Main Street, September 1971

It's always a good day when I can share more "Lou and Sue" images! These are from Lou's 1971 trip to the park, and he had a certain young girl with him... but you won't see her today. Stay tuned! Lou took a number of beautiful photos of Main Street on a gorgeous sunny September day, the kind of photos that make me wish I could step into them.

Crowds are pretty light, all things considered. It's nice to see the Sunkist Citrus House, the Penny Arcade, and the Candy Palace. "What do you mean you don't have any ZotZ??". I love to make a scene. "You'll be hearing from my bowling league!". No, anything but that.

I wish I wasn't so full of Sunkist juice bars, because I now want an ice cream sundae. I want it! I want it now! (Remember what I said about making a scene?). Clippety-clop, here comes the Horse Drawn Streetcar.

Lou remembered to look up, and he took a picture of some of the shop signs. "Rings & Things", which sold jewelry and stuff. Burry's Cookies was one of the lessees in the Market House. Swift had left the building (they got a ride on Elvis' helicopter), and a number of different sponsors moved in for varying lengths of time. In fact Burry's Cookies would be done sometime this very year.

THANK YOU, Lou and Sue!

Scenes On the River, 1950s

I have a batch of slides from the 1950s that features a LOT of views of Frontierland as seen from the Mark Twain. So many that I took a break, and now there are just a few remaining. 

There it is! The legendary Friendly Indian Village. They can afford to be friendly when their encampment is guarded by that fierce mountain lion atop the rock to the left. Even from this distance we can see some of the bright patterns painted on the teepees, not to mention nearby meese. Through the trees to the extreme right we can see the yellow wheels of a Stagecoach. And let's not forget to mention the yellow passenger cars of the Disneyland Railroad!

As the Mark Twain approaches the dock, the frontier becomes much more civilized. Just look at the crowds right in the center of the picture! Below them, another Stagecoach prepares to cross the Great Plains. That funny tree in the distance looks like a rocket. Nature sure is funny!

Pinback Pandemonium

It's time for more pinback buttons. Do people like these? I have no idea. But I like them! These are from the "big bag o' pins", and in general they are 3" in diameter or larger. 

I'm starting with this unusual embossed-metal pin celebrating Austin, Minnesota's centennial. Which means nothing to most of you, but my dad was born in Austin, and lived there until he joined the Navy. Also, my grandparents lived there their whole lives, and I spent many wonderful summer days enjoying the small-town charms of this city. So I was excited to find this pin, which evokes memories of trips to the A&W Drive-In (root beer in ice-cold heavy glass mugs), the Dairy Queen, 4th of July parades, the Spam Museum (because Hormel has a huge plant in Austin), the water tower, the Cedar River, and of course, grandma and grandpa.

Everyone loves Casper the Friendly Ghost, and I would definitely vote for him! I have three words for you: THAT'S HIS FOOT. I swear on a stack of pancakes. Sure, Casper never wears pants, but that's beside the point.

Staying with the Casper theme, here's a pin celebrating Apollo 16, which launched on April 16th, 1972, and landed on the Descartes Highlands on April 27th. What does Casper have to do with it? Well, Thomas Mattingly chose "Casper" for the command and service module because he liked the "non-serious name". Anyway, you can see how the friendly ghost's foot might look like... er... something else, if the angle is not quite right. 

You might not know this, but I like Disneyland. I've been keeping it a secret, but it's time to be frank with you. The opening of Space Mountain was a big deal to me (and all Disneyland fans), so I really like this pin commemorating its debut in the summer of 1977 (it actually opened on May 27, 1977). 

Have you had your Icee today? While I have a number of Icee pins, and an advertising figure, I don't believe I have ever actually had an Icee (but I've had plenty of Slurpees). The slushy treats can be bought at movie theaters, Walmarts, Subway restaurants, Burger King, some McDonalds eateries, and so on. Maybe I should finally get one! Cherry, of course). 

My grandparents had a drawer with some old campaign pins and buttons. Ike, Nixon, Goldwater, and a few very old ones for "Landon/Knox". Who he? Alf Landon was governor of Kansas from 1933 to 1937, and was the Republican Party's candidate against Franklin Roosevelt in 1936. We know how that turned out! Yes, he was eaten by a giant robot. But he lived anyway, to the ripe old age of 100.

I hope you have enjoyed Pinback Pandemonium!

Randos, August 1967

Two photos from August 1967, but from different photographers. One was named Bob Thompson, the other was named Thom Bobson. What are the odds? Anyway, both of these qualify as Leftuggies™, because they are the only members of their clans. 

