Disneyland Year One
Windows on Main Street
by Todd James Pierce
As today is July 17th–exactly 57 years after Walt first opened his park for Press Preview Day–I thought I should return to my “Disneyland Year One” series, with two very rare photos I’ve saved for just this occasion. At home, I have a list of images that I’m forever looking for from Disneyland’s first year, most of which in all likelihood I’ll never find. (Anyone out there have a nice set of Space Station X-1 interior shots, by chance?) But earlier this year, I was able to cross off one item from my list: images of the original Main Street windows with the original ground-floor fictitious business displays.
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| Fictitious Hat Shop – October 1955 |
There’s a really good story here. Give me a couple minutes to set it all up.
So according to the official Disney Parks blog: “It is a long-standing tradition to honor individuals who have had a significant impact on Disneyland park by dedicating a window to them.” And that is generally true. But why windows? Why did the tradition start and then primarily stay on Main Street? In recent years, the Walt Disney Company has compared the Main Street windows to the credits on a film: moviegoers see a list of the important players (actors, cinematographer, director) before seeing the film itself, similar to how park guests see a list of designers before entering the park. Generally that analogy works, especially if you think of the park as a cinematic production. But that may be not the full rationale as to why important designers continue to have their names commemorated on windows, of all things, along Main Street.
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| Hats – October 1955 |
According to Harper Goff, an original designer of Main Street (and of course the Jungle Cruise), here’s the story of why art directors, architects, set designers, and prop specialists continued to have their names stenciled onto Main Street windows. When Main Street first opened in 1955…”Some ground floor shops still had interior construction underway after the park was opened to the public.” In jest, Disney designers had taken to displaying paper signs with their own names to disguise the empty windows. “We would put up a serious looking sign that might say ‘Harper Goff will be opening his shoe store here soon’…but there was nothing inside the store.”
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| Maggie the Dressmaker – Fictitious Business – Oct 1955 |
After Walt’s passing park executives continued to honor early designers by stenciling their names onto the second- and third-story windows of Main Street shops. But for some of these designers, such as those who worked with Harper Goff, they didn’t see this tradition as adding their names to Main Street. Rather, they saw it as returning their names to Main Street. Simply, the company was honoring those designers in more-or-less the same way that they had chosen to honor themselves back when the park first opened to the public. “That,” Goff later said, “was the beginning of the tradition of name signs on the windows.”
Up on the blog today are two of those ground-floor windows, as they existed in October 1955. The focus is a little soft; the images have lost their color; but these are the only images I’ve ever seen that illustrate Harper Goff’s story of how the Main Street window tradition connects back to the practice of fictitious business displays on opening day.
OK, that’s it for today. But you can find previous posts in the “Disneyland Year One” series here and here. Enjoy!
Todd, these are amazing images, and I didn’t know the story of the the unfinished ground floor windows. But Disneyland did have some tribute windows during that first summer, right? I couldn’t find great images (maybe you have a better collection at your fingertips?), but for reference here is a summer 1955 Daveland photo of the Market House:
http://davelandweb.com/mainstreet/popup.htm?images/eastside/markethouse/Summer55_KTPBK_N21R.jpg
Compare with photos of the current windows in that location and you can tell that there were definitely tribute names.
Hey Jason,
That’s actually an excellent question–one that I’ve tried to chase down an answer to. The windows are early, with some in 1955. I actually don’t know how early. The Bruce Bushman window is early, as is the George Whitney window (which is in the photo you link). I “think” the Gun reference in the Whitney window is about how as a teenager he worked the shooting gallery at Whitney’s at the Beach.
And there’s definitely lettering on the windows with fictitious business names and no names–typist, business college, etc., on opening day.
Off the top of my head, I “think” the earliest tribute windows of any kind were above the Bank–where Wade Rubuttom is located. But those are name only.
I appreciate the question. I’ll tuck in a couple of changes to the article.
Tomorrow, I’ll sort through my 1955 images to see what I find. It’ll be interesting to see what’s there and when.
Thanks again, Jason. That was helpful.
Todd,
Since nobody had time to document this stuff as it was happening, we know it’s often a treasure hunt. 🙂 I’m sure I’ve told you before, but so it gets documented: when Eddie Meck (head of Disneyland Publicity from 1955-1970) retired, he was honored with a Main Street window. The Disneyland Line at the time claimed it was the first window added to Main Street since the Park’s opening.
Jason
Interesting. Any ideas about the Nat Winecoff window–when it arrived? I don’t think it was there in 55?
I also don’t know when the winecoff window disappears. But I think it’s gone by the 1970s as well.
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OK, I’ve gone through the color 16mm film of opening day, which was no help. Stupid camera man only wanted to film some parade. 🙂 I’ve located later 1955 slides of at least three name/business windows: Ken Anderson, George Whitney Jr. and Bruce Bushman. I don’t know how early those windows are. But I did find one image that absolutely shows that the bank windows (Wade Rubuttom, Gabe Scognamillo, etc.) were there as name only on July 17. Very interesting.
After work, I’ll see what else I can dig up . I also have some 8mm opening day footage…somewhere.
In the Ken Anderson collection, there are Ken’s original slides that he took (regular and 3D). Most are from 1956 when he was working on Storybookland, but some earlier. I know there is a slide of his window in that collection, so I’ll try to dig it out today and see if it was dated or not. There are also some other DHI early photo collections that I can check on. Great discussion!
Paul, I’ve got a fall 1955 slide of Ken’s window. But it is interesting to pinpoint what was there and when — so far all the tribute windows I’ve been able to find at anytime in 1955 are on the bank and the market house. I believe winecoff’s window was up on center st, but I don’t know when it was put there. .
Carnation has them as well.
The Renie Conley window is there in 1955 (but no Ed Winger)
On the front, Royal Clark is there.
Also, the Nat Winecoff window (which should be an optometrist), I’ve not yet been able to find in 1955.
OK, just found the Winecoff window (or at least the corner of the eye) in Fall of 1955).
Hmm, with a little luck, we might be able to get a work-in-progress list of which windows were there–and which weren’t–in 1955. It looks like some pretty significant people were frosted on this. Most all of the 20th Century Fox (with Art Direction screen credit were included), but a others (who did a great deal of the work) weren’t. The only person on Roy’s team that I’ve found so far is Royal.
OK, lunch break is over.
Probably should just put a note on this post at this point: y’all come on back in a week when we can tell you something useful. LOL.
OK, they were adding some windows in the 1950s–after 1955.
Here is 1955 (with no window for Emile Krui):
http://davelandweb.com/mainstreet/popup.htm?images/eastside/50s/DL_RK_1955_N21.jpg
Here is 1959 (with a window for Kuri)
http://davelandweb.com/mainstreet/popup.htm?images/eastside/markethouse/50s/PBTKT_5_59_N05R.jpg