Father's Day In The Parks (Long Beach & South Bay Edition!)

It's time for another Father's Day In The Parks post! Today's photos were all taken by my dad at various Southern California attractions, specifically in Long Beach and the "South Bay" area.

These first three were taken at the Queen Mary in Long Beach. The Queen Mary was a Cunard-White Star Lines ocean liner that began service in 1936. After being retired and sold to the City of Long Beach for $3.45 million, she departed South Hampton on October 31, 1967 and arrived in Long Beach on December 9, 1967. This first pic was taken in March of 1968, just a few months after her arrival.

The next photo was taken five years later, in 1973. By this time, the ship had been operating as a tourist attraction for a couple years (since May 1971) and as a hotel for a year (since November 1972). In the background, we can see the Long Beach Convention Center. This was before it received it's massive wrap-around whale mural from the artist, "Wyland."

This shot was taken ten years later, in 1983. After the ship arrived in Long Beach, the ship's three smokestacks were taken off in order to remove equipment from the ship's front engine room and all of the boiler rooms. At that time, the smokestacks were discovered to be badly deteriorated, so they were replaced with replicas.

Now we're just a little further west, in the City of Torrance. "Rideland" was an amusement park that sat at the corner of Pacific Coast Highway and Ocean Avenue. It closed in the late sixties/early seventies. A McDonald's and a Taco Bell replaced the amusement park and are still standing today, although an "El Burrito Junior" has now moved into the old Taco Bell building.

Being a lover of trees, I am happy to report that the tree across the street (Pacific Coast Highway) in the photo below, still exists! Today, it stands in front of the Pacific Ocean Center, a little shopping center that was built in 1966, just one year after these pictures were taken.

The little amusement park was just a few blocks from the Torrance Airport. The Goodyear Blimp had made it's home there back in the 1950's, and then again for a short time from 1967 to 1968, when it was then moved to it's current home alongside the 405 freeway in the City of Carson. It appears there was a fire burning in the distance, at the time my dad took this photo!

Moving just a little bit south to the coast, our final destination is Marineland of the Pacific, on the beautiful Palos Verdes Peninsula. Marineland had a two-level observation car that offered excellent views of the park below, the rolling hills of Palos Verdes, and the Pacific Ocean. These photos were all taken in the summer of 1966. Marineland of the Pacific had opened in 1954, and ended up closing in 1987.

I know I mentioned this in one of my previous Marineland posts, but I'm going to mention it again! Sea World's owners bought Marineland in order to acquire it's killer whales (Orky and Corky) for their killer whale breeding program in San Diego.

When they purchased the park in December of 1986, they made a public statement saying that Marineland would remain open and that they were going to renovate it. However, soon after the purchase went through, they said that they were not going to keep it open after all, but they would keep it open through the Easter/Spring break, so that people would have one last chance to visit.

They ended up closing the park just before President's Weekend in February, more than two months earlier than they had announced. The animals were then packed up in trucks in the middle of the night, and relocated to Sea World in San Diego. Orky and Corky had actually been transferred, prior to the park's closing. Corky was pregnant at the time she was moved and shortly after she arrived at Sea World, she miscarried. Orky died the following year. The new owners also reportedly poured concrete into the drains at Marineland, so that the park could not be reopened. Such a sad ending to the park's 32-year history!

So as to not end on a sour note, here is one more pic from Marineland. I'm wondering if the trainer had a fish in his mouth here. I don't think I can see one, but it would make sense. Otherwise, I think he would have his hand out and not be bent over with his face so close to where the dolphin/porpoise was going to jump. And isn't the old "holding a fish in the mouth trick" something that they used to do at marine parks, back in the day?

Happy Father's Day Weekend to all of the dads out there!

Father's Day In The Parks (And My 400th Post!)

Well, it's been six years since I've done one of these Father's Day posts. Where does six years go? I don't even know where the last year went! And by the way....this is my 400th post! Okay, here we go. Today's photos were all taken by my dad at various tourist attractions throughout Southern California.

First up, we have Universal Studios. The first pic was taken in 1988 during the the tram tour of the studio backlot. This was the "Burning House." According to "thestudiotour.com," it was originally located adjacent to the Universal Amphitheater. It was moved to the location below in 1982, but was eventually demolished to make way for the Jurassic Park ride and a new fire station. (And that website didn't miss pointing out the irony there!)

