From June 1955 comes this construction view of Main Street, just one month until opening. The “shirts” are taking a trial run down Main Street on the Horse-Drawn Streetcar; anybody able to identify them? NOTE: Jason from Disneyland Nomenclature has just identified the driver as Art Chapman.
Interestingly enough, the cinema marquee changed once the park was open; here’s a shot from August 1955, courtesy of CoxPilot:
Although they’ve definitely seen a few coats of paint and various decorations over the years, it would appear that the streetlamps are still original.
See more Disneyland Matterhorn photos at my website.
All the street lights on Main Street are original. In fact they are true turn-of-the century fixtures that were bought for the park...I believe they came from Baltimore and Boston. Even the posts that hold up the awning for the Opera House originated at street lights... the 2 middle posts had thier lights removed in 1973 for the addition of the "Walt Disney Story" sign.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the info on the lamps, Hauntedone999--really neat stuff. :)
ReplyDeleteI just noticed that the top photo appears in the July 1955 edition of The Disneyland News.
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