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pinkpail
09-04-2002, 07:37 PM
I would like to know what was sold in some of the shops on Main Street back when Disneyland was young. Like Swift's Market House, did you buy a hunk of meat and carry it around all day?Did one really go to the park to buy real estate, get business cards printed at the print shop or get keys made at the Lock and Key shop? Oh and I really must know how it worked at the piano and organ store. So all of you old timers put on your thinking caps and let us in on the way things were back when Uncle Walt was still in charge.Oh, I got all of these shops on the back of a 1957
park guide.

cemeinke
09-04-2002, 09:21 PM
Once upon a time that Cigar Store Indian actuallly sat in front of a real tobaconist.

I remember that one of the joys my mom had in coming to Disneyland was going to this shop to pick up Turkish Cigarettes and other exotic smokes. That and Jazz in New Orleans pretty much kept my parents happy while I longed for the rides.

LubDatMouse
09-04-2002, 09:46 PM
oooooh .. does anyone remember the little shop that sold real Disney Movie memorabilia? (we bought a vase that was in the movie "Mary Poppins" there - its still one of my most treasured things)

There was also a place that sold fine crystal - My mom bought a set of glasses there - had them etched with our initials .. and forgot to pick them up before we left the park. I always wondered what happened to those glasses :crying:

Nigel2
09-04-2002, 09:50 PM
Originally posted by LubDatMouse
oooooh .. does anyone remember the little shop that sold real Disney Movie memorabilia? (we bought a vase that was in the movie "Mary Poppins" there - its still one of my most treasured things)

There was also a place that sold fine crystal - My mom bought a set of glasses there - had them etched with our initials .. and forgot to pick them up before we left the park. I always wondered what happened to those glasses :crying:

Well there still is a glass cutters/crystal place on Main Street. But I doubt it's the same one you are thinking of. Hey I wonder what they would say if you called them up about that?:D

LubDatMouse
09-04-2002, 11:01 PM
Wasn't there a real barber shop there also? Or am I confusing it with that "other" park? ;)

Nigel2
09-04-2002, 11:03 PM
I think you may be right about it being the other park's item. But then again their's just got a write up in DM.:D

RStar
09-05-2002, 09:30 AM
There was also a book store where you could buy Disney comic books. I think it was on the left (as you enter). It was a long skinny store, maybe was part of the (now)Emporium, the very left entrance? I don't remember exactly, seems like it may have been down the street more.

pinkpail
09-05-2002, 10:48 AM
All of the posts I have read are wonderful stories but perhaps I didn't make myself clear. That's O.K. I usually don't. What I want to know is what they sold or did in the stores or shops that I mentioned in my original post.

Ghoulish Delight
09-05-2002, 10:59 AM
You'll be hard pressed to find someone on these boards who can really answer your questions. Afterall, even of the people who were around for the early years of Main Street, most (all?) of those posting here were kids. Definitely not old enough to be thinking about buying an organ or real estate at Disneyland. I don't suspect many here have first hand knowledge of the old shopping experience, at least not the kind you're looking for.

innerSpaceman
09-05-2002, 11:00 AM
Pinkpail, speaking as prolly one of the oldest padders on these boards, I doubt if there is anyone here (though I could be wrong) who would remember the 1950's Main Street shops you are interested in. I, too, would love to learn some details of the trade that went on in these original or early MS USA stores, but let's not be too disappointed if the recollections of the padders don't go back that far.

Laffite
09-05-2002, 11:35 AM
Perhaps your question is better answered in DL history text rather than personal recollections.

Kevin Yee
09-05-2002, 11:43 AM
None of the shops you mention (in the original post) were particularly profitable - there's a reason these sponsorships didn't last 40 years like Carnation has.

Yes, Swift sold meat, though I imagine not a lot of it.

As for pianos and real estate, the idea from Walt's side was to provide atmosphere, not necessarily actually sell this stuff. The vendors apparently didn't like that, as they didn't stick around. But the atmosphere idea could be seen until recently also at One of a Kind shop - the antiques place where also no one bought anything (well, not often anyway), but everyone looked around.

Laffite
09-05-2002, 11:49 AM
Originally posted by Kevin Yee
the idea from Walt's side was to provide atmosphere, not necessarily actually sell this stuff. The vendors apparently didn't like that,

Umm..perhaps they can "fake" the shops. It sounds like from your description that the shops were real, run by a 3rd party (as opposed to DL). They could bring those shops back for atmosphere but the "vendors" would be CMs dressed like store clerk.

mad4mky
09-05-2002, 11:59 AM
from what I understand...somewhere where the Carnation Baby Station is...there used to be a lingere shop. Women could go in (or men...but back then, that might be odd) and be able to buy undergarments there...all kinds...(well, not the kind they sell at Frederick's of Hollywood or Trashy Lingere I am sure...).

But having a lingere store in Disneyland seems weird to me...It obviously was not a best seller, as we now have noticed, it's gone.:rolleyes:

TecTalker2K
09-05-2002, 12:00 PM
Of course, some of the businesses were not. Most of the window names are people that helped create and build the park It is cool when you thinl of Disneyland as a movie.

hbquikcomjamesl
09-05-2002, 12:11 PM
According to a Walt's Footsteps tour guide, the lingerie shop was called "The Wizard of Bras," was in the same general vicinity as the current China Closet, and was the only shop on main street that had an upstairs sales floor. It supposedly had the dubious distinction of being one of the first outsiders on Main Street to be kicked out.

