A Final Look at Main Street March 1955

The final slide from the photographer is this look back at Main Street. Notice the car in the middle of the image. I hope you all enjoyed this series. Tomorrow will be more images of the park.

The Emporium From Town Square March 1955

The photographer then headed onto Town Square and took this shot of the Emporium front entrance awaiting the final placement of wall treatment and detailing. One more photo to go.

City Hall Roof Work Main Street March 1955

Next image in the series of construction shots is of Main Street City Hall having the roof detailed and still covered in scaffolding. Two more photos to go in the series....

Photo Server is Down

Thanks all for the comments about my pictures being down. My Photo server is not functioning, but they tell me they are working on it and it should be back up tomorrow. (I am hoping tonight.) Please check back tomorrow. Sorry for the inconvenience as it is frustrating to me!!

West Side of Main Street March 1955

Our photographer next moved down the street and snapped this photo of the West side of Main Street. Shown is the Crystal Arcade and the Emporium. The brick wall that needs to be moved into place is neat along with the skeletal structure of the Railroad station in the background. Our photographer keeps moving with another Main Street image tomorrow.

Side Street Main Street Disneyland March 1955

Nice view of the side street where the Main Street Flower Mart was set up and what is now between the Market House and Disney Clothiers. The building to the left now houses the ice cream cone shop and the building to the left is now the lockers. More Main Street to come tomorrow. I want to thank Dan and his blog for influencing me to start this blog, the wonderful images he posted yesterday and the plug. Thanks Dan.

A Sampler of Things

Looking Down Main Street From the Plaza March 1955

Our photographer next moved to Main Street and took this wonderful shot looking down Main Street from the Plaza towards the front entrance and Railroad Station. The building closest on the left hand side is the Carefree Corner (now the camera and photo center) and on the opposite side of the street is the Coke Corner. The rest of the images are of Main Street, so stay tuned for more.

Railroad Berm and Frontierland Desert Area March 1955

The next shot in this series is of the Frontierland desert with the dirt berm for the railroad. If you take a close look at the trees on the berm, they are still in the shipping boxes and ready for transplanting. Also, some of the cacti are still bound from shipping. Tomorrow we head out to Main Street.

Frontierland Desert Area Cactus and Dirt March 1955

The next place our intrepid visitor went was just west of Fantasyland into the desert themed area of Frontierland. This is the location in which the Stagecoaches, Conestoga Wagons and Mule Pack traveled through on opening day. You can see the trail, the dirt hills and the cactus being planted. Stay tuned for more tomorrow.

The Lumberyard That Was Fantasyland March 1955

The second image from the antique auto enthusiast. This is another view of Fantasyland under construction with all the lumber sitting there waiting to be hammered into place. Look for more tomorrow.

Fantasyland Being Framed March 1955

Today I am starting a series of slides I was lucky enough to purchase many years ago. The slides were taken by an antique auto enthusiast. In March of 1955, he was allowed onto the construction site for Disneyland and he took a series of slides of buildings under construction. The first shows the framework for the Fantasyland rides with the castle structure being visible. I will continue this tour tomorrow...

Disneyland Date Memo October 1964

As those who know me, not only do I collect images of Disneyland, but my main collection is comprised of Disneyland paper and other collectables. And this is a great piece I was fortunate to buy. It is a memo from one employee to another asking for a date to the after Christmas employee party. I like this piece because it shows the employees being human and also the nice Disneyland Inter office communication memo form. I do not know if they actually went on the date or not...one of the mysteries of life.

The Backside of the Adventureland Sign July 1955

One of my favorite lines from the Jungle Cruise is the backside of water gag. And this is a great shot of the backside of the Adventureland sign. I like the shield tiki, the wire gardening fence and the plaid shirt with the buzz cut hair. A nice view of a little photographed angle in early Disneyland. Slide is dated 7/55 in pencil.

Old MacDonald's Farm Petting Zoo Knott's Berry Farm 1960s

One of the attractions of Knott's Berry Farm was that at one time it was a true farm. And this part of the park showcased its rural heritage. The bright red barn and the famous goat on the roof are shown on this slide. The incongrous part of a seal pool is not shown, but it was there as part of Old MacDonald's Farm. Still that was the charm of the original Knotts. Slide is dated August 1961.

Dining Area Chicken of the Sea Pirate Ship Restaurant Fantasyland May 1963

The Chicken of the Sea Pirate ship is one of the demolished icons from Fantasyland. Those of a certain age remember getting a Tuna burger sandwich served on a little boat from this restaurant. This view shows the al fresco dining area that was actually located behind the ship amidst the rock work for Skull Rock. Also shown is the track for Casey Jr. and in the distance is the Fantasyland Railroad Station that was removed when It's A Small World was constructed. slide is a Kodachrome slide with a May 1963 date stamp.

