Knott's, 30 Years Ago - Part 2

This is the second half of the Los Angeles Times ad supplement for Knott's 60th anniversary from 1980. The first half can be seen (here) in my previous post.

Interesting info on Bud Hurlbut........

When I rode the Log Ride last week, it seemed like some of those vignettes featuring the animals had been removed or covered up. Interesting that it was Hurlbut's uncle that shot the bears that were "arranged so realistically" in the ride.....or at least the ones that used to be in there.

I wonder if the Buena Park Mall still has the rocks for kids to climb on.....uh, probably not. They were still there in the seventies.

Virginia Knott's gift shop originally started out as a card table in the Chicken Dinner Restaurant with a few items on it for sale.

The article below states that, "Burros, one of the earliest forms of transportation carry happy children around a foliage-lined track." It's refering to when the Burros were over at the Lagoon, and that foliage-lined track was actually the dry, dug-out waterways that sat next to Jungle Island for years. As mentioned in the book, "Knott's Preserved," it was all part of Bud Hurlbut's unrealized North Woods Fur Trapper boat ride. Those dry waterways can be seen in the aerial shot on page 109 of the book and artwork for the proposed attraction can be seen on pages 110 and 111. According to the description in the book, the attraction was going to be "a tropical cruise with tiki overtones" (a Knott's Jungle Cruise?), but "the theme was changed to fur trapping which seemed more fitting to Knott's Berry Farm." I wish this attraction had been completed! As a kid, I always thought the area looked like it was supposed to be filled with water.

Anyone tired of Knott's yet?

Knott's - Hot Dogs, Trees and Attraction Posters

This is a follow up to my Knott's post from last week. In that post, I had mentioned that the fast food counter at the former Cable Car Kitchen had been transformed into a Pink's hot dog stand. Well, I've been back to the park to check it out and now I have some photographs. The photo below is actually of the original Pink's on Melrose and La Brea in Hollywood. I wonder if Hoffy still makes Knott's hot dogs? They did when I was working there in the eighties, but Pat Boone was no longer doing those "Hoffy, the Official Hot Dog of Knott's Berry Farm" commercials. Does anyone else remember those? I tried looking for them on YouTube, but nothing came up.


Here's the new Pink's sign out on Grand Avenue at Knott's. The Hot Dog rotates! By the way, we sold "Foot Long Hot Dogs" at Knott's back in the day, but they were actually only ten inches. If a guest complained that they weren't really a foot long, we were supposed to tell them that was their size before being cooked and that they shrink....but that wasn't true.

Here's a pic that I had posted previously, but now I have an "After" shot to post with this "Before."

They have added a dining room onto the side of the building. It extends out to the edge of the old patio roof. Yes, that pink Crepe Myrtle that I mentioned in my last post seems to have just disappeared. I wonder if it was able to be dug up and saved?

Here's another "Before" shot. There's the Crepe Myrtle again, and the tree that is hanging overhead in the photo is gone now too. We'll see more of it in a minute.

Here's the "After" shot.

This "Before" shows a close up of the old counter.

And this "After" was taken while standing in the new indoor dining area. Note the ceiling and the two posts are the same.

This "Before" was taken while standing just outside the Ice Cream Parlor doors, looking towards Grand Avenue. Virginia's Gift Shop can be seen on the right....and there's that Crepe Myrtle again. I'm obsessed, I know. Hey, I almost titled this post, "The Tree Murderers of Knott's." Go ahead and call me a tree hugger. Just wait...it gets worse.

This "After" was taken standing in almost the same spot as above, but just a few feet further to the right.

Here's another "Before." Now take a good look at that large tree on the right.

Gone! (But the tree behind the "turret" is still there.)

Here's the same tree from a different angle.

Gone! It has been replaced by a new sapling.

Not to beat a dead horse...or tree, but here is that 1967 pic again from Major Pepperidge of Gorillas Don't Blog.

Here is the "After" pic taken last August.

Here's an even closer shot taken on the same day. Count the trees.

Here's the "After" shot minus the tree on the end. That tree had been there at least since the sixties and I'm guessing it could have been planted when the Cable Car Kitchen was built in 1959.....maybe even earlier since it was already pretty tall in that 1967 pic. Why did it have to be sacrificed? Anyone that grew up with Knott's and has been back in recent years, knows that they have removed MANY of the trees inside the park. I've told this story before, but I'll relay it here again. Upon visiting Knott's a few years ago, one of the saloon bartenders told me that right after Disneyland had a very large tree branch fall on top of a popcorn wagon back in 2001, Knott's management had over thirty of their oldest trees cut down. Now the park is very open and sunny, and there is lots of concrete! Okay, okay....I'll try and get over it and move on.

That yellow building in the pic above is Virginia's Gift Shop. The display windows currently have some intersting artwork in them.....vintage Knott's attraction posters! I wish these were for sale!

Here's a current shot of the inside of Virginia's. Compare it with this Before shot posted recently on Gorillas Don't Blog. The Cable Cars used to travel right between Virginia's and the Cable Car Kitchen and one of the cars can actually be seen outside the window in the vintage pic.

Here's a close up of the same window from 2007. I'm not sure when those shelves were put up, but they were there in the early eighties and they remained there at least up until 2007, and they were always filled with colorful glass items. I wonder if anything was ever lost during an earthquake?

Oops, back to trees. This tree is located just outside of Virginia's and across from the Cable Car Kitchen Ice Cream Parlor. I had previously posted a different shot of it and stated that I didn't know what kind it is. Well, it turns out there is a plaque labeling it as a Chinese Flame Tree....AND IT IS STILL STANDING!!! (Hey, where'd the Volcano go?)

I'll leave you today with two more pics of "The Old Mill Stream" and "George Washington's Mount Vernon Fireplace." These photos have better lighting than the ones I posted previously.

I hope to see everyone on Sunday at the "Knott's Preserved" event! (And I promise I won't be handcuffed to the Chinese Flame Tree!)