Disneyland newbies probably don’t know this, but at one time you could “float” through the Matterhorn attraction in a Skyway bucket. Oops…those newbies might not even know that you could travel from Tomorrowland to Fantasyland in the air, looking over the guests and attractions while doing so. Ah…those were the days. These June 1980 images were taken by a guest doing said activity.
The Skyway existed from 1956-1994. The buckets were changed in 1965 for the Disneyland Tencennial celebration, converting the shape from round to a more square configuration. Below is a closeup of Fantasyland back when it had its original Festival Tournament façades. Another piece of history lost on the newbies.
This carefree family (they look like they might be a bit of fun) are exiting the Fantasyland Skyway Station (visible on the hill on the upper left). Yes, newbies…another piece of Disneyland history that is gonzo.
This November 1967 image gives a better view of the beautiful structure:
Also from November 1967, you can see one of the buckets entering the station:
Below is an undated 1960s image, back when you didn’t have to worry about guests throwing/spitting things from the bucket (for the most part!).
In the “don’t put off for tomorrow what you can do today” department, the historic Hollywood Center Motel on Sunset Boulevard has burned to the ground. So glad I took the time last March to snap a few shots.
Edited from Empty Los Angeles:
The Hollywood Center Motel - consisting of a 1905-ish house surrounded by bungalows built a few decades later - caught on fire early this morning. The motel, which was originally housing, was recently nominated for landmark status. Victorian houses are very, very rare in Hollywood. LAFD reports that it was a knockdown fire. Citizen reports it was a two-story structure, and a few of the posted videos show fire damage to the original house, El Nido. The motel had a known issue with squatters (a vacate order was posted last month). At least two people were trapped inside the burning house, and one of them had to be taken to a hospital in unknown condition. I was afraid of this. I’ve mentioned previously that we have a demolition-by-neglect problem in Los Angeles, and the motel has had previous fires. Now LAFD’s arson unit is investigating. I also mentioned in an earlier post that the owner of the motel had previously applied for demolition permits, despite not having a replacement project lined up for the site. Because of this fire, they may not need one - at least for poor El Nido.
A fire due to squatters in California? Shocking.
See more Disneyland Skyway photos at my main website.
