Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Disneyland Entrance Sign Blow-out!



With the acquisition of a "new" image of the famous Disneyland entrance sign, I decided to do a post in chronological order showing this beloved icon. First up is a September 1959 view, followed by an undated shot that I also believe is from 1959. Looking at these, I noticed that one side of the sign says "Entrance • Park & Hotel" whereas the other side says "Park & Hotel • Entrance."



From August 1962:



July 1963:



September 1964:



July 1965:



An undated 1960's shot:



September 1969:



February 1971:



Thanks to Chris Jepsen, this photo has now been dated to April 1971; apparently Roy Acuff played there on April 4th for the very first Country Jubilee. Thanks Chris!



July 1971:



October 1972:



And the tragic eyesore that replaced it:



See more vintage & current Disneyland Entrance photos on my Disneyland Entrance web page.

10 comments:

Jason Schultz said...

Yes, but I don't have the information on me. I will try to keep this in mind later this week!

Thufer said...

Another blow out Monday post. Thanks Dave and yes; I had to fight back a tear.

Connie Moreno said...

That was great! Wow, look at Harbor Blvd!!! And it says Disneyland was open every day...but wasn't it closed on Mondays for a while??

TokyoMagic! said...

That Country Jubilee shot must have been taken in 1971 or later because the two 1971 pics show that the posting board/marquee was upgraded sometime between the two photos being taken.

CoxPilot said...

When I worked there, they were closed Mon & Tues during the winter hours, except holidays.

Anonymous said...

And now that eyesore is gone too right? Yes, when I worked there the park was closed M&T outside of the busy season. I noticed those 1969 and 1971 summer shots. Starting in '70, the summer season was expanded to a 1am closing.

Anonymous said...

Wow. Thanks Dave. I got something in my eye too.

JG

Chris Jepsen said...

Looks like Acuff and Van Dyke played the Country Jubilee on April 4, 1971. That also appears to be the first year that event was held at Disneyland.

Daveland said...

Chris - You are awesome! Thanks for the research—between you and Jason, everything is covered!

Michael Ejercito said...

In that first pic from 1959, the traffic signal is mounted directly on the wooden utility pole.

(I know the utility poles are no longer there, as anyone riding the monorail can attest.)