70 Years Ago: Disneyland, August 4, 1955

One of my longtime readers VERY generously supplied these rare images that they recently acquired showing a visit to Disneyland on August 4, 1955. How do we know the date? Read the back of the photo (and note the Kodak Velox Paper watermark!):



I have assembled these in the order that one would take as they journey to the Park from front to back. I let out a yelp at this one, which is an extremely rare shot of the Disneyland Police Department, which once resided to the left of City Hall:



It was also for Lost Children; wonder if the two tots sitting on the steps were lost or just looking for playmates?



City Hall:



Closing in, we can see a very different type of Disneyland AND the guests that once frequented it. In August 1955, people took time to enjoy life. They dressed up for a special occasion and cherished the friends and family that they were with.



The Bob Gurr designed Carnation Truck shown below. As he recalled years later:

An early sponsor at Disneyland was the Carnation Milk Company. They wanted to have an antique delivery truck parked on Main Street right in front of their Carnation Ice Cream parlor. Walt had me design an antique looking truck which Carnation built right in their own truck maintenance shop in Glendale.  I based the antique design on a “modern” 1931 Model A Ford chassis. A friend made a custom radiator emblem for it naming the truck.....Gurrmobile. I used to get a kick out of 'know-it-all' guests who would tell others how they remember the old Gurrmobiles that were built in Los Angeles long ago. For years it served as a photo-op prop in front of the ice cream parlor. When folks would take each other’s photo seated in the cab, behind them would appear the words 'Carnation Milk'…clever publicity.



Strolling down further our August 1955 guest focuses on the Penny Arcade:



On the opposite side of the street is the Swift Market House. Who was the slob who blocked this shot?!?



Another yelp of excitement when I saw this shot of the Coca-Cola Refreshment Corner, taken BEFORE the hotly contested red/white alternating bulbs were installed:



Look Ma - no light bulbs at the entrance!



This appears to be a ho-hum shot of the Horse-Drawn Streetcar in Central Plaza:



…but when you zoom in, you can see the short-lived Central Plaza Bandstand in the background:



A shot of the Sleeping Beauty Castle was a requirement for all guests (not really, but it seems like it):



The second shot was an occasion for a third yell:



While the uncomfortable siblings holding their Disneyland popcorn containers are fun, the exciting part of the shot is this detailed view of two Disneyland News Boys, hawking their wares:



Guests could have their names imprinted on the Disneyland News for a very fun personalized souvenir:



The Chicken of the Sea Pirate Ship Restaurant was still being finished up one month after the Park opened, as you can see by the surrounding scaffolding:



Over in Frontierland, the name Davy Crockett was a huge draw:



The Mark Twain yielded excitement from our August 1955 photographer:



Written on the back:

Steam Boat, Disneyland, August 4, 1955. We all took a ride in it - Harris, Harold, and I, John and Sherylann.



Tom Sawyer Island had not been constructed yet, but the land could already boast a waterfall feature:



From the Twain, our guests could see a Disneyland Train leaving the Frontierland Depot as it passed around Fowler’s Harbor:



Over in Tomorrowland, the Flags of the Nations were placed in a star formation in front of the TWA Moonliner:



HUGE shout out to the donor who provided this amazing glimpse of Disneyland from seventy years ago!

See more vintage Disneyland photos at my main website.

The Fuzz at Disneyland

Recently, a friend sent me a link to a YouTube video titled, “Disneyland’s Abandoned Police Station — And the Mystery Hiding Inside” from Hey Brickey! The video breathlessly begins with the ginger-bearded Brickey dramatically discussing the topic:

Friends, you have walked past it, in fact every single one of us has ignored this building. Just through Disneyland’s left entrance tunnel, there is a building that almost nobody notices. This building was the Disneyland Police Department, and when Disneyland opened 70 years ago, it opened with a real Police Force. As we learned,  there were real crimes happening! But how could one of the very first buildings that you see when you walk into the Park end up being one of the least documented buildings in Disneyland’s 70 years?

Wait a minute…a Police Department building at Disneyland? How did I not notice this before? Brickey goes on to give my site a nice little credit:

When you have an idea for a video, and you go over to davelandweb.com, probably the largest public collection of vintage Disneyland photos and you realize good old Dave doesn’t have any photos of the Disneyland Police Department, you know you’ve struck obscure gold!

One of the photos Brickey uses from my collection in his video is this previously posted shot of a Security Officer at the Park in Town Square.



I ended up going down a rabbit hole one evening that lasted until midnight, as I combed through every shot I could find of the Disneyland Police Department office which was on the left-hand side of City Hall in Town Square. It’s really not all that shocking that this small portion of City Hall was rarely photographed. In 1955, who would enter Disneyland and say, “Hey, I can’t wait to photograph the Police Department!” The answer would be: nobody. As Walt intended, guests were focused on the Castle as soon as it came into view in Town Square. A tree planted in front of the Disneyland Police Department made it nearly impossible to capture, and if you only have a roll of 20-24 exposures on your 35mm film camera, you’re not going to waste it on that! Here’s what I found in my collection, beginning with this image from July 1955:



Yup, Brickey is right! There it is, with a Mickey Flag waving proudly over top of it and guests walking securely by it without any fear!



Also from Summer 1955. Notice the sparse landscaping.



Just behind the souvenir booth, we see the Police Department, also obscured by a tree.



Summer 1955:



This detailed view shows a Security Officer in front:



A little further right, just in front of City Hall is a Keystone Kop. While I appreciate being alerted to this building by Brickey, his video does have a few fallacies to it.



He attempts to say that the Keystone Kops were basically undercover cops. Not really; they were professional musicians. No overlap there, folks.



This 1955 3D image cuts off the Police Department:



Thanks to the magic of Photoshop, by stitching the left and right into one image, the Police Department is now visible:



The detailed view:



From October 27, 1956:





1957:



You can see that the light posts in front had “Police” written on the globes:



Still there in September 1958:





September 1958:





From December By December 1959, the sign had been blocked out:



In this April 1965 shot, you can see the Guided Tour Office was now roosting in the building:



A contemporary shot of the building, looking very much the same:



Here’s the video from Hey, Brickey! It’s a very fun and informative video; just make sure you do a little fact-checking before taking every word as the Gospel.



On another note, Stack’s Liberty Ranch, keeper of multiple theme park treasures, has put out an APB for former employees or guests who have interesting stories about days gone by in local theme park history. Check out the Stack’s Liberty Ranch Facebook Page and contact them through Direct Messages if you have a story (or know somebody else who does).

See more Disneyland Town Square photos at my main website.