Friday, January 29, 2016

Souvenir Friday- Flying Saucers Employee Patch

A very recent acquisition is a patch from the Flying Saucers. I believe this is a hat patch that was worn by cast members who operated the Flying Saucers. I am on the hunt for a good photograph of the costume worn by the employees to verify where this patch was worn. The graphic appears to be the drawing of the ride vehicle by Bob Gurr.

Thursday, January 28, 2016

More Seattle World's Fair at Night

Two more images of the Seattle World's Fair at night. First up is an overhead view of the amusement ride section of the fair. The lights are great and add a nice festive look to this part of the park. This almost looks like the same view as the previously posted overhead view of the amusement rides.

Another image of the Science Pavilion arches all lit up nice and pretty.

Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Seattle World's Fair at Night

Two more views from the Seattle World's Fair film strips. The images feature the fair at night. First up is a view of the United States Science Pavilion with the great arches. Do they still light the arches at night like this?

The second image is of the wonderful International Fountain at night. Since the earliest World's Fairs there have been wonderful fountains. This kind of reminds me of the dancing waters from the Disneyland Hotel.

Tuesday, January 26, 2016

Inside and Night Views of 21st Century Exposition Seattle Washington

Two views from the Sawyer souvenir film strips from the Seattle World's Fair. First up is the final image of the film strip I have been posting this week. It is a rare interior view of one of the displays in the International mall. The hall has a great high ceiling and I love the colored bubble lights.

The second image is from a new film strip which features the fair at night. The first view is an overall view of the Fairgrounds.

Monday, January 25, 2016

Various Views of Seattle World's Fair 1962

More scans from the souvenir film strip of the 1962 Seattle World's Fair. The fair focused on science and technology, one of the major buildings was the United States Science Pavilion. The large arches add a modern airy look to the structure and may have been the influence for Rolly Crump's Tower of Four Winds.

A World's Fair must include international exhibits and in Seattle several small countries who could not afford to build a stand alone structure were put into an international mall. This concept sounds fun as a visitor would be able to visit many varied exhibits in a short time. I assume the skyway was a Von Roll design.

Friday, January 22, 2016

Souvenir Friday- Flyin Saucer Frisbee

A classic Tomorrowland souvenir from the 1950s is this early version of a frisbee, the Flyin Saucer. The packaging has great images of Goofy with instructions on how to play with the innovative plastic toy. The frisbee itself has an Imagineering pre-opening painting of Tomorrowland entrance as a sticker on the center of the toy. This is a fairly rare and expensive souvenir as both Disneyland and Frisbee collectors want one for their collection.

Thursday, January 21, 2016

Monorail and Gayway 21 Seattle World's Fair

Two neat views from the Sawyer's film strip souvenir of the Seattle World's Fair. First up is a view of the Monorail showing the track and a train in the background. I like the double Ferris wheel in the background, there was one of these installed at Pacific Ocean Park.

The second image is an overhead view of Gayway 21, named after the theme of the fair which was billed as the Century 21 Fair. Some nice rides with lots of color and lights. I am sure this area was spectacular at night.

Wednesday, January 20, 2016

Views From the Seattle World's Fair

These images are from another Sawyer film strip souvenir sold at the 1962 Seattle World's Fair. The first image features two icons of Futurism, the Monorail with the Space Needle in the background. The caption is enjoyable mentioning the speed of travel for the Monorail.

The second image features a soaring A Frame structure. The A Frame style of building was revived in the mid-Century modern time period, with many commercial buildings featuring the soaring roof line. Several theme parks used this style of building for entrance buildings, notably the entrance to Sea World.

Tuesday, January 19, 2016

Adventureland Snapshots 1964

Two more snapshots from 1964. First up is a nice image of the Enchanted Tiki Room sign at the entrance to Adventureland. I like the tiki face at the bottom of the sign.

The second image at first glance was just ho-hum...I liked the fence in the background and that was about it. I scanned the image and lo and behold there is the Eli Hedley tiki in the background. It appears the tiki was moved from the front part of Adventureland near the entrance to a location near Swiss Family Treehouse. I believe this location is where Indiana Jones is now located.

