Tuesday 16 March 2010

Walking Right Down The Middle

There is just something so special about Main Street U.S.A in Disneyland, California. I'm not sure if it's the setting, the warm sun hitting you as stroll, or the fact that Walt himself had walked in your footsteps. Or possibly it is just the sheer history that surrounds you when you're there!

And when I say history, I don't just mean the fact that this was the first and original Main Street U.S.A. Oh no - there is a history to some of the places in Main Street before there even was a Disneyland! For example, in Town Square there are two cannons which were originally built for, and by, the French Army and are as old as the 19th Century!
Staying in Town Square, the flagpole that you see as you enter the Stage of Disneyland? Well, the pole is actually recycled from a lamppost that was purchased from the city of Los Angeles for five dollars! The pole was originally a lamppost which was knocked over after a car accident on Wilshire Boulevard.

And as you walk down the rest of Main Street U.S.A., as you are eager to see the beautiful Castle, you pass several gas streetlamps. These are over 150 years old and originate from Baltimore, Philadelphia and St. Louise. They were purchased by Disneyland for around three cents a pound.Of course, they are just for show, right? Well, back in December 1982 there was a power cut in Disneyland and these lamps managed to show the way to the exit when the park had to be evacuated!

2 comments:

Gator Chris said...

Great info.
Would you consider disclosing your source(s)? I'd heard about the gas lamps before, but not the other items...

Princess Fee said...

Hi Chris! The article was inspired by a couple of facts in the book "Little Known Facts About Well Known Places - Disneyland" by David Hoffman. I was given it as a Christmas present but it is from the States.