Monday, November 30, 2009

48 Years Ago: December 1961, Pt. 1



Here comes a looooooong series from December 1961. The first two shots show a whole gaggle of Tour Guides in their crisp uniforms complete with riding crop and gleaming golden "D" pin.



And what set of photos would be complete without a shot of the Main Street Train Station. Sure is good to see the handcart, which has been missing at the park for ages.



Here’s a nice point-of-view shot, entering underneath the tunnels of the Disneyland Railroad. I still get a feeling of excitement as I leave the real world behind and enter the care-free land of Disney.



And a close-up of the information booth in Town Square:



Anyone care to register for a Guided Tour?



A closeup of the postcard racks and the Tour Guide desk (looks like the person working it is on a coffee break!):



Two of the Square and The Opera House:





And the corresponding detail shots, featuring the Babes in Toyland Village at the Opera House:





My fave, the Omnibus. On the right of this one, we can see that the 2nd Info booth has yet to open:



Last one for today shows the heart of Town Square:



More to come! And thanks to William B. for getting me out of my time and math warp! See more Disneyland photos at my website.

10 comments:

  1. It looks like a wonderful clear day during the Christmas season. I can just feel the clear, crisp, air now.

    It looks like the Park is taking some time to dredge out the Jungle Cruise canals. You can see the dredging bucket just behind (and above) the guided tour waiting area.

    This looks like a great series and I'm looking forward to see their day.

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  2. 38 years ago in 1961? Disney years must be like dog years, by that calculation I'm 30 again...Yippee!!!

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  3. Great Series, love the info booth - look at all those Pana-Vue slides just waiting to turn RED!

    Hey I like the math too, I'm 34 again!!!

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  4. Ha ha, Vintage Disneyland Tickets beat me to the comment about the Pana-Vue slides! Curse you, VDT! ;-)

    Love the postcard rack visible in that other photo too, looks like it has mostly the postcard folders rather than individual cards.

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  5. Thanks to CoxPilot to coming to my rescue with the dredger bucket. I kept looking at it and was absolutely in a quandary as to what it could be.

    This is a great set of images, very casual but not careless. My favorite is the one coming thru the tunnel.

    Pop quiz: looking thru the tunnel, you can see the green mansard roof of the Emporium on the right. The roof has four "bull's eye" dormers. One second from the left has a pair of "bowling pin" finials, one on either side.

    Why?

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  6. What a great series today. Looks like the Christmas tree in Town Square is undecorated in that last pic. I wonder what year they began decorating it backstage before bringing it out?

    Thank you for the close-ups. My eyes went right to those slide strips hanging on the display carousel! The postard close-up also show some of the "Flip Books" that used to be sold in the park.

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  7. Katella: Pop quiz answer . . that same architectural feature is around the corner also, facing main street. It designates entrances below in both places.

    Tokyo: The tree does have some decorations on it if you look real close. The tree is decorated after hours when the park is closed, and is done a stages each day leading up to the Christmas lighting.

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  8. Opps! Sorry, meant to say "in" stages.

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  9. Excellent post Dave. You deserve an award for this one. So much detail and beauty. Just Awesome.

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  10. Thanks for all the great comments and discussion - I love that stuff!

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