The Wurlitzer Music Hall was, from what I've read, the prototype for all those little piano/organ showrooms that used to be ubiquitous in shopping malls, as recently as a decade ago. According to (if I remember right) Coke Corner Pianist Rod Miller, so long as Wurlitzer had a shop on Main St., the Coke Corner was stuck with Wurlitzer pianos that just couldn't take the combination of constant use and being left outside. The Yamaha pianos currently in use hold up much better.

As to the tobacconist, that shop was still there, at least in theory, up until it became a sports memorabilia shop. (It's now the music shop.) But I don't remember ever seeing it open for business as a tobacconist's shop.

Back when the Disneyana shop first opened, they did stock actual production cels. And every time I think about it, I kick myself for not going hip-deep into hock to buy, say, a Great Mouse Detective cel (that should tell you the approximate time frame).

oregonzooron
09-05-2002, 02:07 PM
Hehe...Lost Boy! Where are you when we need you!??!:D


Once upon a time that Cigar Store Indian actuallly sat in front of a real tobaconist

I always wanted to make this a REAL tobacconist shop. No cheap American cigarettes, but a humidor stocked with fine cigars, high-end pipes (a limited-edition series based on pipe styles that Walt smoked would be sooo cool!!), hand-blended custom pipe blends, and "gifts for gentlemen"! The atmosphere of a real town tobacconist's shop from the turn of the century would be such a part of the Main Street theme!

Of course, the PC Police would be all over this!!

see you at the zoo

ron

RStar
09-05-2002, 03:43 PM
What? I told you that the book store sold Disney comic Books!

Yes, I was too young to remember what was in the stores.

I heard about the Bra shop! No wonder it didn't last!

I would love to be able to go back in time to see these things! Can you emagine a kid with some fish he caught on TSI standing next to someone holding a package of t-bone steaks on a hot summer day? Oh, the memories smells bring back!:eek:

Kevin Yee
09-05-2002, 05:25 PM
Um,

It *was* a real tobacconist shop, not just a venue for American cigarettes. It did indeed have that humid heavy sweet odor you describe (something many people like, even those who hate cigarette smoke).

The Wizard of Bras was honored at the Emporium rehab in 1992 (1993?) via the second "floor" vignettes (really just dummies along the ceiling). The dummies are still there but the bra one has been altered to not be about lingerie. Someone must not have known their Disney history and decided to PC the place.

oregonzooron
09-05-2002, 05:55 PM
It *was* a real tobacconist shop, not just a venue for American cigarettes. It did indeed have that humid heavy sweet odor you describe (something many people like, even those who hate cigarette smoke).

Dang! I must've missed that. When I was there last it may have been beginning it's slide into disrepute....a dusty tray of mid- and low-end pipes, no humidor. It looked more like an office building lobby smoke shop than a pipe shop.:(

see you at the zoo...

ron

MammaSilva
09-05-2002, 05:58 PM
one of my 'strongest' memories of trips with my grandparents was that we always had to stop at the tobacco shop .. grandfather smoked a pipe....I loved the 'smells' in there ...

Bill Catherall
09-05-2002, 06:45 PM
I too hate the smell of cigarettes, but loved the smell of pipe smoke at Disneyland. There was a certain flavor...I think it was called cherry? Mmmmmm...

Oh, and there's a Victoria's Secret right across from the Disney Store at our mall. Does that count? ;)

JCLowesman
09-05-2002, 07:42 PM
Don't forget the drugstore. Somewhere around the house I still have several of those mini bottles of Upjohn vitamins. You could also buy asprin, allergy pills, and antacids there.

I can remember the tobacco shop, too. The pipe tobacco you were trying to remember was (forgive the spelling) Bjorkm Rif, and had a VERY distinctive cherry smell.

Bank of America's old Main Street branch did have full service, and many accounts were maintained there. Those tellers wern't just for show.

That bookstore did sell Disney comics. My first ever comic book came from there (actually, it was my sister's, I couldn't read yet).

I remember the Swift sign, but don't remember the store, guess my parent's didn't want to lug meat all the way from Anaheim to El Segundo without air conditioning.

Of a little more recent vintage, I really miss the Sunkist shop. Nothing really cooled me off like a real, fresh glass of OJ. I miss the candy kitchen too.

winniepooh
09-06-2002, 04:31 AM
I guess today the store that comes the closest to old times are the jewelry store at New Orleans square, I tried on a 10.000$ ring, at my last visit..
Needless to say I did not buy that, nor was my boyfriend interested in purchasing in as a wedding present..

Main Street Magic
09-06-2002, 08:43 AM
OK....Let me grab my bifocals and dust off the memories.....You asked about the stores on Main Street originally. Swift's market did sell candy and cookies (ah I remember those so very well).....back in the late 60's, as mentioned earlier, the Bank of America had a branch which was a working bank (I still have several checks from when I had an account there). There was a music store which sold musical piano rolls and records, a hat shop, the corner shop which was used to show off "things that were coming" to DL. Then there was the Magic Shop where you could purchase tricks and magic, the tabacco shop, where you could obtain tobacco products. Of course Kodak had a shop where you could purchase film and there was a Timex shop where you could get a Mickey Mouse watch. There was a crystal shop and a candle shop and a book store (part of the Emporium) among others. Of course Carnation Ice cream parlor and sunkist had a shop to get drinks. There was a shop which made cut out portraits of people and then coke corner and the shop at the end of Main Street where you stopped in and signed the register and they gave you a copy of the Declaration of Independence. Finally let's not forget the Penny Arcade. Now I am sure that there were different shops in some of the small stores, but back in those days each of the stores was unique, not one continuous store as is the case in WDW on Main Street. Did I miss any stores? Oh wait, there was the Silent Movies also.