutter of the work area. I wonder what that thing is right behind the sign, the metal structure with the shiny red balls on top? Any guesses?

Snapshot Prints, 1965

It's time to dig through the digital box of scanned photo prints - circa 1965. It's a random assortment.

Here's a sweet view of the original round Skyway gondolas coming and going above the Submarine lagoon. It wouldn't be long before they would be replaced by the larger rectangular buckets. There's a bobsled, so... you know. Good luck and all that. I guess this photo was taken from the Monorail? Where else would one have been able to get that elevated perspective in '65?

Now we're next to one of the Tomorrowland Skyway supports, with plenty of gondolas overhead, including a few that appear to be "battleship gray", which is sort of an odd choice. I don't recall noticing those before. The others are all in hues of blue and green. 

The "Lullabye Land" crazy-quilt landscaping of Storybook Land looks very pretty here, with a solitary canal boat gliding along.

Two Leftuggies

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!

Everyone loves a helping of Leftuggies™, served warm with potato salad, mixed fruit on the side. Perfect for a summer day!

This first one is date-stamped "July 1961" - 61 years ago - and it shows grandma and grandpa as they prepared to board the Disneyland Railroad at Main Street Station. I assume that this the "Holiday Red" passenger cars. Because the stripes are red, see?

Next is this nice photo showing guests strolling through the winding streets of New Orleans Square in July  of 1969. 53 years ago! Mother, Grandmother, and two kids stroll past the Blue Bayou restaurant, where it's nighttime, even during the day. In the background, the Pirate Arcade beckons!

Almost Rejects

Here's another chance for me to use up some "ALMOST REJECTS". I don't think I need to explain what that means! I scanned a lot of 59 slides, and 47 of them are from Frontierland, which is both amazing and a little bit frustrating.

Looking over the heads of some kids, we see some teepees on Tom Sawyer Island, one of at least three Indian Villages in Frontierland. In the distance, we see a hill that is impressively tall, I'll bet the view from the top was amazing.

Some of the slides in this lot were very dark for some reason, and Photoshop could only do so much. They still look pretty murky. Still, I like the view of the Keelboat (which appears to be heading in the wrong direction) as it scooted past empty Fowler's Harbor. Nice fedora, pal! 

This is an OK view of a VERY busy steamboat landing, but the focus is a bit soft, so... it became an "almost reject". But it's not a total loss, I still enjoy looking at it.

Pool Party, Beverly-Wilshire Hotel

Here's a fun series of Summery photos from the Beverly-Wilshire Hotel in Los Angeles. They're undated but certainly from the 1950s - possibly even the early '50s. Crowds are gathered around the beautiful Olympic-sized pool to watch an event that involved... well, you'll see for yourself. I'd love to know if this was some special occasion, or if it was something that the hotel did for their guests on a typical Saturday.

Men perform daring high-dives, tumbling through the air with nary a bellyflop. Judging from the number of men in bathing suits on the low diving board, this went on for a while! I would surely have impressed them with my best dive, which I call "The Ol' Dipsy-Doodle". You'll just have to use your imagination.

A 48-star U.S. Flag hangs to the right, and in the distance we can just see the venerable Warner Theatre (now the Hollywood Pacific Theatre). The white building in the distance (top, near the center) is the old California Bank building (now Sterling Plaza).

A woman wears an off-the-shoulder gown worthy of Scarlet O'Hara. Is she just modeling the dress? I don't see a microphone nearby, so I don't think she's a singer. Notice in the lower right, we can just see what I believe is a conductor waving his baton, with what might be a small orchestra sitting at those unusual green music stands (?).

Oh boy! Bathing beauties, that's for me. The guys on the diving board are enjoying the lovely ladies too. It's like a fashion show in an MGM musical.

For context, here's a photo of the Beverly-Wilshire Hotel, located at the intersection of Wilshire Boulevard and Rodeo Drive. The hotel was constructed by real estate developer Walter G. McCarty on the site of the former Beverly Hills Speedway. It was completed in 1928 (when the city had fewer than 18,000 residents), and was then known as the "Beverly Wilshire Apartment Hotel". The E-shaped structure is built of a Tuscan stone and Carrara marble in the Italian Renaissance architecture style.

Renamed the Beverly-Wilshire Hotel by new owners, it was renovated with a ballroom in the 1940s by architect Paul Revere Williams to accommodate the popular big bands of the day. An Olympic-sized swimming pool was built and championship tennis courts were added, with tennis champion Pancho Gonzalez as tennis director.

And now, back to our regularly-scheduled program. A dancer (?) stands on some sort of surf board in the middle of the pool; it's probably trickier than it looks! Could she do a handstand? I could, I just don't like to show off (plus I just had my hair done).

Another dancer (dressed as a hula girl) strikes a pose, she looks like a hood ornament on the best car in the world. It's fun to observe the people in the crowd. At the upper corner of the pool we can see three ladies, one in yellow, one in pink, and one in blue, I can only assume that they were a part of the show. But maybe not! 

Now it's time for some female divers! Man, this show has everything. This woman is going in feet-first, unless she curled up into a cannonball at the last second.

This next one shows what might be the same diver as seen in the previous photo. Did she ever appear in any of Esther Williams' "aquamusicals"? 

You had to show up early to get your spot by the pool. There's plenty of eye-candy for everybody! I'm noticing quite a few flags on display, perhaps this was a special 4th of July show.

I found a couple of vintage postcards showing the pool area during calmer moments; you can see the upper deck to the right, near where our photographer must have been standing. 

Another vintage postcard. Say, maybe I need an Olympic-sized swimming pool.

And finally, I happened upon this publicity photo of actress Margaret Hayes posing by the Beverly-Wilshire pool, and looking as pretty as can be. Hayes appeared in films such as Blackboard Jungle, The Glass Key, and Sullivan's Travels, and she later appeared on television shows such as Perry Mason and Bonanza.

I hope you have enjoyed your visit to the Beverly-Wilshire Hotel!

Two Beauties From 1973

It's time for two more super nice photos, taken by Mr. X back in '73. I love these bright, colorful views!

First up is this fun picture of an ice cream vendor over in Frontierland. I think it's interesting - and a bit odd - that by now they'd dispensed with the costumes that might look like they were from the turn of the century, opting for a very 1970s color combo of red, yellow, and white stripes. I guess the straw hat crisis of the '70s resulted in these changes. The ice cream freezer is similarly painted with a pop-art graphic pattern - it's not bad, it just doesn't seem to fit the theme of "Old New Orleans". Just my opinion. Mr. X remembered that the friendly cast member's name is Robbie Robinson. Maybe he's out there just waiting to see his photo on a blog!

Next is this postcard-worthy shot of the Plaza Inn, with one of the female cast members out front (I've seen them referred to as "golden girls" - long before the sitcom of that name) greeting guests as they passed by.