I consider this razor sharp photo of the Castle to be one of the best in my collection. Uncluttered by very many guests, it is the centerpiece of the park, without any competition from The Matterhorn, The Monorail, or even The Snow White Wishing Well. All three of these had yet to be constructed or installed. Note the cords and plugs visible by the bridge in the lower right-hand corner.
This shot still breathes today; you can almost hear the female guest ask the man next to her what time it is. All of this was captured by our vintage photographer.
The Monsanto House of the Future is visible in the background, with the vehicles of yesteryear in front of the photo getting ready to take guests on a one-way journey to Town Square. Get those “A” coupons ready!
The last view in this series appears to have been taken from the balcony of the Castle. Any of you vintage experts know if it was commonplace for guests to be able to have access to the balcony, or did this photographer perhaps have special privileges? Either way, it’s a rare vantage point.
Zooming in, you can see the Skyway Buckets, the masts of the Chicken of the Sea Pirate Ship restaurant, and the mountains in the distance.
I hope you’ve enjoyed these shots from Disneyland’s past in black and white; I know I have!
View more Disneyland photos at my main website.
9 comments:
Amazing and beautiful pictures Dave. Looks like the House of the Future is still under construction. Great post. Thanks!
I second what Viewliner said....AMAZING!
Love the view from the Castle balcony and the peek inside the "shell" of the HOTF.
Golly gee, that first photo took my breath away! I love, love, love the white fencing! The other photos are equally beautiful and the last one threw me for a bit. The building in the foreground looks so much like the current Fantasyland that at first, I thought someone was pulling my leg!
Talk about a moment in time, what a wonderful capture. I agree, that shot of the castle is striking.
Nothin' like having the original negatives!
Wow, Dave, what a great collection of images. Especially those taken from the castle parapet. Guests were only allowed out there for a short period of time.
Thanks!
Remarkable pics, thank you.
JG
The first picture of the castle is a great shot for me, mostly because pictures today tend to show it as just a facade. At this angle, and with no visual competition from plantings etc, you can see how much volume the building takes up and makes it that much more impressive.
I am also DELIGHTED that photos from the first parapit are showing up on the internet. When I was young, and I do mean young, I remember looking up and seeing Walt Disney with a group of men up there and Walt was pointing at the horizon and talking to them with big gestures.
Over the years I started to doubt my memory. I was young, and I'd never seen any evidence that there was any access at all to that first roof level.
Now that these photos are showing up, suggesting that people of ordinary agility could get up there, I feel much more confident in what I saw.
As I recall, access to that upper area was a small stair case (chained off usually) just inside the arch of the entrance. (Just to the left as you enter across the draw bridge.) ??? It's been a long time.
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