Traveling Thursdays: Point Loma, Humphreys, & Steve Martin

Point Loma (an anglicized Spanish version of "hill") is a peninsula located in San Diego and the landing place of the first European expedition to come ashore in present-day California. Today, Point Loma has two military bases and a national cemetery (shown in the first vintage 1958 photo).

Two current day shots that I took of the Point Loma Lighthouse, built in 1854. Apparently, it only saw some 30+ years of service as the constant fog and clouds in the area hampered its effectiveness. As they say, location location location (say it along with me, please). It now serves as a museum of sorts and is open to the public





Elsewhere in Point Loma is Humphreys, one of the most unique concert venues in the area.



This outdoor venue can get a little chilly at night, but thanks to its location near the bay, sure makes for a beautiful evening with great views of the stage and the nearby marina. There are a handful of rooms at the Humphreys hotel that overlook the stage; talk about a party!



Last night, Steve Martin & The Steep Canyon Rangers played to a full house. As Martin pointed out in between numbers, the management rudely put the words "SOLD OUT" over his photo. I'll wait a bit until you figure that one out.



Just announced, Martin & The Rangers are contenders in five categories for the Bluegrass Awards, including Album of the Year and Entertainer of the Year. Their CD's title track is up for Instrumental Recorded Performance of the Year, and Martin is up for writing the Best Liner Notes for the CD "Rare Bird Alert." Their fifth nomination is for Best Graphic Design for a Recorded Project.





Nicky Sanders wowed the audience during the encore with his violin solo for "Orange Blossom Special."



It was a perfect evening - beautiful weather, great music, and wonderful friends.



Proof that some things never go out of style. Photo by Harry Langdon:



See more vintage & current San Diego photos at my main website.

Monorail Mystery

This post is about one of those stupid nitpicky things that will probably eat at me for a long time. The kind of thing I would get annoyed with someone else for noticing let alone actually giving two hoots about. What am I referring to? The mysterious case of the two dresses!

These first 4 photos show the famous ribbon cutting ceremony from June 14, 1959 for the Disneyland Monorail. Julie & Tricia Nixon did their best to share duties but they were unable to cut through the ribbon with the pair of decorative scissors they were given by the team at Disney. As Julie Nixon Eisenhower recently recalled to me, "Walt saved the day. We were in front of hundreds, thousands of people that day, and Walt just tore the ribbon—he saved the day with his quick thinking."



Everyone shares in the laugh as the ribbon has been cut and now the Nixon family can finally take a ride on the Monorail.



Once the ride is over, Disney is on hand with his wife, Lillian, to welcome the Nixons back to the Tomorrowland station.



So what's the mystery you ask? Check out these 2 photos; all of the Nixons are wearing completely different outfits, and yet, there is an uncut ribbon and that same pair of crappy oversized scissors. Walt holds the ribbon taut to make the cutting easier.



In this photo, Vice President Richard Nixon assists daughter Tricia with the cutting duties.



In this final shot from my collection, the Nixons are inside the Monorail with Guest of Ceremonies Art Linkletter peeping through the bubble:



When asked about this, Julie told me: “I do not recall a trial run or photo opportunity. We must have spent two days at the park. We never would have changed clothes twice in one day!” According to their invitation letter from Walt, the Nixons arrived at the Disneyland Hotel the day before the festivities. Logically, it would make sense that the "dress rehearsal" was done on Saturday. Since the last 3 shots have virtually nobody in the background, it would stand to reason that this was the case.

Furthering my theory is this family photo taken in front of the Matterhorn, with the setup of stands occurring feverishly in the background:



Once the opening festivities were finished on the 14th, according to Julie, the family headed over to Knott's for a family reunion, making it doubtful that they would have returned, changed outfits, and posed for these publicity photos.

I really need to get a life.

See more vintage and contemporary Monorail photos at my main website.

Tony Curtis at Disneyland

Tony Curtis stands at the entrance of Disneyland during the May 1962 filming of "40 Pounds of Trouble." Two years later, this same sign that promoted "Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color" was still standing in the same place. In 1964, a TV show broadcast in color was a big deal.



A pensive shot of Curtis with the Mark Twain in the background.



See more "40 Pounds of Trouble" photos at my main website.

Walt Surveys His Creation, 1955

From the publicity caption:

DISNEY'S WONDERLAND

Movie impresario Walt Disney has a new huge project under way. He is building a 17-million-dollar-wonderland—which he calls Disneyland—in Anaheim, Calif., near Los Angeles. It will cover 160 acres with all sorts of places and rides out of Disney's films and TV programs, and his fertile imagination. Its attractions will range from Frontierland to Tomorrowland, with Fantasyland along the way. Scheduled opening date is set for July 17.

Here Walt Disney stands framed by the covered waiting room of the Disneyland railroad station as he looks down Main Street. The street will be typical of the years from 1890 to 1910.

This early construction photo of Town Square has a number of way cool details to see. I love seeing Walt all by himself, sizing up what's going on and how the reality matches up to his vision.

On the right-hand side of this detail shot, you can see the much moved Bandstand, before being place in its first location.



Main Street is recognizable, although most of the ornamentation has yet to be put in place. Can you imagine the feverish pace these guys must have been working at?



Finally for today, this is my have closeup: could Zorro REALLY have made his mark on this pillar of the Main Street Train Station? Wonder if it's still there under all the layers of paint.



See more vintage & current Disneyland Town Square photos at my main website.

