Building Disneyland TWA Rocket Ship to the Moon

Because of all the black and white photographs I have been posting from Esther's photo album, I decided to add a little color. The images are from the placing of the TWA Rocket Ship to the Moon in Tomorrowland. The images come from a funky little strip of photographs that had an unusual viewer allowing the image to be seen in 3-D. The brown envelope sleeve reads Building Disneyland Scenes of Disneyland Taken During Construction Walt Disney's Magic Kingdom Anaheim, California. I will be posting more of the image sporadically throughout the next month or so.

Esther's Photo Album #10

The page for today's photo album features some pretty interesting people. The first is captioned Chris Evans Sells Guide Books. This is the same first job that Steve Martin held at Disneyland.

The second image is captioned Louie and Mary Jane. Louie is wearing a brass first name tag on his custodial uniform. From the looks of things, Mary Jane must have been a lot of fun to be around.

The third image is captioned Minnie and Mickey Mouse. Miehana will enjoy this image.

Finally the last photo on the page. The caption is Trinidad. He was the star member of the Disneyland Sanitation service.

Esther's Photo Album #9

Three more images of co-workers on Main Street. I still like the modern outfits the employees were wearing. The first is captioned Ken Jewelry Store.

The second is captioned Mary Jane Jewelry Store. I love her pose.

The final one is captioned Carmen Jewelry Store. I like the large Yale Key sign and the Lock Shop sign.

Esther's Photo Album #8

Some more friends of Esther. In looking at these photographs it appears the 1890s style of dress was in for the ladies, but the gentlemen are wearing 1950s style clothing with gabardine shirts and slacks. The only guy so far in 1890s style clothing was the ticket taker at the Cinema. The first image is captioned Jan Lock Shop. She is backstage with her Triumph sports car.

The second is captioned Ann Lock Shop.

Ant the third image is captioned Ken and Dwight Jewelry Store.

Esther's Photo Album #8

Some more friends of Esther. In looking at these photographs it appears the 1890s style of dress was in for the ladies, but the gentlemen are wearing 1950s style clothing with gabardine shirts and slacks. The only guy so far in 1890s style clothing was the ticket taker at the Cinema. The first image is captioned Jan Lock Shop. She is backstage with her Triumph sports car.

The second is captioned Ann Lock Shop.

Ant the third image is captioned Ken and Dwight Jewelry Store.

Esther's Photo Album #7

The seventh album page from Esther. The first photograph is captioned Jewelry store at right of lock shop.

The second photograph is captioned Dwight Longs Jewelry and Lock Shop.

The third photo is not captioned. He is the ticket taker for the cinema. It appears he has a mustache which must have been allowed at this time.

The next photograph is captioned Beverly and Jan Lock Shop.

The last image is captioned Dorothy.

Chris- unfortunately I do not have a picture of Jack from the Tobacco shop.

Esther's Photo Album #6 Plus Close Ups

The sixth page of the photograph album. The first image is not captioned but shows the Tobacco Shop and the Magic shop. I wonder if Steve Martin was in there at this time?

The second image is captioned Pen and Coin Shop Tobacco Shop Howard.

The third photo is captioned Dee Fisher Wurlitzer. By the way, Dee's Wurlitzer organ album Echoes of Disneyland is now available on I-Tunes.

The next images are all closeups from various images already shown. I thought all of you would love to see some of the details. The first is a close up of the window for Town Square realty advertising Apple Valley and Disneyland maps.

The second is the sandwich advertising board for the Horse Drawn Trolleys.

The third is the Disneyland News souvenir stand. Hey Cox Pilot, is that you in the crash helmet and Disneyland overalls in the middle?

The fourth is close up of the print shop and Show Business. Nice selection of albums in the Show Business window.

The fifth is a close up of the Emporium Annex window. And the little girl crying reminds me of my wife when she doesn't get what she wants...

Souvenir Friday- Frontierland Hand Painted Sign

I purchased this sign about a year ago from one a dealer who was selling a large Disneyland collection. He was not sure where it was used and neither was I. In posting yesterday's picture, I saw a poster I have not seen before on the Main Street looking South. The poster is on the wall at the entrance to the Penny Arcade. Here is a close up scan of the poster:

The poster advertises the Explorer Boats in Adventureland. Based upon this bit of photographic evidence and the posting by Ken at Outside the Berm of the Disneyland Fire Department sandwich board sign, I believe this Frontierland sign with the Railroad engine was on Main Street. The sign reminds me of the Railroad cards seen in Monopoly. The sign measures approximately 22 by 14 inches and is hand painted on the grey card stock.

If anyone has documentation of this sign, I would love to see it!!

Esther's Photo Album #5

Page 5 of the photo album from Esther who worked on Main Street in Disneyland. The first is captioned Main Street Looking North.

The second is marked Main Street Looking South. The time is 8:25 AM and it appears the park opened at 9 AM as the only people on the street are employees and there is a truck parked on the North end of the street.

Note that both of the Main Street photos are dated July 22, 1956.

The next two have no captions. The first shows the Liberty Street Preview fence and the Wurlitzer shop.

The second shows the Bekins and Emporium Annex. I like the vignette of the Japanese mom and two daughters having their photograph taken. I wonder where that image is now?

Saturday I will show some close up shots of interesting items in the images. Plus there are lots more to the photo album.

No Post Today

No post today as I am traveling back home.

Esther's Photo Album #4

Some more views of Main Street and Town Square. The first is of one of her co-worker friends, Jane who worked for Bank of America.

The second does not have a written caption but is a nice shot of the Upjohn pharmacy along with the Flower Market.

The third image is marked Santa Fe Station Entrance. The station is one of the classic icons of the park.

Finally the last photo is captioned News Office and Show Business. Show Business was a store that sold souvenir photographs, postcards and other items of Movie Stars and was run by a Hollywood Reporter Jimmy Starr. I have more on Jimmy Starr and one of these days will post some of the more interesting paper items.

Esther's Photo Album #3

I'm back to the blogging end of things. Here is the next page of the photo album. The titles are all hand written captions by Esther. The first image is the Fire Station. You can see the patio on the left hand side of the roof where Walt would take in the fresh air from his apartment.

The second image is Town Square. It appears the shot was taken early in the morning.

The third image is of the Bank of America.

The final shot is marked the Realty Office. It is a nice window display with some great signage.

I hope every one who attended the NFFC show yesterday found some good stuff. I found more photographs to post.

Souvenir Friday-Monsanta House of the Future Brochure 1961

On one of the Disney discussion boards there was a recent posting regarding how Disneyland had lost its edutainment component. That all the attractions and rides that not only entertained but also educated visitors had been lost. I totally agree with this assessment. Now with the redo of California Adventure, the attractions that were there for education and history are also being replaced. The House of the Future was one attraction in Disneyland showing the promise of the future. This brochure is from 1961 and features some nice interior views and discussion about the home and it's futuristic features.

The blog will be updated on Monday with more images from the photo album.

Esther's Photo Album #2

The second page of the photo album. This time we see some shots of Main Street and the exit area. The first is marked Santa Fe Station.

The next image is of the Employee Main Gate Entrance. I believe employees would check in with the guard at the structure to the left.

The next image is captioned News Stand inside the Gate. You can see a plethora of souvenirs and also the Disneyland News for sale in the stand.

Finally the last image is captioned City Hall and Fire Station. On city hall is a banner reading Orange County Residents Register to Vote Here and there are some sandwich style advertising boards for the Main Street Vehicles.