Lane's General Store Calico Ghost Town

Calico Ghost Town has an interesting history. Originally a booming silver mining town in the Mojave desert of California, then an abandoned town, then purchased by Walter Knott to complete his vision of a real ghost town (and to preserve the history) and eventually donated to San Bernadino to be run as a park. The connection to theme parks is that Walter Knott ran the town as an amusement park with a mine train ride and costumed characters during the day. It is now still run like an amusement park with gun fights, gold panning and a train ride. This postcard is of the general store with all the advertising out front. The postcard is postmarked 1958, during the prime time of the Knott's ownership.

Lake Placid Bobsleds at Palisades Amusement Park

A cool postcard from 1939 with a view of a fun ride at the Palisades Amusement Park. This must have been lots of fun to ride. The ride was at the park from 1937 until 1946.

Traveling Carnival Carousel

A cute young girl takes a thrilling ride on a traveling carousel. The slides appear to be mid 1950s and based upon the background, the carousel is in a parking lot near the ocean. I enjoy the range of emotions seen by this young rider.

Pictures of the Sea Circus at Pacific Ocean Park

The slides are dated October 1963 and feature the dolphins performing tricks at the Sea Circus at Pacific Ocean Park. Some nice background elements for the Forest of Fun.

Walt Disney World War 2 Food Saving Poster

A nice image of Walt Disney and a Colonel in the US Army Air Corps in World War 2. Walt is showing off a Pinocchio maquette and also a food saving poster created for the Army Air Corps Technical Training Command. The poster exhorts recruits to take only the amount of food they will eat and not to waste food using Jiminy Cricket as a spokescricket. Jiminy is holding the DI for the Technical Training Command.

Art Show At Walt Disney Studios

Many of the animators also created fine art outside of their work at the Walt Disney Studios. Walt Disney noticed this and created an art fair where the employees could show their art. This fair appears to be early 1960s. First up is Walt speaking to two employees. The gentleman in the striped shirt looks like John Hench.

I do not recognize this employee speaking with Walt and looking at art. I like the clown painting.

One final image with some nice landscapes and seascapes.

Souvenir Friday- This is Freedomland Press Release

Here is almost everything you need to know about Freedomland when it opened. I will just let everyone read the information:

Fairy Tale Village

With Matterhorn Mountain in the background, Fantasyland takes on a European flair. Peter Pan's Flight is just one of 16 attractions offered to guests in this land which was completely reconstructed in 1983.

Pitchur Gallery at Knott's Berry Place

This is one of the more unusual Pitchur Gallery photographs from Knott's Berry Farm. The flat itself is marked Beauty & the Beast and is dated 1941. Note that this is prior to the farm and the location is listed as Knott's Berry Place.

Disneyland 1962 in Black and White

Three black and white snapshots documenting Disneyland in 1962. First up is the entrance with the Monorail pylons out front. A great use of the attractions posters was in the frames on each of the pylons, showcasing the attractions guests could ride inside the park.

A meeting outside of the Chicken of the Sea Tuna Pirate Ship. A great shot of the waste container.

Last view today is from Tomorrowland featuring the soaring Monorail over the Submarine Lagoon. I like the lights hanging off of the beamway to illuminate the lagoon.

Disneyland Hotel 1957

Three snapshots from a family staying at the Disneyland Hotel. The first two show Mom and then the son posing in front of their block of hotel rooms.

Here is the boy waiting for the tram to take him to Disneyland. The sign next to him basically reads that the tram is a service and not responsible if it is late. The Pirates Den Gift Store sign is very nice.

Happy To Be At Disneyland in 1959

I am sure that the readers out there would be this happy to be at Disneyland in December 1959. I know I would be this happy to visit Disneyland in 1959.

Here is the same happy girl posing on the steps of the Fantasyland Skyway.

Souvenir Friday- Freedomland Press Kit Continued

More items from the Freedomland press kit. For a little color, the first post is a design for the Freedomland candy bar, in the shape of the map of the Continental United States. A little bit more appetizing than the Freedom Pop.

Next up is the press release with 50 FAQs about Freedomland.

I know you are all getting hungry, so here is information on locations to eat while visiting Freedomland.