1950s Disneyland: Town Square

Today seems like a good day to relax in Disneyland’s Town Square, especially with some photos from the Park’s early years. In this 1956 image, chicken wire is still the standard for protecting the plants, and the Bekins Storage area features the unique architectural details that would later be removed.



Ugh. Who approved this change?



Back to happier times…a detailed view of a cast member cleaning up one of the A-Frame signs in the Square.



A few from March 8, 1956:



Who wants to be a Fireman? This could be your opportunity.



Note that City Hall at this time is for First Aid and Press Information:





Both these boys are doing their part to show support for Mickey Mouse!





Mabel Normand is at the Main Street Cinema and two Keystone Kops are getting ready to wow guests with some music as they cross the street.





Glad I wasn’t there that day; the Disneyland Railroad was temporarily closed!





Music stands are piled up in the Opera House alcove, awaiting the Disneyland Band to pull them out for a concert.



See…I don’t make this stuff up!



This was back when there was a Print Shop in Town Square; the Disneyland News is for sale in front of the window:



These two DANGEROUS gents are getting ready to attempt some mischief in Town Square, roughly 1955-56:



Be glad there was no ammo in the 19th century cannon. Walt was smart enough to have these sealed up before these screwballs arrived. Also note the chicken wire around the landscaping:



One of the goofballs thought it would be funny to have his buddy take a photo of him pretending to blow his head off with the rifle the Tobacco Wooden Indian was holding. I wonder if these kids survived into adulthood?



Moving ahead a few years to August 3, 1959:



Bekins is still there!



Thus ends our day in 1950s Town Square.

See more Disneyland Town Square photos at my main website.

Keystone Kop Celebration

Sometimes all it takes is one “new” slide to spawn an entire retrospective post. This just such an image, featuring the Keystone Kops playing for Disneyland guests on the porch of the China Closet. It is undated, but most likely from the late 1950s. Younger readers probably wonder who The Keystone Kops were. Here you go—

The Keystone Kops/Cops were the brain child of comedian and silent screen star Hank Mann. They were named after slapstick producer Mack Sennett’s Keystone studio, founded in 1912. Their first film was “Hoffmeyer's Legacy” (1912), with Mann as the police chief. Though initially popular, Sennett relegated the Keystone Cops to supporting roles behind Charlie Chaplin and Fatty Arbuckle only a few years later. Sennett stopped using them by the 1920s, but they continued to pop up over the years in various features, cartoons, video games, and yes…Disneyland!



As you can see from this Summer 1955 shot, the Kops were shown daily at the Main Street Cinema.



On Disneyland’s Opening Day, these two Kops posed with a young guest outside the Main Street Cinema:



As comic security and a wandering music group, the Kops were a great fit for Main Street, U.S.A.







Outside the Coke Corner in 1956:



A lone Kop from 1956:



Central Plaza was the place guests would most likely see The Keystone Kops play their vintage melodies. On the right is Bernie Flymen; he played sax & clarinet at Disneyland from 1955–1960 and in Desi Arnaz’s “I Love Lucy” band. Funny how this guest appears to be completely oblivious to them. Maybe it’s the sunglasses.



Outside the Opera House, circa March 1959:



This 1960 publicity shot shows a traffic jam of shorts in Town Square.



Not sure how much help the Kop is really giving here! Note the White Wing in the background:



The Keystone Kops were seen in “Forty Pounds of Trouble” with Tony Curtis in 1962 during the Disneyland sequence:



Back to Central Plaza in April 1965:



From September 1, 1967, we see the Kops playing in Central Plaza right near the popcorn cart. The two little kids to the right do not seem amused.



A backstage shot from April 1968:



Last one for today is from July 1968. I can only guess that the Kops were discontinued shortly after that. This is what happens when you defund the police.



Want to see the original Keystone Kops in action? Here’s “A Thief Catcher” (1914) which was considered a lost short until 2010 when a print was discovered at a Michigan antique sale. Charlie Chaplin plays one of the Kops.



See more Disneyland East Main Street 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.

Monday Main Street Marquee Medley

In the first few decades of Disneyland, the Main Street Marquee was changed as much as (if not more than) the Main Street Train Station population numbers. Before the Park opened, the marquee simply said, “Moving Pictures.” By Summer 1955, it heralded a Wm. S. Hart Western and the Keystone Kops:



Actress Gloria Swanson’s name on the left let guests know there was more than just one movie playing inside:



and Mabel Normand on the right:



1956, Rudolph Valentino and Vilma Banky:



The A-Frame at left shows an ad for “The Eagle,” which starred Banky and Valentino.



1957/58, with Mable (sp!) Normand and Fatty Arbuckle. On the right it advertises “The Heart of a Waif,” a 1915 silent film with Edith Peters and John Sturgeon.



From the same time period, Clare Booth’s name is on the left side of the marquee:



June 1958, we can just barely see Ronald Coleman in “Lady Windermere’s Fan,” a 1925 Ernst Lubitsch comedy/drama:



You can watch it here:



December 1959, D.W. Griffith’s “A Girl and her Trust” from 1912:



September 1960 had Lon Chaney in “Phantom of the Opera,” just in time for Halloween:



July 1961 had comedian Buster Keaton in “Allez Oop,” which was actually a talking picture from 1934:



October 1962 has “The Pride of Pikesville” (1927), starring Ben Turpin:



May 31, 1963 it’s back to Lon in “Phantom”:



From May 1964 you can just barely see that the Cinema is still showing a Lon Chaney thriller, “Phantom of the Opera” and a Will Rogers Western:



September 1964 proclaims “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” from MGM, which was not a silent film, but rather from 1941 with Spencer Tracy, Lana Turner, and Ingrid Bergman. The silent version from 1920 was released by Paramount and starred John Barrymore. Could be a marquee screwup. Another possibility is that back in the day, Blackhawk Films released 8mm and Super8mm BW silent versions of both silent AND talkie films; if they were the source company for prints for Disneyland this could account for why some of these “talkies” were being marketed as silent films.



March 1965, “Pathways of Life” with Lillian Gish, from 1916:



September 1965, “The Great Train Robbery” from 1903:



June 26, 1966, “Phantom of the Opera”:



1968, “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,” with no credit to Louis B. Mayer!



February 1971, “The Great Train Robbery” returns:



May 1974, “The Rounders,” a 1914 comedy with Fatty Arbuckle and Charlie Chaplin:





And then my collection goes dark until February 2006, when I captured “Steamboat Willie” on the marquee with “Traffic Trouble” on the right. The film’s actual title was “Traffic Troubles.” Somebody was too lazy to add the “s” on the end to this 1931 sound short. The worst part of this photo is that bleeping stroller blocking the entrance to the theater.



July 2006 we see “Mickey’s Polo Team” on the right. Not only was this movie originally a sound cartoon, it was also shot in Technicolor. By this time, the “movies” were being shown on TV screens and typically featured black and white versions of Mickey Mouse cartoons that were not necessarily silent.



No changes in my collection from 2006 to March 2010:



In August 2010, the cinema was featuring “Opening Day at Disneyland,” with footage from July 17, 1955:



By October though, “Steamboat Willie” was back:



The last marquee shot I took was in June 2013:



I hope you enjoyed this chronological documentation of the diverse offerings that once made the Main Street Cinema a very lively place to visit!

See more Disneyland Main Street Cinema photos at my main website.