Shakey, Shifted, & Scratched: Early Disneyland, pt. 1

No, I’m not talking about some communicable disease; I’m talking about a batch of slides. This batch was bad; I‘m talking REEEEEAL bad. Still, some of the views were rare enough for me to get them, and some day, I’ll take the time to do a full blown restoration of them instead of the quickie one that I did to present them to you here today. To add insult to injury, these slides weren’t even dated! Could it get any worse?

I will also do my best to pair these up with a matching (or semi-matching) contemporary shot; doing this also lets me know what areas of the park I am deficient in, and gives me that great “to-do list” I always keep in my head each time I visit Disneyland. First up is the station with all the vintage posters in front. Today, only the posters in the entrance tunnels remain, and the wall in front of the Mickey floral has been wiped clean.



Ah, patriotism and Main Street U.S.A.; what a fantastic combo!



Today, you can still find patriotism on Main Street every summer...as well as the Crystal Arcade.





Thanks to the faded colors of these vintage slides, the original muted palette of the Castle looks even more muted!



Prepare for an explosion of color & bling!



Before shot of the Snow White attraction in Fantasyland...



And the after shot—this was definitely a change for the better:



Open wide, Monstro!



Other than a more permanent looking fence, not much different here:



Probably the saddest before and after shot:



Can we have a moment of silence, please?



See more Disneyland photos at my main website.

Traveling Thursdays: Meet Me in St. Louis

The Jewel Box is an Art Deco floral conservatory built in 1936 by the City of St. Louis and has been listed in the National Register of Historic Places. These photos are from 2004, during a visit to St. Louis.





Here’s your profound quote of the day:



Forest Park, the area that once housed the 1904 Exposition/World’s Fair, really is a midwestern gem. Here are some photos from the original 1904 Fair, made famous by the 1944 Judy Garland movie, “Meet Me In St. Louis”:







It’s too bad that the original buildings from the Fair didn’t survive and were dozed once the fair was over. A few of Forest Park & The St. Louis Art Museum:





And ol’ St. Louis himself:



For a tasty treat that beats the summer heat, Ted Drewes Frozen Custard is second to none. Ted’s first stand was in St. Petersburg, Florida back in 1929. He opened his first St. Louis location one year later in 1930. Both of these shops were closed by 1958.



I believe the Ted Drewes that I frequented on my last SL visit is the 4th shop that he opened, located at 6726 Chippewa, formerly Route 66. After you visit here, you’ll never think of concrete the same way again.



Museums are fascinating for what they contain, in addition, some museums are just as fascinating for their “containers.” The Pulitzer Foundation For The Arts opened in 2001 with a building designed by Tadao Ando located in St. Louis' Grand Center district. From their website: “The Pulitzer presents changing exhibitions and engages in a variety of programming initiatives involving the visual, literary, and performing arts.” Dang, come again?

Here are some exterior shots of the Pulitzer:





I couldn’t refrain from interacting with the art:



Who knew that a huge Cathedral was located in St. Louis? I certainly didn’t. Here are a few views of this breathtaking architectural wonder.













From highbrow to lowbrow, during my visit, the city was celebrating the 100 year anniversary of the famous 1904 World’s Fair. They installed a huge ferris wheel (aka “The Giant Wheel”). I kept myself from urping and took a spin on it.





The view from the top; is that all there is?



For a great breakfast, be sure to check out Uncle Bill’s, a St. Louis classic.



2 million slices of bacon? Talk about hog heaven!



That’s it for today’s whirlwind tour of St. Louis; boy, am I tired! For more St. Louis photos, visit my main website.

46 Years Ago Today: Nature's Wonderland & The Rose Bowl

“Rose Queen Dawn Baker and members of the Michigan football squad ride Disneyland's train past a coyote on top of balancing rock as the Rose Bowl teams were taken through the park here 12/22.”

The January 1, 1965 Rose Bowl game was the 51st Rose Bowl game. The Michigan Wolverines defeated the Oregon State Beavers by a score of 34-7.

See more Disneyland Nature's Wonderland photos at my main website.

73rd Anniversary: Snow White Premiere at The Carthay Circle Theater

Sure Hollywood Premieres are still a big deal, but back in the day...WOW! They were truly newsworthy events! One of the most popular movie theaters in Hollywood was known as The Carthay Circle. Located at 6316 San Vicente Boulevard, it opened in 1926 and was named after the Carthay residential district in the Mid-Wilshire district of Los Angeles, California. The Carthay Circle was part of the Fox Theaters empire.

On December 21, 1937, The Carthay Circle was host to the gala premiere for Walt Disney’s “Snow White.” Here are some rare photos from that evening featuring The Dwarfs, Donald Duck, and Mickey & Minnie Mouse.







Here, the #1 star in Hollywood at the time, Shirley Temple, is shown with the Dwarfs. Her parents stand in the background, smiling.



Here's the caption that accompanied this photo:

SHIRLEY TEMPLE SEES "SNOW WHITE" PREMIERE. HOLLYWOOD, CALIF.: (Above) Shirley Temple, juvenile screen star, is greeted by two of the "Seven Dwarfs" as she appeared to attend the premiere showing of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs." The affair drew many of filmdon's leading celebrities. 12-21-37

Shirley was also the one who presented Walt Disney with his Oscars at the Academy Awards ceremony in 1938. When she first saw the award featuring what appeared to be 8 male figures, this is what she hypothesized:

“I thought Snow White was overlooked. I thought it was an early sexist problem where they left her out. I thought that the big statue was for Walt and that the Seven Dwarfs were the little ones going down the side and that Snow White herself hadn't gotten anything, and I was worried about Snow White at the time that she hadn't gotten an Oscar. The big one is the one usually presented to who the person is. I mean Snow White wasn't there, not Snow White, and I know that there was a person that they copied, and that Marge Champion actually did all the dancing, and the moves. I went to the ‘Snow White’ premiere and participated in all of the fun and knew Walt Disney, and when I presented this to him it just seemed to me that he was getting the big award and that the 7 dwarfs were getting an award and that Snow White herself had been left out. But that's because I was 11 and what did I know anyway?”



Sadly, the Carthay was demolished in 1969, replaced by two low-rise office buildings and a city park. The final film that played there was “The Shoes of the Fisherman,” starring Anthony Quinn. Although the original Carthay no longer exists you can see a replica of it at The Disney Hollywood Studios in Orlando:





The Carthay is also being recreated for Disney California Adventure; here is the rendering on display at the Blue Sky Preview Center:



View more Snow White photos at my main website.

Early Disneyland Transportation Trio

This set of early photos (possibly from opening day) show three of the many forms of transportation that guests could experience Disneyland by. First up is the E.P. Ripley, which is still operating today at the park almost 60 years later.

The Stagecoach was an authentic taste of the Old West in Frontierland. Today, Frontierland has lost its sense of untamed wonder; if Knott’s can keep a Stagecoach going, surely Disneyland could bring theirs back and let guests have a taste of some old fashioned fun.



Last but not least is Casey Junior; the train itself has seen very few changes over the years, but its surroundings underwent some MAJOR alterations in the first year. From mud to miniature wonderland—what a miracle!



See more Disneyland photos at my main website.