This photo is so perfect it almost seems like a setup shot for the set of a movie; the type of shot used for continuity or record keeping. Barely a soul to be found...nor a Tiki Bird to be heard. Like the others, this one is most likely from the initial years of Disneyland.
Here’s a color shot from a similar vantage point from July 18, 1955 also showing the Casa de Huespedes (guest house/boarding house):
A few fun closeups of the lettering on the building and signage:
I’d never noticed before the cattle-head detail visible in this detailed view:
It appears that the skulls had either been temporarily removed or not installed yet:
Today, with how the landscaping has grown in and the addition of the Tiki Room, it is next to impossible to get a similar shot. This is about as good as it gets:
See more Disneyland Adventureland photos at my website.
Nice series showing the early Adventureland entrance. I've always wondered why they made the elephant tusks brown - are they supposed to look like wood so that we don't think that they're real ivory?
ReplyDeleteAlthough the mature plantings make photographing the architecture hard today, it adds immeasurably to the atmosphere. I've always been amazed at how they manage to keep it looking "Lush and wild" but not "overgrown and unkempt".
ReplyDeleteBeauty pics Dave. Appreciated as always.
ReplyDeleteGreat pictures Dave, how where you able to get the entrance with nobody in the shot?
ReplyDeleteLove the Adventureland gate! It is one of my favorite places at DL and WDW!
ReplyDeleteEric - When the park is not as crowded, they have "Magic Mornings,” which allows guests staying at a Disney Hotel to enter the park 1 hour before all other guests. This gives you access to Tomorrowland and Fantasyland. The Adventureland shot was taken on one of those mornings while I was waiting for the other lands to open.
ReplyDeleteA gateway to a land of dreams... superbly done. Thanks Dave.
ReplyDeleteGreat photographs and series. I only visited Disneyland once (recently) but thought Adventureland was one of my favorite lands there.
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