Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Main Street Cinema

Two images of the Main Street Cinema. Coming from the same contact sheet as the previous images, I am not sure what the photographer was looking at to rebuild. The first image is deserted, but in the second image a cast member is next door.

Monday, April 29, 2013

Exit From Skull Rock Cave

Two images of the old Exit sign from Skull Rock Cove from a contact print set of photographs taken for eventual construction and rehab projects. It appears the pictures were taken due to the fading of the sign. A favorite place to eat when I was growing up.

Friday, April 26, 2013

Souvenir Friday- Timex Building Blue Prints Part 2

Another set of blue prints of the US Time Timex display on Main Street. This drawing shows the different elevations of the building along with some details on the window displays.

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Three Views of the Flower Market

Three views of the Main Street Flower Market. The images are from a contact sheet printed from color slides. I believe the images were taken to document Main Street and other parts of Disneyland for potential construction projects. Note that the Hallmark store is on the left hand side and the Market House is on the right side.

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Gurrmobiles On Main Street 1965

A trio of images of three Gurrmobile vehicles on Main Street in 1965. First up is one of my favorite vehicles, the iconic Global Van Lines Moving truck. Located in front of the lockers sponsored by Global Van Lines. Check out the boy wearing his Davey Crockett coonskin cap and the great telephone sign hanging on the wall.

Next up is the Carnation Milk truck parked in front of the Carnation Ice Cream parlor. Note the janitorial bucket parked in front of the restaurant.

Final image is of the double decker Omnibus driving down Main Street. Note the bus has a license plate issued by the State of California to travel on city streets. Now the bus is not licensed as it is used only on private streets.

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Disneyland Music 1965

Two different bands playing at Disneyland, both appearing at Town Square. The photographs are dated 1965. The saxophone Keystone Kops band is an iconic image from this time period. The background features the Main Street railroad station.

The Disneyland band playing in the center of the Town Square. Quite a fun crowd listening this afternoon concert.

Monday, April 22, 2013

Carnation Plaza

A fixture at Disneyland was the Carnation Garden's concert venue. Today I show two lovely images of this classic attraction which has been themed to Princess Fair. First up is the outside of the location with a group of Japanese tourists posing.

Next up is a shot of the interior with the Disneyland Band putting on a concert.

Friday, April 19, 2013

Souvenir Friday- US Time Display Blueprints Building No. 508

Today is a continuation of the collection of items related to the US Time Timex shop on Main Street. Found at the address of 508 was this relatively small shop showcasing time pieces throughout the ages. Overall plan blueprints always intrigue me as you are able to walk into the building and visualize it.

Thursday, April 18, 2013

Grad Nite 1968

One of my favorite items to collect are the pictures taken at various Grad Nites over the years. I picked this one up recently and as you can tell it is from 1968. The couple is from Long Beach and he looks right in fashion for the hipsters of today. His date is a very pretty blonde, she appears to be a nice catch.

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Sinclair Dinoland

Sinclair is a classic gasoline brand which used Dinosaurs as the graphic. The company also sponsored a Dinosaur Land at the New York World's Fair and also built the attraction at locations across the country. I believe this one was in Arizona with a different layout than the World's Fair layout. First up is a small dinosaur with razor sharp teeth...

A group shot of the dinosaurs with a large crowd visiting Dinoland on this day.

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Cypress Gardens

In the mid 1960s one of the big tourist attractions in Florida was Cypress Gardens. A feature of the gardens was Southern Belles who would sit in the gardens and pose for photographs. The Belles would wear Gone With The Wind style dresses. The first picture shows on of the Belles sitting in the garden.

Next image is of the water skiers before entering the water. The clown is one of the scariest I have ever seen....

Monday, April 15, 2013

Frontierland 1964

Three snapshots from a visit to Disneyland in 1964. First up is Cascade Peak as seen from the Mark Twain. You can see the three sisters fall and almost make out a yellow Nature's Wonderland train on the tracks.

Next up is a view of the friendly Indian village along the banks of the Rivers of America. A nice you are there image.

A group of kids are entertained by an Indian Dancer in Indian Village. His traditional outfit is very colorful.

Friday, April 12, 2013

Souvenir Friday- Timex Main Street Shop Construction Documents

I recently purchased a small collection of construction blueprints and documents for the US Time Timex shop on Main Street. First up is a photo of a brownline rendering of the interior of the shop with guests. It appears the shop was to be filled with a collection of various time periods.