Main Street Train Station from Parking Lot May 1963

It looks like in 1963 some construction work was being done to the front entrance. They may have been laying brick for the entrance to dress it up. The photographer still took an interesting shot of the Main Street Railroad station and managed to include the construction wall, the entrance turnstiles, the floral Mickey Mouse and best of all the attraction posters. Maybe the thought was to start off the slide show with this image saying we just arrived at Disneyland and are getting to walk through the gates. Slide is dated May 1963.

Suspension Bridge Tom Sawyers Island 1960s

I think I have said this before, but Tom Sawyer Island was one of my favorite places to go as a kid. It was wonderful to run through the island, go through the tunnels (especially the escape tunnel from Fort Wilderness) and to run across the suspension bridge and barrel bridge. I remember many times stopping on this bridge and swinging it, making my brothers and mom having to walk carefully or at other times all of us swinging the bridge together. I like the two girls wearing their sailor shirts, one red and one blue with matching shorts. Slide is from a trip taken in the 1960s.

Update to Archives

Hello All- I just went through and changed the sizes on the photos for the first posts. Take a look, click on the image and it will be bigger. This has been a learning process for me.

Trinidad the White Wing of Main Street July 1955

The street sweeper of Main Street who added the wonderful streetmosphere character to Disneyland long before such characters were added to Walt Disney World. Trinidad's main job was to sweep up behind the horse drawn trolley, but he also interacted with guests. This was once a common sight at towns during the turn of the century. I love the blue uniforms on the Disneyland band although they look like police more than a band. I can see why they switched to the white and red uniforms. Slide is dated July 1955.

Fantasyland Skyway Chalet Late 1950s

Shot of the Fantasyland Skyride Chalet. Designed to look like a Swiss cuckoo clock mixed with a Swiss Alps skiing lodge, the chalet served as the Fantasyland terminal of the ride. This building was definitely more interesting than the Tomorrowland station. Luckily, Disneyland has left this building in place, although one can only look and not walk up to or in the building. I always enjoyed the designs on the building that housed the line with the wonderful color moon and sun design. Image is from a slide taken during late 1950s trip. Other slides posted from this trip is the Caterpillar car from Alice In Wonderland.

Tomorrowland Couple April 1960

What can be said about this slide? A wonderful image of the first Tomorrowland with bubbles on the wall of the Circlevision theater, the futuristic light fixtures, the signage, and the background shade canopies. This is one of my favorite slides. The slide is not Kodachrome so some color manipulation was done to restore it. Slide is dated April 1960. This slide is for Mr. Toast.

California Golden Poppies On Nature's Wonderland Railroad 1970

Natures Wonderland Railroad is consistently one of the rides most missed at Disneyland. It was a fun and scenic ride on a slow moving train that the whole family could enjoy. And it was very repeatable. Now I do like Big Thunder, but feel the speed is too fast and lets face it, as a roller coaster it is pretty weak. With Nature's Wonderland, you actually saw nature, such as these California Golden Poppies Eschsholtzia californica on the trackside and you had enough time to enjoy it. Well, maybe my age is showing. If you look real close, you can see some of the bubbling pots in the background. Slide is dated Apr 1970.

Loading the Zambezi Miss Jungle Cruise 1959

Wonderful panaromic view of the Jungle Cruise Attraction loading area with guest getting ready to board the Zambezi Miss. In the background can be seen a Jungle Cruise launch unloading along with the Tahitian Terrace and the storage area for tables and other items from the restaurant. I like the sailor outfits on the Jungle Cruise shippers and the striped shirt and boater hat for the employee loading the guests. Image is from a Kodachrome slide from a 1959 visit.

Main Street Trolley and Opera House 1959

Great uncrowded view of the Main Street Horse Drawn Trolley awaiting customers with the Opera House in the background. I love the sky being that great blue and the lack of crowds. I wonder what the shareholders of today would think about a theme park being this uncrowded and four employees (well I guess I should call them what Disney calls them, cast members) working the ride and doing nothing. If you look closely, you can see the International Street facade and the tip of the TWA Moon rocket. Slide is Kodachrome from a 1959 trip.

Henry's Livery Ride Knott's Berry Farm 1961

Knott's Berry Farm answer to Disneyland's Autopia was Henry's Livery Ride where youngsters got to drive a replica Model T through a winding course. This cute ride wound through a more suburban farm themed environment than the modern freeway of the Autopia. I believe the ride was manufactured by Arrow and was powered by a small gasoline engine. One of the better souvenir tickets from Knott's is the ticket for this ride with cute graphics of the Model T and typical early 1900s sayings about automobiles. Image is from a Kodachrome slide marked Aug. 1961.

Casa De Fritos Dining Area 1950s

The only restaurant my family always dined at was Casa De Fritos (changed to Casa Mexicana in later years) on our annual trips to Disneyland. In fact I have some home movie footage of my grandparents and parents trip to Disneyland in 1957 and my grandmother proudly stands in front of the Casa De Fritos sign. This image shows the dining area with a thatched roof, a western and then an adobe style building next to each other and what is my favorite, the bright basic color chairs and tables. I am unsure of date of this slide as I only found a few slides together. It is an Anscochrome slide which was a competitor to Kodachrome.