Thursday, June 06, 2013

More Black and White Walt Disney World, 1973

Let's take a look at some more nice black and white photos from the Magic Kingdom's Main Street U.S.A! (See the first batch here).

The amount of architectural detail is pretty impressive, with all the different moldings, window styles, shingles, awnings, and other stuff.  I think there is a lit lamp in that one window (above the "S" in the word "Shop").


Wowee, now that's a City Hall! It reminds me of the buildings seen at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, called "The White City".


Here's a shot of the White City, for those of you who care. Apparently, Walt Disney's father Elias was one of the many construction workers who built these grand structures.


Here's a detail of City Hall's front porch, with a bit of Main Street Station just to our left.


Whoever came up with the idea of paying tribute to notable Disney employees by giving them a window on Main Street was a genius! Here are two examples; Card Walker, who started at the Disney Studios (in the mail room) since 1938, and worked his way up to the president of the company when this picture was taken. On the right, the window honors Ted Crowell and Arnold Lindberg, whom you can read about here! If you do a Google search, you can see that this window, while still there, has changed in some minor ways over the years.


Stay tuned for one more batch of black and white WDW pix!

7 comments:

Nancy said...

These are so beautiful!

Main Street USA is one of my favorite places ever, and the thing that I love about these is that I am noticing the details much more than when I see color photos, tho I would not trade the colors ever!!

The bakery is especially interesting, looks like it might be a photo from Mockingbird Lane!

I like the image of White City, really looks like a photo of someplace in Europe.

K. Martinez said...

What a beautiful set of B&W photos. I'm a big fan of B&Ws, so I look forward to seeing more of them.

Nancy - One of many reasons I love B&W photos so much is because the details stand out so well.

Nanook said...

@Nancy & K.Martinez-

Details... details - another of the many things B&W images can bring to the table. And as much as I love a good color image, in (essentially) a former lifetime, I projected millions and millions of feet of B&W, nitrate-base film; and as such learned to fully appreciate the beauty of a well-composed & lit B&W image. And these shots help bring that to mind.

These shots allow our eyes to canoodle around many intricacies we may tend to overlook when portrayed in full color.

And I'm almost afraid to mention aloud, but in the two shots taken at ground level there's a decided lack of crowds. Oh, for those days-!

Thanks, Major.

Major Pepperidge said...

Nancy, you are right, that Bakery photo does look a little bit "Munstery"! Funny. As for the White City, if you have ever read about that World's Fair, it sounds like it was an incredible place, especially for 1893.

K. Martinez, there are only a few more black and white pix from this set, but I have a bunch more WDW to share!

Nanook, black and white photos (and films) can be very rich and beautiful. Color is so beautiful that it can distract (I think) from some of the finer details, whereas black and white seems to accentuate them. Kind of like you said! ;-) If I ever go to the Magic Kingdom, I can only hope it will be as empty as it is in those pictures.

Chuck said...

Major - for that kind of emptiness, you'll probably have to start some kind of pandemic that only you have the cure for. Just make sure you inoculate a handful of cast members before you release the virus or you'll have a hard time operating the attractions. You will, however, be able to take all the flash photos you want.

Alternately, you can take the "Magic Behind Our Steam Trains" tour, which puts you on Main Street before the park opens. That was a pretty cool sight, with no crowds and the street and Town Square freshly-washed and scrubbed behind the ears.

Major Pepperidge said...

Chuck, don't think that I haven't considered that option!

I'd love to take that "Magic Behind Our Steam Trains" tour, even though that means I'd have to drag my butt out of bed so early.

Snow White Archive said...

These are some really nice B+W pics. I like the comparison to the White City too.