Monticello Monday

In honor of the recent July 4th holiday, I am posting then (July 1954) and “now” (August 2017) shots of Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson, the 3rd U.S. President. The biggest difference from the above and below shots would be what appears to be a very heavy thinning of the landscape. When I visited in 2017, obviously many of the trees surrounding the home had been removed.



Back to July 1954, with another shot of the home that Jefferson designed himself:



The whites seemed whiter in 1954 vs. 2017, and there appears to have been a different color palette applied to the dome.



I have no corresponding shot for this, which shows the walkway to the side of the house:



A detailed view of the cistern:



Where the tour from July1954 must have begun:





How that side of the house looked in August 2017; again, fewer trees and I am assuming that the whiter-whites in 1954 were not considered historically accurate.



Our 1954 tour group pays a visit to the Ice House:





This 1954 shot of the breezeway along Mulberry Row shows what appears to be a replica of the Liberty Bell:



Complete with crack (the legal kind!). I don’t recall seeing this when I visited in 2017. It must either be in storage or moved elsewhere.



Another shot along Mulberry Row:



The corresponding view from August 2017:



1954 guests look inside the kitchen and read the signage outside:



The inside of the kitchen from 2017:



I have no idea what this building is; if it was there in 2017, I either missed it or it had been removed.






Jefferson died on July 4, 1826; John Adams, the 2nd President of the U.S., outlived him by a few hours, despite his final words being, “Thomas Jefferson survives.”

See more Monticello photos at my main website.

July 4th Fireworks Spectacular!

In honor of the 237th Birthday of our country, I am going to feature a few shots of the Fireworks Spectacular at Disneyland, with the first one from August 1958, followed by a July 1969 shot:



A few of the earlier ones that I shot myself from July 2006:





In this July 2008 photo, you can see Tinker Bell flying around the Castle turrets:



Former Tomorrowland Flight Circle cast member Cox Pilot shared his memories of the original woman who "played" Tinker Bell:

Tinker Bell began her flights over the Disneyland castle from the top of the Matterhorn in 1961. It's almost always been a real person up there (although they tried a dummy for a short while). The first Tink was a former circus performer in her 70’s named Tiny Kline, who originally wanted to hang from her teeth as she did in the circus (Disney would have none of that). The only way to stop her at the end was for her to crash into a mattress behind the berm! Kline retired in 1964 due to health problems and was replaced by Judy Kaye who was Tinker Bell for another decade. There was even a Mary Poppins for a while.

And lest we forget the REAL meaning behind July 4th, here are a few photos that celebrate two of the men that were crucial to the importance of that day. George Washington's home, Mount Vernon, circa 1952:



Thomas Jefferson's masterpiece, Monticello, from 1964:



And the building where the Declaration of Independence was signed, Independence Hall in Philadelphia:





Let freedom ring:



See more vintage & current Disneyland fireworks photos on my fireworks web page.