The next pic was taken in the early 1970's. This was Universal's "Wild West Stunt Show." Note the man that is horizontal in mid-air to the right of the light blue building. Also note the two men lying on the floor of the arena in front of the Silver Slipper Saloon. According to "thestudiotour.com," the stunt show was only in this location from 1970-1972 and at the end of that period, this arena was expanded and turned into the Universal Amphitheater (which originally was an outdoor venue). At that time, the stunt show was moved to another location in the upper lot, where it would stay until closing permanently in 2002.

This shot from 1990 shows the western stunt show in it's upper lot location, just after it had received a renovation and a name change to "The Riot Act Stunt Show." The renovation included a new collapsing facade on one of the buildings. During the show, a stuntman would sit on a crate in the middle of the arena, while an explosion would cause the front of the building behind him to fall forward. One of the windows would line up perfectly so the building would fall down "around him"....which is what had happened just seconds before my dad took this picture.

Our next stop is at Knott's Berry Farm. This first photo was taken in 1974 at Knott's Lagoon, which was located across the street from the main theme park. The locomotive was one of the many miniature trains manufactured by Bud Hurlbut. This one is reportedly in a private collection today, but Bud's miniature train from the original Santa's Village (in Sky Forest, CA) can be found today at the Santa Ana Zoo in Santa Ana, California. And another one can be found at Castle Park (formerly owned by Bud Hurlbut) in Riverside, CA.

In this shot from 1966, Chief White Eagle places a feather headdress on a guest in Ghost Town. The Old Knife Shop which used to be located just south of the Miner's Bank, can be seen in the background.

This Polaroid is from the mid-1970's and was taken on the front porch of the Gold Trails Hotel in Ghost Town. In the early 1940's, Walter Knott acquired pieces of an old hotel in Prescott, Arizona (including the two doors in the background) and used them on what would be one of the very first Ghost Town buildings at the Farm. The hotel housed the Covered Wagon Show which told the story of his mother's and his grandmother's journey out west in a covered wagon. Unfortunately, the show was removed and the hotel was torn down. A recreation of the hotel stands in the same spot today with the show being replaced by a souvenir shop.

I'm pretty sure that the musician on the left is "Fiddlin'" Charlie Ware. And I believe the guitarist's name is "Mamie," but I don't have a last name for her. If anyone knows, please feel free to chime in below in the comment section!

Last up we have three shots from Disneyland. All of the photos feature characters that we don't see walking around the park anymore. The first one is of Br'er Bear, who could often be seen in New Orleans Square, along with his pal, Br'er Fox. The photo was taken in 1982.

Baloo and Mowgli from The Jungle Book could often be seen hanging out (usually with King Louie) in or around Adventureland. This shot is also from 1982.

And this final pic of Snow White, Dopey and Sneezy(?) in front of Tomorrowland, is from April of 1971. Snow White can still be seen greeting guests in the park today, but it is rare to see any of the Seven Dwarfs unless it is in a parade or show.

I hope everyone enjoyed this little trip through some of Southern California's theme parks. And an early "Happy Father's Day" to all of the dads out there!

(***BONUS!!! I happen to have three vintage Disneyland postcards, featuring the same characters seen above, so I am including them below.)

Father's Day In The Parks

It's time for another Father's Day In The Parks post! Once again, the photos here were all taken by my dad at various tourist spots throughout Southern California.

First up, we have Disneyland in the Summer of 1967. Here we see my aunt standing in front of Captain Hook's Pirate Ship.



This next one was taken the same day in front of the Global Van Lines truck that used to be parked in Town Square.



Next we have Knott's Berry Farm in the Summer of 1966. Here we see my uncle standing in front of the Calico Railroad, while some kid wearing mouse ears (hey kid, you're in the wrong park!) is trying to levitate the train with his special powers. We first saw my uncle inside Disneyland's Fort Wilderness in my Then and Now/Here and There post.



Below, is a shot of the "Ghost Town Express" wagon. Doc Walker's cabin from the Ozarks can be seen in the upper left. This is before it was moved near the Church of Reflections (it has since been demolished).



Now we are back in 1967 and with my aunt at Marineland of the Pacific. The structure behind her was the park's Oceanarium which consisted of two huge steel salt-water tanks.



