Storyland, New Hampshire 1957

I found some great Kodachrome slides a few months ago, dated 1957 but with no information about this park other than "New Hampshire". But it didn't take much time to figure out that they are from a park called Storyland! Storyland is still around, although it has grown considerably, and has many more of your typical amusement park rides. In these 50+ year-old pictures, it appears to have consisted mostly of charming tableaus portraying scenes from beloved fables and fairy tales.

This cute kid is standing in front of a scene showing Jack and Jill as they tumble down the hill. There's the well, and the pail of water. Jack is holding his head because he broke it (head injuries are always good for a laugh).


I couldn't figure out if this simple fairy tale castle was supposed to be a scene from a specific story, or just a generic castle. Any ideas?


There's Humpty Dumpty, and boy does he look strange. Why isn't he smooth and egg-like? Maybe this is supposed to show that he couldn't be put back together very well. In any case, he's kind of creepy.


Here's the shoe that the old lady lives in. Now that she uses Odor Eaters, life is much nicer. A house like this in the L.A. area might sell in the mid-$300,000 range.


I have a few more from this series that I will share next week!

Main Street and Tomorrowland, April 1962

I have two photos for you today, and both are wonderful views of two of Disneyland's - um... "lands".

Main Street USA doesn't seem to have changed in any major way since 1962, and yet this picture still feels vintage. Why? Perhaps it's the subtle visual cues of the dated clothing on the guests, or seeing things like the Carefree Corner. Or maybe it's the muted colors... today's digital photographs often provide saturated colors that you don't see in most older pictures (except for some Kodachrome). Anyway, I love this image.


Our photographer took just a few steps north and then looked east for this great look at the entrance to Tomorrowland. We've seen many similar photos, and I dig them all, daddy-o. If only I could step into this one!

Calico, California - 1950's

Walter Knott was just plum crazy for ghost towns! He already had his berry farm version, the busiest ghost town ever. In 1951, he decided to purchase the actual ghost town of Calico, out in the Mojave Desert ("Hmmm, I think I'll buy a town today."), where he began to restore it as a tourist attraction.

Wikipedia sez: Though five of the original town buildings exist today, many others were recreated as replicas of their originals on preexisting foundations.

I think it's pretty clear that this snazzy bottle house is one of the newer additions! Compare it to the one at Knott's Berry Farm.


Here are a few more buildings...

In 1966, Knott donated the town to San Bernardino County, and Calico became a county regional park.

I went there at least once when I was a kid, and mostly remember the long drive ("Are we there yet?"), the intense heat, and panning for gold.


At its height, shortly after it was founded, Calico had a population of 1,200 people and over 500 silver mines;...In the mid 1890s the price of silver dropped and Calico's silver mines were no longer economically viable.

By 1907, the town was almost completely abandoned!


This is what a ghost town would look like if it was built on the moon! Imagine having to get here by horse, or maybe a wagon pulled by mules. I love the Mojave's stark beauty, but you had to be hardy to live here.


I'll share more Calico photos in the future!

B&W Publicity Shots

Today I have two early black and white publicity photos; I'm guessing that they must be from about 1955 or '56.

This shot of Main Street is nice, if not very exciting; to me, the most interesting part is that girl. I'm not even going to be more specific, because it will be clear to all of you which girl I mean! Is she a cast member on the loose? Or is she a guest who always dresses like Becky Thatcher? Whoever she is, her mom (?) is wearing a similar dress.


I also find it interesting that the text on the back is mostly about the castle, which you can't even see.


One of the first things you'd see when entering Frontierland was Davy Crockett's Frontier Museum. What was inside? I have no idea! Probably some Indian artifacts, old rifles and pistols, maybe some farm implements or tools, and a grilled cheese sandwich with the Virgin Mary's visage. Oh wait, the last one is what I had for lunch. Dig the boy's cool white shoes! Gotta get me somma those.

Tomorrowland, June 1975

Welcome to Tomorrowland, 1975 style! That's a good thing, in case you don't know (unlike many other things "1975 style").

