Souvenir Friday- Gibson Greetings From Disneyland

From 1955 until 1960, Gibson Greeting Cards was the purveyor of stationary and greeting cards on Main Street. One of the nicest set of cards done by Gibson was a series of greeting cards with a photo on the front of an attraction and a witty saying on the inside. First up is a card featuring the Main Street Railroad.

Of course the Rocket to the Moon was also featured.

In 1960, Hallmark became the purveyor of greeting cards and created the fantastic set of PDL cards.

A Couple of Favorites

I posted these images quite a while ago. The scans I had were from positives and as I was going through some stuff, I found the negatives. I decided to post them as they are such cool images of attractions that have changed. First up is the old Snow White facade in Fantasyland.

The second is of the World Beneath Us exhibit with an art show out front.

Adventureland Buildings

Four images of the architecture of Adventureland. First up is the Railroad station for the land- the Jungle River Cruise depot. Although covered with the detritus of many safaris, the structure has the design of a railroad depot with a central ticket area and open air waiting rooms.

Next up is the commercial section of Adventureland. The style of architecture is reminiscent of the found building material structures in many towns and cities in Africa. This style of construction is also used in Animal Kingdom in Walt Disney World.

Another style of construction is the hut style with a straw roof and bamboo as seen in many imagined South Seas oasis. The style of hut is seen in many Tiki restaurants built during this time.

Speaking of restaurants, the Plaza restaurant had a split personality. On the Main Street side it appeared to be Victorian in design, and on the Adventureland side the restaurant is early Polynesian pop style like the first Don the Beachcomber and Trader Vic's restaurants.

Some Freedomland Ephemera

Freedomland was short lived, but did create some ephemeral items that are interesting. These items came with the Freedomland publicity photographs I have been posting. First up is a photograph of a display promoting Freedomland. I believe this was up in a bus station somewhere in New York City.

(Note the image is large so you can see the photos in the display...and I really want that poster.)
Next up is a ticket order form. In 1962, Freedomland went to a ticket book less system with a pay one price system, similar to Pacific Ocean Park in Santa Monica. At this time, Freedomland was on shaky financial standing.

Final item is a copy of the Freedomland Day Proclamation from the Mayor of New York City. On June 19, I hope you will celebrate Freedomland Day!

Things From the Gate- Fall Winter 1959 Ticket Brochure

Continuing the same graphics, this time in a rose color. I like Date Nites during this time period.

More Freedomland Publicity Images

More Freedomland publicity images for today. First up is a night view of the Satellite Bowl in Space City, the Tomorrowland section of Freedomland. The band is quite cramped on stage, but the crowd is dancing up a storm.

Next up is an image of one of the balloon sellers at the front of the park. The location was the first (and last) souvenir stand in the park, selling guide books and other items. Note the balloons the lady is holding are the Mickey Mouse balloon within a balloon.

The last photograph for today is my favorite, a group of nuns posing at the Horse Drawn Trolley. Nuns in full habits at a theme park, sign me up!

Some Freedomland Publicity Photographs

Two neat publicity photographs from Freedomland in New York City. First up is everyone's second favorite burning building- the Old Chicago Fire. The attraction was a guest experience. The fire men would come rushing up and conscript volunteers to man the fire pumps and put out the fire. This was repeated several times a day. Judging from the photo, this was quite a draw.

(Of course everyone's favorite burning building is the settler's cabin on Tom Sawyer's Island.)
It would not be New York City without some politics and a rally. The photograph shows a rally for Gubernatorial candidate Frank O'Connor parading through Old New York City. Mr. O'Connor was a candidate in 1966. This photo documents the final year of this amazing theme park. Unfortunately like Freedomland, Mr. O'Connor was not successful.

I want to let you know of a new blog focusing on Tiki architecture. Mike is a fantastic historian of vintage Tiki establishments and a good friend.

Souvenir Friday- Candy Palace Catalog

Great small pamphlet catalog from the Candy Palace on Main Street. A shopping list of some very rare items including some great packaging.

Wally Boag on the Radio

In the early years of Disneyland, Wally Boag was on the ABC radio network with a show recorded at Disneyland called Walt Disney's Magic Kingdom. Part of the show was that two families would be chosen, and one would get a golden key to Disneyland along with lots of prizes. This was a common radio promotion and program at the time. One of the sponsors of the show was Mohawk Carpets. First up is an image of Wally on the radio at Disneyland.