Next up is the authorization memo for WED to design the interior of the shop and also the sign on the building. It is interesting to see that the initial design for Main Street was a different contractor. Also, note that the opening date listed was July 19th.

Final document is from July 30, 1955 discussing a proposal to remodel the interior of the store. I am not sure if the Disneyland managers felt the store was not working or if it was management from US Time.

Thursday, April 11, 2013

Pacific Ocean Park Real Photo Postcard- Octopus Ride

A nice shot of POP from a series of real photo postcards issued in the early 1960s. This card is number 5.

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Everyone Loves A Parade

A couple of nice views showing a parade coming down Main Street. The band sure looks snazzy in their uniforms.

Mickey is a large draw as he marches by....

Tuesday, April 09, 2013

June 22, 1965

Two nice images from June 22, 1965. At least that is what is stamped on the back, the photographs could have been taken on June 21 as well. From the Disneyland Almanac, June 21 was a Monday with a high of 73 degrees and attendance 35,848 and Hootenany at night. If it was the 22nd, the attendance was 41,650 with a high of 72 degrees and Humdinger at night. The first picture shows a nice shot of the Swiss Family Treehouse and part of the tens of thousands of guests.

Next up is a view of the Frontierland station with the station across the tracks.

Monday, April 08, 2013

Horses and Snow Man

A couple of nice black and white snapshots from some amusement park. Nothing is noted on the back and no clues as to where the park was located. First up is a nice view of a carrousel featuring a nicely carved horse.

Next up is a snowman with the kid posing in his hands. I am posting this as the prediction is for snow tomorrow in Denver.

Friday, April 05, 2013

Souvenir Friday- Kids Souvenir Railroad Hat for Santa Fe Disneyland Railroad

A very early souvenir is this small kid's railroad hat for the Santa Fe Disneyland Railroad. The patch appears to be a generic patch with a railroad engine and embroidered Santa Fe Disneyland. The hickory stripe denim is very light weight. This is the only one of these hats I have seen. I would love to know if this exists in any other collections.

Thursday, April 04, 2013

Final Three Artistic Images

The last three images from the collection of photographs I have been running the last week or so. The photographer definitely liked unusual angles and I appreciate his eye. First up is a shot of the Tomorrowland Terrace stage. I do not know which band is playing, but it does bring me back to the Have A Nice Day kind of feeling.

Next up is a view of the mighty sailing ship Columbia as she docks. Note the lovely Matterhorn in the background.

Final image is of the cartoon style posters used to promote the Golden Horseshoe Review. I have very strong memories of looking at these when I visited Disneyland in the 1970s and 1980s. I think I enjoyed these as they look like classic Sunday pages from Alex Raymond, Burne Hogarth or Milton Caniff.

Wednesday, April 03, 2013

Disneyland Flowers

Two views of the lovely flowers and landscaping seen at Disneyland. One of the influences on the design of Disneyland was Tivoli gardens in Europe as well as the trolley parks found in many cities during the early 20th Century. The trolley parks had large expanses of gardens. Most visitors to these parks lived in the dirty inner city and the park operators took advantage of the need for these folks to be surrounded by natural beauty. Denver was home to one of the most beautiful trolley parks in Elitch Gardens. Elitch's was as famous for its gardens as for the rides. As Disneyland matured, the world noted that Disneyland had great gardens and flowers. One of the collectible Disneyland books is by the landscaper Morgan Bill Everett and is titled Disneyland A World of Flowers. This photographer also felt that the flowers in Disneyland were noticeable. The first image shows the landscaping of Tomorrowland with bright yellow flowers and palm trees in the background. Further in the background are the white spires of Tomorrowland.

The next image was taken in Fantasyland featuring yellow and purple flowers, the Big Bad Wolf greeting guests and the Matterhorn in the background.

Tuesday, April 02, 2013

NOS

Two views of New Orleans Square. First up a nice image of Club 33 and the Blue Bayou. Check out the small crowd.

Next up is a nice image of the musical entertainment found in NOS. I love a great image of the Royal Street Bachelors playing.

Monday, April 01, 2013

Rivers of America Scenes

More images from 1974 featuring the scenic elements on the banks of the Rivers of America. First up is the friendly Native American chief greeting all the activity on the river.

Next up is a neat view of the little mining town of Rainbow Ridge. A nice scenic element is one of the Disneyland Stage Coaches sitting ready to take on passengers.