Back in the day when Main Street U.S.A. had a healthy diversity of shops, the Upjohn Pharmacy was a museum of sorts with an actual pharmacist on hand to talk to guests wanting to know more. Here's a vintage interior shot along with the accompanying publicity blurb from February 1960:
HEALTHY CURIOSITY (SECOND OF FIVE)
A bit of Old America, the Drug Store has an interior of fancy jars and bottles, ornate chandeliers and formally arranged displays of herbs, barks, extracts, granules pills and powders. Registered Pharmacists actually work at the store, but their job is to explain what the displays are all about, rather than compound medicines.
Gotta' zoom in for a closeup of the clock on the wall:
See more vintage and contemporary Disneyland Main Street U.S.A. photos at my main website.
Wow! Now that's the kind of thing I'd really enjoy. Half the magic of Disneyland is immersing yourself in the surroundings, and this is a lovely little time machine!
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ReplyDeleteI got to go through these doors only once and I was pretty young. I remember it was very other worldly in there to me. It was somehow a time machine that was real. While immersed in the 'then' reality of modern medicine; there was some earthly connection to Merlin.
ReplyDeleteWOW WOW WOW!!! I love that photo. It's almost "you are there"!
ReplyDeleteAnd what the heck are "Friable Pills"?????? I can just see the Major frying some up in a cast iron skillet next to the freeway.
Neat photo! Where is the character merchandise? Where are the plush toys? You'll never see something like this in a Disney park anymore.
ReplyDeleteConnie, I do like to fry pills...!
This picture of this room is exactly like my memory.
ReplyDeleteMom was always afraid I would knock over the fragile glass bottles.
This was the next stop in the sequence as you passed through the Candle Shop and Book Store.
There was a little display in the glass case in front of the street window, showing Chinese remedies. They had a little ivory figurine of a reclining woman "En Deshabille", this prop was used by Chinese doctors to diagnose their female patients who were too shy to be examined. The ladies pointed to the parts of the figurine where they had ailments.
Mom did not approve of the little naked statue, but Dad told her to relax. Is it more prudish to disrobe for the doctor, or to have an always-naked figurine?
I also remember the vitamin pill samples they gave away, little orange balls in a square glass bottle. I would refill the bottle when I got home, but with Chocks, instead of Upjohn. I bet I have one somewhere at home.
JG
Oh PS.
ReplyDelete"friable" means easily crumbled or dissolved. A desirable characteristic for oral medication.
JG
JG - Thanks for the great memories of Upjohn!
ReplyDeleteGreat pic Dave and thanks for the great comments JG! It's like Main Street had a point other than buildings located near the entrance to house general Disney merchandise...
ReplyDeleteNow to find out what the friable pills consisted of. ;)
Chocks! Sounds like a British expletive hehe
I believe that large oval window in the background still exists. You can see a couple steps leading to a landing in front of the window and a doorway to the right of it. In the seventies and eighties, I remember the doorway had been walled up and the steps led to nowhere. I think the steps and landing have since been removed as well. I need to go check and see if the window is still there!
ReplyDeleteI have several of those little vitamin bottles today. Though the vitamins are long digested.
ReplyDelete@Chiana, I found a picture of my old vitamins, Chocks was a real brand circa 1964>> http://theimaginaryworld.com/pix64.jpg
ReplyDelete@Anonymous: That's because those pills were "friable". Some info on the give-away bottles >> http://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/1963-disneyland-upjohn-vitamins-miniature-bottle. Don't toss them out.
@TM. As I recall it, that door by the oval window lead into the Penny Arcade, but it has been many a long year....
@Melissa, in the old Main Street, Most of the shops worked to be part of the theme of the old town. I wrote a little essay on my memory of Main Street for Dave. He graciously posted it in his regular Disney website under Main Street. You might enjoy it.
The little chinese figurine was kept in the glass case in the photo, right under the glass jar full of white pills.
JG
Cool! Thanks JG :)
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