The producer was Les Lear and he sent out a transcript with recordings of the advertising for Mohawk Carpets. Note on the letterhead at the bottom is the information and tag line for the radio show.

The moment you all have been waiting for, two examples of Wally on the radio. In the second commercial, check out Wally extolling Popeye Popcorn.

Mohawk Commercial 1

Mohawk Commercial 2

Four Vintage Amusement Park Postcards

For those who enjoy looking at amusement parks from the 1930s, here are four nice examples. First up is the Steeplechase at Steeplechase park in Coney Island, New York. Knott's attempted an update on this ride using motorcycles instead of horses. According to Ed Soto, the problem was that the riders on the Knott's version would fall off or fly over the handle bars.

Old Orchard Beach in Maine still has an amusement park on a pier. However, the original pier was damaged twice and then torn down in the 1970s. One of the main attractions was a Noah's Ark, as well as a large Ferris Wheel.

The island of Galveston was home to a free wheeling and wide open amusement area in the 1930s. The pier was home to several speakeasies, gambling parlors and houses of ill repute. But the pier also held several rides including a Ferris Wheel as well as a Whip. The pier still stands and is now home to several restaurants and other stores.

The final postcard is a scarce view of my favorite Denver amusement park. The park is Lakeside Amusement Park and it is a blast to visit at any time,but more so at night. If you are ever in Denver during the summer, make sure you visit Lakeside.

Things From the Gate- Summer 1959 Ticket Brochures

I will try to get back on track after the whirlwind Disneyland and Knott's Berry Farm tour over the weekend. Today's post features two ticket brochures. The brochures have the same information, but the brochures have one big difference. The first one measures a full 1.5 inches taller than the second brochure. If you count and look at the nice line drawings, you will see that two of the images are missing at the bottom of the second brochure. The joys of collecting paper.

The Knott's event was one of the most informative, entertaining and just plain fun events I have had the pleasure of attending. I would like to say thanks to my fellow bloggers for the fun and camaraderie. It was nice to meet some of my fellow bloggers who I had not had the pleasure of meeting face to face before.

Souvenir- Calico Saloon Menu

Still focusing on Knott's Berry Farm with one of my favorite places to visit at Knott's, the Calico Saloon. I love the old fashioned ambiance of the saloon and the ability to order Boysenberry Punch. The girls are always a great show.

This will be my last post for a while. I hope to see some of you at the Knott's Berry Farm history event on Sunday.

Knott's Berry Farm Main Street

Two nice images of the Main Street in the Ghost Town in Knott's Berry Farm. First up looks like a wedding is going to happen.

The General Store with lots of items for sale.

Looking forward to visiting the park, it has been a long time.

Knott's Berry Farm Attractions

Just a heads up that there will be no posts this weekend due to my travel and visit to Disneyland and Knott's Berry Farm for Chris Merritt's Knott's Preserved event. My plan is to enjoy Disneyland on Saturday and then the Knott's event on Sunday. At Knott's Berry Farm, I want to ride this small steamboat, the Cordelia K.

Well, maybe I won't be able to ride that as the steamboat is long gone. Maybe I can visit the Little Chapel by the Lake.

No the Chapel is now gone, part of the Silver Bullet coaster. I do hope to see some of you there and am looking forward to the presentations and taking the walking tour.

Publicity Shot- Main Street Horse Drawn Trolley

Dated October 1955, this is an unusual publicity still. I love how both Frontierland and Tommorowland are on Main Street. Also, K-7 the Kaiser Aluminum Astronaut is sitting next to one of the TWA Hostesses for the Rocket to the Moon. Be sure and look at the crowd reaction.

Things From the Gate- Spring 1959

A nice brochure with brown coloring. Open it up and the Guided Tour advertising is highlighted in red. The advertising line on the bottom states the prices were good only until May 31, 1959.

Coney Island Postcards

Three nice postcards featuring some of the various thrill rides at Coney Island in New York. The parachute jump was moved from the 1939 New York World's Fair. The Wonder Wheel is recreated at Disney's California Adventure. The postcards are from the late 1930s and 1940s.