April 1958 must have been an exciting time for Disneyland Railroad enthusiasts; the Grand Canyon Diorama was introduced. I know, it’s really cheesy, and today looks extremely out of date, however, I still look forward to it every time I take the Grand Circle Tour. In this shot, it’s amazing that only one person is visible; he must have scared everyone else away. The Carnation Truck is visible on the left, peering out from West Center Street. Photo #2 is riding on the coattails of the Major’s post from today; the Disneyland Fire Engine/Chemical Wagon is heading towards Town Square (need anything from the Pharmacy along the way?).
THIS JUST IN: Thanks to E-Ticket Tim, I was alerted to the fact that the very banner in photo #1 is up for auction now on srlabs.com/. Here’s a photo of how the banner looks today:
I’d say it’s held up pretty well for almost 50 years!
See more vintage and contemporary Disneyland Main Street U.S.A. photos at my main website.
7 comments:
Hi Dave,
Great pictures as usual! Love the Engine/Chemical Wagon with it beautiful deep red color!
Hey, that sign for the “Grand Canyon Tour” is going to be sold at a DISNEYLAND VINTAGE POSTER AUCTION July 16th and 17th. They Claim it’s the actual sign from DL. The site is: www.srlabs.com. Here is the text from the auction for this sign:
“#015 GRAND CANYON DIORAMA 28' MAIN STREET TWO-SIDED BANNER
This one-of-a-kind banner hung across Main Street, stretching between the Emporium and the Hallmark Card Shop (now the Disney Clothier), heralding the opening of the new addition to the Santa Fe and Disneyland Railroad on March 31, 1958. This enormous banner is more breathtaking in person than you can imagine. You can just feel the excitement it caused. It is a full 28 feet long and 30 inches high, completely hand painted on canvas on both sides, and fitted with grommets for hanging. Disney, 1958.
$2,000-4,000”
They have 15 other very cool late 50’s signs too. Unfortunately, all of them are way out of my price range, but neat to look at anyway.
Thanks again for your tireless work Dave, it’s always appreciated!
Tim
Wow! That's a lot of $$$! I think I'll pass on that one; could probably recreate it myself for a fraction of the cost. Thanks for the tip Tim - some mighty cool stuff on that site.
I guess maybe the Grand Canyon Diorama IS cheesy by today's standards, although I still love it. It's like those wonderful wildlife taxidermy displays at the Natural History museum, only you get animatronic dinosaurs at the end.
By-the-way Dave, Your Website (http://davelandweb.com) just keeps getting better. I just spent a few minutes there (well 30 minutes) and its better than ever. Nice updating and organizing, what a bang-up job you do, thanks from everyone!
Tim
Tim - thanks for all the great comments today. They make my lack of sleep bearable! Ha!
Nice images as usual.
That lone guy in the April 1958 photo is the only person standing still. The blurs of feet and heads can be seen all the way down the sidewalk in this long-exposure night shot.
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