First up, Main Street USA. Bustling with activity. I love seeing all the vertical signs as you look northward: The Upjohn Co.; Carnation Ice Cream; Sunkist Citrus House; and furthest away, the Coca Cola Refreshment Corner. Perhaps this photo was taken a few weeks earlier, there's a "4th of July" vibe with all of that bunting. The alien crossing the street is doing a fairly good impression of an actual human kid.

Now we're over at the Disneyland Hotel, our photographer (was it Thom? Or Bob?) was startled to see a genuine Monorail at the station. Mark II, don'tcha know. In the distance, snowdrifts of white oleanders soften the appearance of chain-link that surrounds the park and keeps out goblins.

SNOOZLES™

Everyone loves Snoozles! 4 out of 5 dentists recommend Snoozles for their patients who chew gum (for some reason). That fifth dentist can kiss my grits! 

These pictures are from July, 1964, and both are in Town Square. It's late afternoon, and I have the sneaking suspicion that the lady with the blue polka dots is heading out the parking lot. WHY? There's plenty of fun to be had. What's your hurry? Are you rushing home to watch "Bewitched"? Trust me, you'll have plenty of opportunities to watch it in syndication. 

To the left are two boys who are dressed identically, which will please Melissa. Are the boys twins? One is a bit taller than the other, so I'm going to say "no".

Oh boy, Polka Dots has a big bag of somethin'. What could it be? Perhaps a Pendleton shirt. I like this view with the C.K. Holliday at rest above the west tunnel, and the balloon vendor trying to make one last sale as folks filter out of the park.

Miscellaneous Amusements

It's time for some MISCELLANEOUS AMUSEMENTS! The very best kind of non-specific amusements in the world. 

First up is this fun photo of three boys at the wheels of some cool miniature cars (location unknown). No bumping! Now this picture is interesting all on its own, but my spidey senses were tingling. Something looked familiar... and then I remembered!

In the wonderful (and now very expensive) book "Disneyland: The Nickel Tour", this photo of a potential car for the park's Autopia was published. With the "bullet nose" (just like on a 1950 Studebaker), it sure looks like the same type of vehicle as the three in the previous image. The story goes that a German firm hoped to land a sweet deal with Walt Disney, but the cars were heavy and noisy, and just not what Walt wanted. Time to get Bob Gurr on the horn!

While doing some more research, I found this photo from Pacific Ocean Park (undated); as you can see, there are the original "Ocean Highway" vehicles to the right (see Nanook in one of those HERE), while the more bulbous German vehicles are running parallel to them. Maybe they decided that they needed more cars at some point and it was cheaper to just buy them, rather than having more of the original sort manufactured?

Next up, another undated and unlabeled photo of a merry-go-round at a small carnival or fair; the guy with the dark glasses must be the ride operator, he's seen it all. Is he reaching for his pack of cigarettes? I want to say that this photo is from New York, but I have absolutely no evidence to support that claim, so I admit that it could be anywhere.

More Instamatics

Hey hey! It's time for more photos, taken by Mr. X on his trusty Kodak Instamatic camera. We've seen MANY of his awesome photos over the years, and these are worthy additions to the mix.

We'll start with this view of the Autopia, with a fleet of unused vehicles to our left. They have so many, shouldn't I own just one? If you look carefully behind the rearmost red car, you can see some sort of specialized gizmo that was obviously needed to do maintenance. It doesn't appear to be a hydraulic jack, but I also can't quite figure out what it actually is. 

I also can't quite tell if those two women to the right are Disneyland cast members or if they are guests. If they are guests, how can they be standing in an area where moving Autopia vehicles could be passing behind them? Notice the Peoplemover on the track overhead, heading away from us I believe.

And how's this for a beauty? It's a dynamic and unusual view of a Mark III Monorail that has apparently just left the station (notice the Speedramp to our left). It looks like Mr. X was aboard an Autopia car when he took this picture.

 

Walt Disney World

I have a quartet of photo prints from our dear friend Irene, who passed away last year. All of these are from the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World, likely from 1996-ish (based on other photos in the batch). The photos were either taken by Irene's brother Bruce or by his friend James.

First up is this shot of the sign for Alien Encounter - from what I've heard, it was one scary attraction! Apparently too scary, because there were complaints from some guests who were either frightened, or their kids were permanently traumatized. "Would you like a grilled cheese sandwich, Tommy?". "AAAIEEE!". That was Tommy's response to just about every question. The attraction officially debuted on June 15, 1995, and closed on October 13, 2003 (replaced by Stitch's Great Escape). 