This is Bubbles the pilot whale, performing in the Oceanarium. She was Marineland's most famous whale until Orky and Corky came along. Bubbles is actually still alive and residing at Sea World in San Diego. The owners of Sea World purchased Marineland back in 1987 because they needed a pair of breeding killer whales (Orky and Corky). They bought the park with the ruse that they would keep it open, but after the sale went through, they quickly shut it down and moved all the animals to Sea World. Note the two-level Sky Tower observation car in the background.



Last up for today, we have two photos taken at Universal Studios in the Summer of 1967. This first shot is of a western set on the backlot. The train station sign reads "Medicine Bow, WYO." Medicine Bow was the location of the television show, The Virginian, which was a Universal production and ran from 1962-1971. Train tracks can be seen alongside the depot, but they seem to disappear into the dirt as they come towards us.



This last photo shows some movie miniatures that were once on display in the "upper lot" portion of the studio. A rain special effect (translation - "sprinklers") can be seen on the roof of the structure on the right.



Just for kicks, I've included two scans from a 1977 Universal Studios souvenir book. Compare these with the two Universal shots above. The caption for this first photo reads, "New York right next to the Old West! Turn a corner in Hollywood's biggest backlot and suddenly you're in a different world." The Smith and Aagy Photographic Studio sign is still on the roof of the building on the left, but the train station sign appears to be missing.



The guidebook gives the following description for the scene below, "A "movie miniature" destroyer fires at a "movie miniature" submarine....and always misses!"



I'd like to wish my dad a very happy Father's Day and thank him for taking me to all of these cool places many times throughout my childhood. I love you, Dad!

And a Happy Father's Day to ALL dads out there!

Father's Day In The Parks

In honor of Father's Day (and my Dad!), I'm posting some slides from my personal collection. My dad took all of these photos himself over 40 years ago.

First up, we have two Disneyland slides from the Summer of 1969. This first shot was taken from a PeopleMover car as it exited the Carousel of Progress building and crossed over the Skyway. Look at that line for the Subs!


The picture below was of course, taken from the Skyway. I MISS SKULL ROCK....and Captain Hook's Pirate Ship.....and the Skyway!

Next we have a shot of the Calico Mine Train at Knott's Berry Farm. This would have been taken when the train briefly comes out of the mountain on the upper level, looking down at a train parked in the unloading area.

The photo below is of the long gone (but not forgotten) Little Chapel by the Lake at Knott's Berry Farm. Blogger Outsidetheberm wrote a great post recently about this little structure and it's unfortunate demise. But he rescued the interior show elements and promises it will be seen again someday! Both of these Knott's photos were taken in the Summer of 1966.

Now we'll head over to the Southern California Coast.....the Palos Verdes Penninsula, to be exact. This is Marineland, a seaside park that opened in 1954....a year before Disneyland and ten years before Sea World. That pole in the background was for an observation car/sky tower type of attraction. I will have to post more of my dad's slides from an earlier trip showing the two-level observation car. These pics are from the Summer of 1967.

Are these dolphins or porpoises? If you ask me this is animal cruelty....and you can't convince me that they "enjoy" performing. I wonder how long these animals live? Is it possible that some of them could still be around today?

Now we'll mosey on up to the Valley. Here we find ourselves riding in a fabulous Glamor Tram at Universal Studios in 1967. This view is of the New York backlot sets. I'm sure that these sets are no longer standing considering this section of the backlot has burned to the ground twice since this photo was taken....once in 1990 and more recently in 2008. By the way, I also miss King Kong! He's supposed to be making a return this summer, but I've heard very little about it. It sounds like it might just be a 3-D projection of him now, instead of Bob Gurr's huge audio-animatronic figure. I don't want to see a 3-D projection of him, I want to see him up close and in person! That's right, I like to be within pie-throwing distance!

This miniature steamboat was in the old Prop Plaza area at Universal. I'm not sure what this prop was used for. There was once a larger showboat that could be seen during the tram tour. They would explain to guests that it was used in the movie "Showboat." Perhaps this miniature was used for the same film?

To see a couple more photos of the Universal Backlot taken during this same trip, including a shot of the Psycho House in it's original location, click here: Psycho House.

Happy Father's Day, Dad! And Happy Father's Day to all dads out there!