Wishes Do Come True

These days, there are very few vintage Disneyland images that tempt me to purchase them. There are only so many views of the Castle and the Mark Twain that one needs. However, the ones in today’s post are the rare exceptions. Recently, I was alerted to the Disneyland Police Department, which once resided where the Tour Guides now hang out. And just like that, I was able to acquire this gorgeous shot of not only the DPD, but a vintage water fountain and the unique information/souvenir kiosk in Town Square. 



Compared to my shot of this area from my last visit to Disneyland (December 2016), the growth of the trees is obvious.



Traveling down Main Street, we see the Intimate Apparel shop. This has always fascinated me; at Disneyland? Bras? Corsets? And right next door is Grandma’s Baby Shop.



And be sure to notice the vintage horsepucky.



As if one fabulous shot of these two shops wasn’t enough, the batch of slides included this SECOND view.



It gives a better view of stuff Granny on the porch:



Just proof that wishes do come true.
 
See more Disneyland photos at my main website.

Bras and Buena Vista Trolley

Happy Friday! This image of Disneyland’s Main Street, U.S.A. is most likely July/August 1955. The Ruggles Glass Shop AND Hollywood Maxwell’s Intimate Apparel (aka “The Wizard of Bras”) along with the patriotic bunting help clarify the time period. The poor White Wing at right has a full shovel, and he obviously needs to make another trip to pick up the remaining piles of horse poo from the horse-drawn streetcar. Zooming in to the front of those two shops also reveals a young man with his shirt completely unbuttoned. This is a bit of slobbery you would not typically see at Disneyland circa 1955!



At the Main Street Cinema, Gloria Swanson is on the marquee.



Shifting gears, I was saddened beyond belief to see the recent KTLA news article on the DCA Red Car Trolley on Buena Vista Street:

The Red Car Trolley attraction at Disney California Adventure will be discontinued in early 2025 due to an expansion of the Avengers Campus. Due to the anticipated construction, some backstage locations in the area will be impacted, including the backstage Red Car Trolley barn. “We will discontinue operation of the attraction in early 2025 and will share a specific date later this winter.” Disneyland officials told KTLA.



The Red Car was one of the most exciting additions to the Buena Vista Street project that opened in the summer of 2012. It added a sense of motion and purpose to DCA that was previously missing. Guests could take the journey on the Red Car from the DCA entrance all the way to the Tower of Terror attraction.



From the Disneyland website when they originally debuted:

Roll down Buena Vista Street and Hollywood Land from inside a vintage street car on the Red Car Trolley. Watch as the fabulous sights and sounds of Disney California Adventure Park pass by as you sit back and relax in stylish comfort. It's a whole new way to experience the park!



Stops: The Red Car Trolley offers 4 convenient stops. You can board or disembark at any of the following locations: • Buena Vista Street near the Main Entrance • Carthay Circle across from Carthay Circle Theatre • Hollywood Boulevard near the Disney Animation building • Sunset Boulevard next to The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror The Cars: Inspired by the Pacific Electric Railway trolleys from the 1920's, the 2 cars are slightly different, including paint schemes that reflect different eras. Similar to the original "Hollywood Car" trolleys, the new cars are entirely powered by electricity and are emissions-free vehicles. However, unlike the original trolleys, the Red Car Trolley vehicles run via batteries. The overhead wires are just for show!



Be sure to check out the amazing details both outside and inside — there are even retro-styled advertisements for the businesses on Buena Vista Street. History: A vast network of electrical trolleys operated in Southern California from 1887 until 1961. By 1925, the Pacific Electric Railway was built by tycoon Henry Huntington into one of the largest electrical railways anywhere in the world with over 1,000 miles of active track. This incredible transportation network gave way to the automobile, but electrical trolleys are back and rolling down the street once again at Disney California Adventure Park!

Disney has yet to reveal their fate; I guess they could pop up someplace else, but nothing has been stated yet.



Am I surprised about this? Not really. Once the Tower of Terror became Guardians of the Galaxy and was removed from the 1920s/30s Buena Vista theme, I realized that any hope of Hollywoodland being revitalized and expanded was gone.



Just one less reason for me to return to DCA, as the Avengers are of zero interest to me. The Disney Corporation moves closer to a demographic that I no longer relate to.