The fabulous Rocket Jets... photos of this attraction always make me smile, for reasons that should be apparent to most of you. I mean, just look at it! It's COOL. A simple ride (essentially the same as "Dumbo") made amazing because of a few deceptively simple design decisions. And let's not forget the Peoplemover, solver of all of society's problems, including baldness. I even dig the Goodyear sign to the right; and let's not forget the Douglas "Mission to Mars" building!


The sun has set and and the sky has taken on a dusky pinkish purple color; the lights on the Monorail track have been turned on, the sub lagoon is bubbling, the Skyway is zipping back and forth while the four-car Peoplemover trains move like some sort of strange insect along their track.

Skyway Views, January 6 1957

I've seen dozens (hundreds?) of photos taken from the Disneyland Skyway, and I'm still not sick of them. Well, OK - I'm kind of sick of some of them. But when they involve Tomorrowland I am still a happy camper.

Check out this one, carefully dated by the photographer (January 6, 1957), showing a fairly early Land o' Tomorrow. To our right we see the back (and partial backstage) of the Yacht Bar before it was picked up and moved to the other side of the street. And to our left is the lake where the Phantom Boats sputtered and conked out; the loading dock is still there, soon to be removed for the Motor Boat Cruise and the Viewliner station. The Space Bar and Autopia are in the background. This slide was cropped square because the photographer included his thumb!


This photo was taken before that first one, but it's a bit odd, so I'm posting it second. I guess the Castle was the intended subject, but we can still see the Yacht Bar, and "Snow Mountain" to the right. I'm not sure what to say about the large area of dirt down there... is that where the short-lived Mickey Mouse Club Circus was? I realize that by the time this photo was taken it had been gone for over a year. I'd love to hear what your theory might be. That's right, I'm talking to you!


And here's an odd detail from that same photo... above the sign for the Yacht Bar there are what appear to be chunks of... what? Looks like some sort of paving, but with inlaid mosaic pieces. Or something. Why is it there? Where am I and why am I so very dizzy?

Freedomland, June 1960 - Part Three

Here are three more randomly-chosen photos from Freedomland. See part one here, and part two here.

So... this first image shows an Indian crafting a totem pole, which places this in the Pacific Northwest. My spidey senses tell me that this must be from the "Northwest Fur Trapper" boat ride from the "San Francisco" section of Freedomland. It's a pretty nice scene, although I get the feeling that Walt Disney would have put more than one lonely Indian in there. Those totem poles in the background have a slightly cartoony appearance that is a bit jarring. Compare the detail to what was present in the Indian Village.


Well, maybe I should have posted this photo last week; but like I said, these really are in a random order. Anyway, it's the "Horseless Carriage" ride again, in which you take a road trip through New England. I have to add that converting these to small jpegs just washes out the color like crazy when compared to the original Photoshop file.


I hope mom was ready for her closeup, because she got one here. Freedomland's "Tucson Mining Company" ore buckets were painted a rusty red-brown color, and it was really like two Disneyland Skyways - four cables, two in each direction. Look at all of that undeveloped land! Curiously, nearly all of my 100+ Freedomland slides are from 1960. I would love to find some from 1964 (the final year) for a bit of "before and after" comparison.


Stay tuned for part four!

James Melton Autorama, 1958

Not too long ago, I was sorting a box of slides and found two images that are part of today's post. The first image showed this interesting sign/tableau for a place called the James Melton Autorama (in beautiful Hypoluxo, Florida). Who is James Melton? Time to do some research!


Almost immediately I discovered a blog called "James Melton: Musical Career and Antique Cars", written by none other than his daughter Margo Melton Nutt. I contacted Margo and she was nice enough to let me share some of her great photos with you. But first, in Margo's own words, a little about her father:

“America’s Favorite Tenor.” That was what they called James Melton from the 1920s through the 1950s. He was perhaps the first multi-media performer—in a career that spanned concerts, recordings, movies, the Metropolitan Opera, radio and television. His fame as a singer was equaled by his renown as an antique car collector. In this hobby he was a pioneer in recognizing these vehicles not only as an important part of America’s history, but as works of art. His career and his hobby reflected the two great technologies that knit the country together in the 20th century—the airwaves and the automobile.

