Your journey down Disneyland's Main Street, U.S.A., circa 1964, might begin aboard the Horse-Drawn Streetcar. Here's how that same journey would look about 49 years later:
Nearby, the Global Van Lines truck does a great job of advertising the company that sponsored the locker rental program in Town Square:
If you're having difficulty recognizing this section of Town Square, it's because it went through a major architectural overhaul many years ago. Here's how it looks today. I am assuming that the name "Carriage Place" is a nod to the former tenants and the vehicle that was once parked in front.
Up the street in the Plaza Gardens band conductor Vesey Walker is at the baton, entertaining the guests sitting in the shade of the bandstand.
Zooming in, you can see Vesey's credit to the right of the stage:
and of course, I had to zoom in for a better look at the band:
What became of the Plaza Gardens? You'll have to wait until my next trip to Anaheim to see a comparison photo of this area.
See more vintage & current Disneyland Main Street, U.S.A. photos on my Main Street, U.S.A. web pages.
Love the old Bekins/Global Van Lines building and truck. Wonder why they changed that facade, I always found it so interesting. Now... not so much.
ReplyDeleteThe color palette used on the Emporium in 1964 is my favorite for that building.
ReplyDeleteAs I've said it before, the architectural overhaul of the Bekins Storage section is terrible. The scale diminishes the grandness of the Emporium and it feels tacked on and unrelated. The last building on the left should've been lower in height.
@Major. I think there was some addition of area, both for the Emporium and maybe some offices.
ReplyDeleteYou can tell from the original photo that, if there was any second floor at all, it was very small.
After the gruesome remodeling, it appears that there might be some habitable space above the old locker area and the Emporium has been made bigger by pushing back into where the lockers used to be. If memory serves, I think the Emporium volume is double-height for quite a way back now.
I don't go back there anymore, the whole area was devoted to men's golf togs when I saw it last.
Someone, maybe K Martinez, pointed out that this remodeling was not designed by Disney, but was contracted out to another firm to save $. The results are clear.
Dave, thank you for this swell comparison.
JG
Ahh, those beautiful draft horses that pull the guests up Main Street. How that attraction has survived all these years without the cost-cutters, animal rights activists, etc, shutting it down is beyond me. But if those horse drawn streetcars are ever removed, then Disney has lost me forever......so watch it, Disney!
ReplyDeleteFUN FACT = my father in law hauls horses and specialty livestock all over the country. He's transported the big Belgians, Clydesdales, Percherons and Shires to both DL and WDW and has delivered the little white ponies that were used in the parades to pull Cinderella's coach. He said Disney takes very good care of their livestock.