Sundays in Paris, Pt. Deux

More on DLP from guest columnist, Jenny Bailey:

In order to preserve its magic, the secrets of the Paris Disneyland resort have always remained hidden away from public eyes. Hard work and meticulous preparation helps create that unique Disney experience, but what actually goes on behind the scenes?
Careful planning and dedication backstage has ensured Disneyland Paris holidays have been loved for almost two decades. Hours of rehearsals for shows and parades take place in the studios in front of floor-to-ceiling mirrors, allowing the likes of Sleeping Beauty and Snow White to perfect their dance routines. Around 60 hours of choreography were needed to prepare for the Magical Moments Festival alone.

Every effort is taken to maintain the Disney image, which means none of the characters can be seen talking, eating or sitting down at any time. Many hidden pathways are used so the trained team of actors can enter and leave the park at any time. Behind Main Street USA, yet more paths lead to the staff complex, complete with shower block, canteen, cash machine and even a board with a daily weather forecast.



The ten in-house costume designers create thousands of intricate outfits a year in the 100-metre long hangar with vaulted metallic ceiling. This is where the magic really takes place and there are around 50,000 complete show outfits housed there. Mickey and Minnie have hundreds of different ensembles each and Pluto goes through a staggering 200 tongues a year because of kids pulling on it so often. The ‘It’s a Small World’ attraction has up to 320 dolls, whose costumes are changed twice a year – a massive 30 to 60 hours of work goes into making each one!

A few more Disneyland Paris construction photos for you to round out this post. Another shot of what appears to be the Wicked Wench from the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction:



Disneyland Paris has two Riverboats: The Mark Twain (a sternwheeler) and The Molly Brown (a side-wheeler, in honor of the boisterous Titanic survivor). Here's one The Twain under construction.



Two of Disneyland Paris' Big Thunder Mountain Railroad attraction under construction:





To pull it all together, here's a DLP postcard showing the art for what this finished area, known as The Rivers of the Far West, would look like:



See more Disneyland Paris photos at my main website.

Screen Gem Saturdays: Dame Edna in San Diego

A few years ago, I went to NYC to visit my friend Scott. The two of us went to a few Broadway shows, including “Avenue Q” and Australia’s Dame Edna. Previous to that, I’d only heard of Dame Edna, and thought “How stupid; some guy puts on a pink wig and does some talk show schtick.” After I saw “her” live, I definitely changed my opinion. With a wicked wit, a comically rubbery face, and impeccable timing, Dame Edna is a live show not to be missed. Although each show does follow a script, the fact that she actually interacts with members of the audience makes each performance unique. Dame Edna is always able to stay a few steps ahead of the audience and keeps them in a state of constant laughter.



One thing that’s consistant between each show is that she pelts the audience with her favorite flower, the gladiola, at the close of each performance. Through circumstances not worth mentioning, I caught two of her shows here in San Diego recently. As mentioned previously, the gist was the same each night, but as she hand-picked members of the audience to join her, both nights were able to showcase her comic brilliance and improvisational skills.



If Dame Edna comes to your town, get a ticket as soon as you can and witness her “caring and sharing.” To see more classic Hollywood photos, visit my main website.

Random Color Gems from the 1950's, Pt. 2

Ready to jump around today? The Chemical Wagon is taking another batch of guests from Town Square up to the Castle. Although I don't know the year on any of these, I do know that for this particular one it must be around July, thanks to the telltale patriotic bunting on the Main Street Train Station.

Over in Tomorrowland, the Clock of the World fights for attention with the eye-catching graphics of the Casa de Fritos poster on the right-hand side of this image. Once again, I totally dig those retro-martini-olive-looking light fixtures!



Over at the Old Mill on Tom Sawyer Island, those with eagle eyes will spot the Holidayland tent in the background (formerly the Mickey Mouse Club Circus Tent):



A closeup for those who DON'T have the eagle-eye:



For the last image, we'll ride off into the weekend on our own Disneyland Stagecoach. You can almost hear the horse's hooves pounding in this one.



See more vintage and contemporary Disneyland photos at my main website.

Traveling Thursdays: Santa Barbara Courthouse

The same batch of 1950's gems that I posted yesterday also yielded these vintage views of Santa Barbara. I've visited SB a handful of times; it's a very sleepy little town with a number of architectural and historical gems to see. Other than that...zzzzzzzzzzzzzz. First up is a view of The Courthouse. This place is amazing.



Built in 1929, the interiors especially appealed to me with their abundance of tile. Charles Willard Moore was the architect for this Spanish Colonial Revival marvel. The next few photos I shot during a May 2002 visit:





The views from the top of the Courthouse are pretty spectacular, too:





I believe these next few 1950s interior views are also from the SB Courthouse:







A few more vintage views of the Courthouse exterior to close out today's travelogue:





See more vintage and contemporary Santa Barbara photos at my main website.

Random Color Gems from the 1950's, Pt. 1

It's always a pleasant surprise when I realize that I have a batch of photos that I haven't published yet...especially as I begin to scrape the bottom of the barrel for new material!

Typical castle shot, but zooming in, it's fun to see the detail of the ice cream vendor (dressed like a White Wing) standing near the photo souvenir placard. When was the last time you got anything for 75¢ at Disneyland? Or anywhere else while we're at it?!?



The patchwork quilt is a fave part of Storybook Land for me; you can also see the Gazebo from Peter Pan Park near the boat.



This one is my favorite from today's bunch because the band sure looks like they are having fun. Great to see them integrating with the guests on the Teacup attraction. I wonder if Vesey joined in?



See more vintage and contemporary Fantasyland photos at my main website.