Monday, January 18, 2016

Jungle River Cruise Dock and Unknown Location

Both of these snapshots are from the same group. The snapshots are dated 1964. The first image is a great and crowded image of the Jungle River Cruise dock. The front jungle launch is full of guests and the Congo Queen is ready for the next load of guests.

When I first saw the second image, I thought it may be of the Tahitian Terrace, but looking at the image, I do not think so. The restaurant is on stilts over water where the Tahitian Terrace is a solid wall. The fence the lady is standing next does not look like Disneyland as well. It may have been a restaurant at Marineland or even Sea World being over the water. Any guesses out there for location?

Friday, January 15, 2016

Souvenir Friday- Gus From Cinderella Main Street Window Figure and Seattle Space Needle Images

A favored piece in my collection is this figurine of Gus from Cinderella. The figurine is fiberglass and nicely painted with a cloth shirt. The figurine was used as part of a Main Street Window Display to promote Cinderella. He is a nice sized figure about 2.5 feet tall. I believe he is from the late 1960s.

I also wanted to finish the series I have been doing on the Space Needle in Seattle Washington. The images are somewhat self explanatory. The images actually come from a series of strips with slides for a viewer showing the Seattle World's Fair. I presume the strips and viewer were sold as a souvenir at the fair.

Tuesday, January 12, 2016

Seattle World's Fair Eye of the Needle Restaurant

The top of the Seattle Space Needle was a restaurant called the the Eye of the Needle. Guests would dine on fine food and have a view of the World's Fair.

Here is a view that diners would see during lunch and dinner.

I was not able to blog the last couple of days as the newest member of the Stuff From the Park team was born on Friday. My little son Logan Masaru came into the world at 8:08 AM and weighed 5 pounds and measured 19.25 inches. Now to start him on collecting....

Thursday, January 07, 2016

Space Needle at Seattle World's Fair

Two views from the Seattle World's Fair featuring the Space Needle. The images are from a film strip that showcased the needle. First up is a nice view of the needle structure.

The second image shows the golden elevators used to transport guests to the restaurant at the top of the Space Needle.

Wednesday, January 06, 2016

Calico Mine Ride Knott's Berry Farm

A wonderful early snapshot of the Calico Mine Ride at Knott's Berry Farm. The mountain is framed nicely and the crowd is pretty big for this wonderful ride. I am happy that Knott's has maintained and even updated this ride as it is a joy to ride and brings me back to early days of theme parks.

Tuesday, January 05, 2016

Random Found Images

So over the New Year's, I worked a little on my basement where most of my collection is stored. These 3 slides were found randomly in a box. The slides are not related and I assume I have more slides that match these someplace. First up is a dark, dark night shot on Main Street with the Main Street Railroad Station lit in lights in the background. I believe the guest is enjoying a frozen banana.

The second image is of Knott's Berry Farm Gold Panning area. Now a lost part of the park, this was a must see and do for many families including mine when we visited Knott's. This is a great view of the attraction. I hope the two boys found some gold while panning.

The last image is of a shopping extravaganza at Indian Village in Disneyland. The aunt looks like they recently purchased a Mexican tooled leather purse from El Zocala, the boy in the stroller has a Keppy Kap (and look at the graphic on the side of the stroller with Tinkerbell and Disneyland) and the girl is holding a large ticket book. For sale are feather bonnets, belts, teepees, drums and other lovely souvenirs.

Monday, January 04, 2016

Matterhorn Bobsleds

When I visited Disneyland in my childhood, this was always a welcoming sign to one of the best rides. I like the rose details on the edges of the sign.

Friday, January 01, 2016

Souvenir Friday- 1964 New York World's Fair Salt and Pepper Shakers

One of the many ways that the 1964 New York World's Fair was promoted was the use of two little kids. The kids were a brother and sister and were used in advertising and also on some souvenirs. This is one of my favorite souvenirs, a nice figural pair of salt and pepper of the two kids. Painted on the bottom is New York World's Fair.