Swift’s Chicken Plantation Restaurant, aka The Plantation House, was just a blip on the radar of Disneyland’s history. From 1955 until 1962, fried chicken dinners were served up along the Rivers of America at this restaurant sponsored by Swift’s Premium Meats. Shot #1 shows the front façade, which resembled an antebellum mansion, and I have included a closeup view as well.
Sharp eyes have noticed the resemblance between the mansion located inside the Blue Bayou Restaurant and The Chicken Plantation:
The back of the restaurant featured a design that was more reminiscent of Mexico, not New Orleans or the South:
I have also included a closeup; Fried Chicken for $1.70? Count me in!
This previously posted color shot shows the wishing well located next to the restaurant:
Various photos of the bridge that lead to the restaurant have popped up over the last week; here’s a nice overview shot showing exactly where it fit into the grand scheme of things, with the Gullywhumper Keelboat thrown in as a bonus! This photo is from January 1962, the year that the Chicken Plantation was dozed down to make room for New Orleans Square.
Rounding out today’s entry is a previously posted shot from Day 2 at Disneyland, July 18, 1955, with a few new detailed views, once again showing the proximity of the bridge to the New Orleans Street area on the left:
For Outside The Berm, here’s a detailed view of the Bull Whip sign from yesterday’s post:
See more vintage and current Chicken Plantation photos at my website.
10 comments:
I had noticed the resemblance between the Plantation House and the Blue Bayou plantation, but I never said anything about it. Have you been scanning my thoughts with microwaves?? TIme to wear my tinfoil lined hat again.
Major: No need for the tinfoil hat; I had actually seen a comparison on one of the other Disney blogs, whose name escapes me at the moment.
Thanks for all of these, Dave. Now if we could just track down one of those bull whips...
This absolutely ranks as one of the "ULTIMATE Disneyland POSTS" of all-time Dave. Incredible pictures. Thanks, Richard.
Dave, how do you keep outdoing yourself??? I love this post, great look at this lesser know restaurant. Those power cables still amaze me in the July 18, 1955 shots. They really do distract from the mood, I wonder how long those were keep up?
THANKS DAVE!!!!
Wow, Dave...
Great shots!
Anyone seen shots of the second level or were they offices?
I do not believe the 2nd level was for guests/dining; most likely it was storage or office space. Anyone know for sure?
We have some tourist photos of guests out and about on the second level (think they're black and white, if memory serves) - but as far as dining goes: don't know. Perhaps someone 'out there' knows for sure.
Will try to locate what we have...
Wow, I am stunned. This building is before my time: I only know it from photographs and had always assumed that it was Victorian in the round... I had *no* idea it had a Mexican facade on the berm side.
My Mom swears that they served the best deep fried chicken here, and that when the place closed down, the recipe was used at the Plaza Inn. Anybody know if that's true?
Katella Gate: Since Swift operated both the Chicken Plantation Restaurant and the Red Wagon Inn, it would not be at all surprising to find the recipe re-used. I do not know what would have happened to the recipe when Swift ended its operation of the Red Wagon Inn in 1965 and it was remodeled as the Plaza Inn.
Post a Comment