Dude, Where's My Sign?

When I scanned this Summer 1959 image and added it to my website (yes, I have a website BESIDES this blog!), I noticed that there was no Red Wagon Inn sign on top of the restaurant. I also noticed these two little girls that are definitely giving off some creepy Stephen King vibes.



But back to the topic at hand. Signage. Perhaps some value engineering prevented signage for this restaurant when the Park opened in 1955. Sometime around 1960 or 1961 that problem was rectified. This August 1961 shot is my earliest to show the new sign.



I wonder where this ended up when the name changed to Plaza Inn a few years later? And why wasn't “Inn” used in the title?



Based on this Vacation Magazine ad, it would appear that “Inn” was dropped for “Restaurant.” Maybe guests thought it was a hotel.



In this contemporary shot, it would appear that the glass has remained the same, but that the light fixtures and front doors have changed...or at least the hardware.



See more Disneyland Red Wagon Inn photos at my main website.

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Fort Wilderness Cemetery

Other than at the Haunted Mansion, one rarely associates cemeteries with Disneyland. However, Fort Wilderness used to be LOADED with tombstones! This 1960s image shows the cemetery that was once located behind Fort Wilderness on Tom Sawyer Island. Since it’s been over three years since my last visit, other Disneyland guests will need to confirm/deny whether or not the cemetery is still there.



This previously posted August 1956 shot shows a few tombstones that were located on the edge of the Island:



Slightly odd...a little creepy...but I’m okay with that!



Skipping ahead to December 2006 you can see the concept survived, even if some of the tombstones were changed/replaced:





From February 2007:





...and my last trip to the Island in October 2011:



See more Disneyland Fort Wilderness photos at my main website.

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Temple Tuesday: Deltah Pearls

This ad from 1949 features a lovely color portrait of Shirley Temple advertising Deltah Pearls. Want to see the contract Shirley signed for this campaign? Sold many years ago for over $1000 at a Bonhams auction, this two-page May 16, 1949 document on Warner Bros letterhead allowed Deltah Pearls to use Shirley’s name and likeness in the promotion of their simulated pearls. Note Shirley’s handwritten addition in the lower lefthand corner: “OK for trade publications.” I guess it was important that she spelled that out.





Warner Brothers wanted to make sure they got a piece of the pearl-pie, too, by having Shirley’s latest movie at the time, “The Story of Seabiscuit” included in all the ads. Here’s a publicity still from that movie showing Shirley and costar Lon McCallister.



The beautiful dress Shirley was seen wearing in the Deltah Pearls ad came up for auction as well when Theriault’s sold off items from Shirley’s personal collection after she passed away.



Shirley could also be seen wearing the same gown at Harry Truman’s Inauguration.



Notice she is wearing it sans pearls!



See more Shirley Temple photos at my main website.

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