UPDATE: Thanks to reader Bryan for sharing this excellent video with me. Former Disney Imagineer makes an extremely compelling case of why The Red Car Trolley needs to be saved. Unfortunately, it does come down to money, care, and creativity, so I have little faith that the Disney Corporation will take action on his plea.



See more Disney California Adventure photos at my main website.

All In The Details, Pt. 2

One of the great advantages to having the original source material is that it allows you to zoom in on specific areas and look at some of those glorious details! In this September 1969 shot, we can see that the ticket booth is closed (what’s a guest to do?!?) and get a better look at the signage. “Purchase tickets here for Tomorrowland Adventures.” No ticket, no adventure.



The ho-hum Astro Jets attraction got a lift with the “New” Tomorrowland revamp in 1967…literally. Here the newly christened Rocket Jets attraction sits high atop the PeopleMover platform.



Here’s a somewhat run-of-the-mill Main Street shot from 1957 with the Omnibus lumbering towards Central Plaza.



Zooming in, we can see that the photographer captured the sign for the former Hollywood Maxwell’s Intimate Apparel shop all covered up, waiting for the new sign that would say, “China Closet.”



Over in Fantasyland, on the Peter Pan’s Flight attraction, we see Peter flying the Darling children back to London.



In the lower portion of the image you can see the Crew List book:



Walt Disney himself gave these lucky kids a tour of Frontierland before the actual opening of the Park.



Looks like Mickey Mouse was included as well.



See more Disneyland photos at my main website.

Sexy Sunday on Main Street

One of the most infamous shops at Disneyland was the Intimate Apparel Shop on Main Street, U.S.A., which (not surprisingly) didn’t even last a year.



See the stuffed granny in the rocking chair on the porch? She would welcome you into the splendor of a “museum” that taught you everything you wanted to know about women’s undergarments dating back to the late 19th century. Naturally, you could buy current merchandise, too. I wonder if the tree was put there to intentionally cover the signage from the little kiddies?



This angle from October 1955 gives an unobstructed view:



For those eagle-eyed viewers, you might have noticed the HM Company circle on both sides of the Intimate Apparel shop sign. Here’s an ad from the Hollywood-Maxwell Company, aka “The Wonderful Wizard of Bras.” The little wizard on the left can also be seen on the Disneyland sign between the H and the M.



Edited from the underpinningsmuseum website:

Hollywood-Maxwell was the first in a line of Californian brassiere manufacturers which entered the American market in 1929. Hollywood was a place of glamour and aspiration in the 1930s and it wasn’t long before the American woman’s desire for a movie star look had boosted the sale of the latest bra innovations from these companies, simply via their association with this famous Los Angeles neighborhood. Although most brassiere adverts did not feature movie stars, Hollywood-Maxwell claimed that its products were used exclusively in motion pictures made by Paramount. Hollywood-Maxwell founder Joseph R. Bowen patented a cup stabilization technique he called ‘Whirlpool stitching’ in 1935. This much imitated innovation used concentric rings of stitches to produce a rounded shape in the 1930s and a more pointed cup in the 40s and 50s.

Want to see a Hollywood-Maxwell  label? Of course you do.



The location of the former Hollywood-Maxwell company on Hollywood Boulevard is now the Stella Adler Academy of Acting and Theatre, located next to the Snow White Cafe. I wonder if Snow wore HM brassieres?

This color slide from the opposite angle was stamped August 1956; either the photographer took a long time to develop their slides or the sign (and stuffed lady in the rocking chair) stayed around after the store closed.



By the time of this May 1958 image, all signs of the Intimate Apparel shop had been erased.



From July 1959, a young guest sits on the porch where “granny” used to rock:





The China Closet took over the space; this rare interior shot from October 1960 shows the former location of the Intimate Apparel shop. Note how the trim on the porch matches!



I shot this 2007 image from the Omnibus; the rocking chairs are gone and have been replaced with somewhat uncomfortable wooden chairs.



Today, the door is permanently sealed and there’s a Rolly Crump tribute sign (for Fargo’s Palm Parlor) that hangs over the porch.



Does the Disney Corporation trust its guests? Hell no. NOBODY is walking away with these chairs. They are permanently affixed to the floor.



See more Disneyland Main Street photos at my main website.

