Thursday, March 19, 2009

The Wurlitzer Shop



From July 17, 1955 until September 1968, this corner of Town Square was occupied by Wurlitzer, the music company known for pianos and organs. Basically serving as a showroom, guests would leave their contact information if interested in learning more about what they saw and heard here. Next door was the Wonderland Music Company, which folded after a year and became the Magic Shop in 1957, owned by Merv Taylor until 1965.



Here’s an August 1965 shot showing the Magic Shop next door in glorious FauxD©:



Along the way, this space has been a few other stores as well: Walt Disney: A Legacy for the Future (1970-1973), Disneyland Presents Previews of Coming Attractions (1973-79), 25th Anniversary Display (1980-1981), and Disneyland Showcase (1981-1989). Today, the former Wurlitzer Shop is known as the Disney Showcase, selling Disney merchandise:



See more Disneyland Town Square photos at my website.

5 comments:

Thufer said...

talk about prime real estate...location,location. i suppose my favorite incarnation of this location was Disneyland Presents Previews of Coming Attractions (1973-79)

TokyoMagic! said...

That was my favorite incarnation too! I remember artwork being on display for Space Mountain, the remodeled Matterhorn of 1978, and Big Thunder Mt Railroad. I also remember the large model of Discovery Bay and Circusland (which were never built) being on display there. That same model turned up again years later in the Disney Gallery in one of their temporary exhibits....something about the DL that never was, I think.

TokyoMagic! said...

Hey Dave, did you just add a pic or did I completely zone out when scrolling past that black and white shot? I've never seen the inside of the Wurlitzer shop before...too cool! That long upholstered bench seat along the window stayed there through the years up until when the space was converted into a shop. I remember going in there many times and seeing worn out park guests passed out on that thing!

Daveland said...

Oftentimes I do go back and add a pic if necessary, but not this time! Must have just taken awhile to load the first time around for you. Patrick at Stuff from the Park also posted an interior shot many moons ago that shows a different angle.

Vintage Disneyland Tickets said...

Nice post, I love the Wurlitzer Jukebox in that RARE interior shot, thanks!