Here he is, behind the wheel of his 1910 Locomobile, with his wife Marjorie and Shirley Temple!


At first I thought that one of my slides featured the Locomobile, but now I realize that it is a different car. Still super neat though.


How about this great photo of James Melton aboard The MM&J Railroad? Rather than paraphrase Margo, here is a quote from her blog:

Among the playthings in our Weston, Connecticut backyard was a miniature steam locomotive attached to half a dozen open flatcars with seats for ten children (or five adults), which traveled on a quarter-mile of track meandering through the apple orchard. My father got the idea from Walt Disney, who had a similar setup at his Hollywood home. Both ours and his were large enough for the engineer to ride just behind the engine (on the tender) while taking passengers around the track.

Of course most readers of this blog know that Walt Disney had his own famous miniature Locomotive, the "Carolwood Pacific RR". Margo says "...my father and Walt Disney were friends. I remember visiting Disney Studios in 1954 (where I watched them film a segment of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea) and where "Uncle Walt" showed us Disneyland still on the drawing board.". Wow, I'm jealous!


There's Mr. Melton and Margo herself in another wonderful photo. He sure looks like he was a nice fellow.


Now that's an automobile! A "Green Goddess" Daimler, to be exact - a real art deco beauty. Margo (that's her next to her mom and dad in a circa 1950 photo) says:

In the winter of 1951, Henry Ford II admired the James Melton Green Goddess when it was parked on Worth Avenue in Palm Beach, chatted with my father, and ended up taking a cruise on our yacht. He and my father made a handshake deal for a television variety show to be sponsored by the Ford Motor Company and hosted by James Melton. The show (Ford Festival) debuted in April 1951 and went off the air in July 1952. So that car was instrumental in launching my father's TV career.

She also says that a similar Daimler recently sold for about a quarter of a million dollars!


And lastly, Margo generously sent me this scan of a rare postcard, with this description:

In addition to the cars, and all sorts of automobiliana, the museum had a cycloramic mural of American history...what the brochure called "the nation's largest three dimensional cycloramic mural portraying the history of our great country." He had commissioned the mural from Montana artist Bernard Thomas. Recorded narration was provided by my father's good friend, radio commentator and explorer Lowell Thomas, and musical accompaniment was supplied, of course, by James Melton.


MANY THANKS to Marjorie Melton Nutt for allowing me to share some of her wonderful pictures and personal recollections of her father. I really enjoyed learning about James Melton, his career, and of course the Autorama!

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PS... Just a note to let everyone know that the "Knott's Preserved" event on April 18th is now sold out!

Shiny Shoes, April 1966

Today's photos provide a scarce look at the shoe shine stand on Main Street. This was before everyone wore tennis shoes or flip flops! I have to admit that these pictures make me cringe a little, for obvious reasons. But that was a different time with different standards, which in a weird way adds to the historical interest. You might recognise Chip's mom standing there with her INA brochure in hand.


I'm guessing that the man in the cardigan is Chip's dad; if so this is the only photo of him in the bunch. He looks like a TV dad. How old do you think the kid is? 12 or 13? I was a pampered brat, and can't imagine holding down a job at that age. Well, I'm off to have some tea, and then I'll play the harpsichord!

Frontierland Stuff, July 1 1959

Today's first photo offers a terrific glimpse at the loading area for the Conestoga Wagons and the Stage Coaches. It looks like both conveyances are under way for a thrilling ride through the Rainbow Desert. Just two and a half months later, both of these attractions were removed forever (the Pack Mules would remain until 1973).


This picture is a bit out of focus, but I decided to include it anyway. The Mine Train is still in its attractive dark-green color scheme; when it returned in 1960 as the "Mine Train Through Nature's Wonderland", it was painted a bright yellow.