2000th Post Extravaganza: Kodak Shop & More

For those of you sick of Main Street U.S.A., my Time Machine stroll down that fabled chunk of pavement is almost over. This 1956 photo gives you a nice view of the next section of MSU that we'll be visiting. Zooming in, you can see Intimate Apparel, The Silhouette Studio, Timex, and The Kodak Shop, with the short-lived Gallenkamp Blue Bird Shoes off to the right.



From August 1956 comes this similar view, with an improved angle:





This rare 1955 image shows part of the exhibit inside the Kodak Shop:



Outside, a Keystone Kop checks the time; looks like this Frontierland Cast Member is out of place.



Zooming in, you can get a better view of the Ruggles China & Glass Shop as well as the Intimate Apparel Shop, complete with a dummy grandma sitting on the front porch. Today, real live dummies sit on this porch which provides top-notch parade viewing.



Zooming in yet again, an interesting detail is revealed. The number on the Kop's badge is 33. Was he psychic or just an early hint of the famous Club that was to be built in New Orleans Square?



This Eastman Kodak Shop sure looks pretty at night; I better stop inside to stock up on film for my special vintage journey through Disneyland.



How about those vintage cameras in the window?



10 years later, you can see the same store...



but with different window displays:



I believe that it was inside the Kodak Shop that you could have your picture taken with these fun cutouts:



Taking that photo, I pulled a Ted Turner to create a color version of what the cutout might have looked like:



The Monorail version:



And the color version:



One of these days when I am extremely bored, I might try to do the same thing with this one:



For a time, Wonderland Music could be found next to the camera shop:



I can't help but get all Gladys Kravitz-y and check out what's in the windows:



I am so glad that the Silhouette Studio (which opened in 1956) is still around on Main Street. It is an (almost) lost art that needs to be maintained amongst all of the mass-produced souvenirs. From the Disneyland Line Newsletter, April 27, 1978, comes this interesting article titled:

Of Shadows and Smiles…The Main Street Silhouette Studio

When Walt Disney first conceived his Main Street entryway to the Magic Kingdom, he desired that each details, each characteristic trait of that turn-of-the-century period be recreated in the most authentic manner. One of the most prominent examples of this duplication of 19th century life lies within the door of the Main Street Silhouette Studio. Today an almost obsolete art form, the craft of cutting profile likenesses found its roots in the mid-18th century. Étienne Silhouette, a French finance minister, originated the commercial production of the craft. During that time, the privilege of personal portraiture was reserved for the very elite, and Étienne began his campaign to generate the production of the "poor man's" portrait…the Silhouette. Eventually this innovative art form caught on even in the wealthy circles and became one of the most popular portrait devices in Europe.

The invention of the camera cast a lasting shadow over the art of silhouette creation, and today only about 25 full-time silhouette artists exist in this country. Harry Brice is Disneyland's artist in residence, and tells an interesting tale of how he came to be an artist of such rare talents. "I was being interviewd by Disneyland's former artist lessee, and he asked me if I'd had any experience with silhouette portraits. I didn't even know what a silhouette portrait WAS, but told my interviewer that I was experienced int he field. Within a week, I had taught myself the craft, and was working in the Sihouette Shop."

Since that time over 10 years ago, Harry has become an accomplished duplicator of Disneyland guest profiles. 60,000 silhouettes were created by Harry last year alone, and it's been estimated that he's the "fastest snip in the West"…and the world at 30 seconds per portrait. Harry has scissored some unusual profiles, as horses, cats and dogs are now a part of his repertoire. One of his most memorable portraits is a silhouette of a departed husband, described th Harry by the man's widow.

Although Harry is the shop's full-time artist, Laurie Myers and Bonnie Elliot share the responsibility on party nights and during the summer and peak seasons. A Silhouette Cart in New Orleans Square relieves some of the pressure during the busier periods.

More than artistic talent, however, is required to be a creative silhouette cutter. Showmanship, patience and an infinite sense of humor are prerequisites to the success of the craft. And in every aspect of this art, Harry and his staff of artists are a difficult group to over-shadow.

OK - I need to duck inside to get my silhouette done. Hope they leave off my double chin!



See more vintage & current Disneyland East Main Street U.S.A. photos on my East Main Street web page.