I really like this very pretty photo taken along the Rivers of America, with a Mike Fink Keelboat gliding along the glassy waters. I'm not sure if the photographer was standing on Tom Sawyer Island, but it seems likely. Out of curiosity I looked to see when the WDW Keelboats were retired, and it turns out they were gone by April 29, 2001, so these photos are from different visits to Florida.

Next is this nice detail from outside Splash Mountain, a dead tree supports homes for some birdie residents. Did the birds build the homes? How do they use a hammer and nails? No opposable thumbs! Unless the cartoon birds have them, which is just weird.

Finally, here's a very very dark photo of the sign at the entrance to the Swiss Family Treehouse attraction. You can tell that the Robinsons had some leisure time if they were making signs like this. How about making some beef jerky, yo? That's right, I went there! I'll say anything. As I write this (in March), Tarzan's Treehouse at Disneyland is supposedly being rejiggered back to a kind of Swiss Family Treehouse, but we shall see. There'd better be some beef jerky.

 THANKS to Irene, Bruce, and James.

Hills Bros. Coffee House Souvenir Menu

I have a really fun Disneyland souvenir item for you today! This is a give-away menu from the Hills Bros. Coffee House (in Town Square), complete with its original mailing envelope. Send it to your friend Ronnie to make him a jealous as heck! (See some other Hills Bros. menus from a 2017 post).

I should add that these menus are pretty scarce, particularly with the envelope. When were they distributed? Unclear, though the graphic style feels very "early-to-mid 1960s" to me (Hills Bros. moved into the old Maxwell House storefront on June 13, 1958). As you can see, this menu is unusual in its shape - and that's because it could be folded into a three-dimensional building! 

After a cursory search, I was shocked to find that I do not seem to have a good photo of the Hills Bros. Coffee House. So I'm sharing this old scan (from an old and crusty scanner) in which you can see the Maxwell House store, at least it gives you an idea of what the actual building looked like. It's just to the right of the yellow and green Wurlitzer building.

Here's the envelope - yes, the tanning at the top drives me bananas, but what can you do?

My plan was to scan this unfolded menu in pieces and then merge them in Photoshop, but the repeating graphics confused the heck out of Photoshop, so I wound up taking a picture with my phone. What is this the Dark Ages??

It really is a menu, in case you were wondering. I find it a little amusing that a number of Disneyland eateries resorted to providing give-away versions of their menus, guests must have walked off with hundreds of the actual examples.

How about a nice ham and cheese sandwich? There's that chopped egg sandwich that doesn't sound so good to me (maybe it was great). Cheesecake, yes please. Wash it all down with an iced coffee or even a fancy Coffee Royale Float. 

While I love my readers, I am not willing to fold my menu as designed. Luckily, somebody was selling one on eBay about a year ago, and I saved an image of their example. It looks like a birdhouse married a milk carton and made a baby. Incidentally, this one (without the envelope) sold for $371.

I hope you have enjoyed this Hills Bros. Coffee House menu!

New Orleans Square, October 1981

It's time for some more wonderful photos, taken by our pal Lou Perry, and scanned for us by our pal Sue B. These are from October, 1971, and they feature New Orleans Square. I don't think it's square at all, in fact it is pretty groovy.

These street lamps have been used as the a sort of logo for New Orleans Square. Why not a Hot Wheels car? Those are cool! I believe that the exit from Pirates of the Caribbean is to the left, notice the stanchions and chains for potential long lines. The chains are electrified. 

Crowds gather to experience the "always nighttime" dining in the Blue Bayou. I finally got to eat there recently, definitely a "bucket list" experience! I was with some good friends and we had a swell time. I didn't realize that all of the food would be blue, but once you got used to it, it was no big deal. The blue clam chowder was especially delish!  

Say, it's the Blue Bayou again! I wish we had some interiors, but it is awfully dark in there, I understand. And flash photography will ruin the ambiance. Animatronic fireflies landing in your food also ruin the ambiance.

This one went pretty dark, but hey, why not include it? It will only cost you, the beloved reader, an extra five dollars. I think those gentlemen might be 2/3 of the Royal Street Bachelors, but it's hard to be certain. I love the magnolia trees in the background, magnolias are among my "top 1000" trees!

THANK YOU, Lou and Sue!