“Hello Main Street”

This is a follow up post to “Goodbye Main street”. The construction walls on Main Street have come down and the peek-ins are back up and to be honest they look pretty darn good. This was much more than I was expecting. The peekins look fresh and inviting and I noticed they were drawing quite a lot of attention on Saturday when I was out at the farm. BearyTales.net http://bear-ytales.net/ has posted a full update on the return of the peek-ins that includes a short video that is definitely worth checking out if you haven’t seen it.

"Assay Office"

First off the Assay Office looks great. They put the original figures back in and used many of the original set pieces. They have restored the animation and now the Assayer’s scale rocks back forth as he assesses the ore samples. It is good to see the awning back on the front of this building. It is also nice to be able to see in the side window now since they relocated the sign painter that was butted up against that side wall. For some reason this building looks to be a little wider or shorter than it was previously, perhaps the awning skews the proportions. Still overall this building looks fantastic.

"Hop Wing Lee’s Laundry"

Another stellar job. Hop Wing Lee looks rested and refreshed. He is back at work and thanks to the restored animation is actually pressing clothes again. Nice to see the Laundry hanging on the line above. I am so happy that they put the original door back in. Who doesn’t remember peeking through that little round hole when they were little?

"Barber Shop"

The Barber Shop looks pretty good but it appears that either time or money ran short as there are some important details missing. First off there is no lettering on the windows. Also the barber’s pole is no longer on the outside of the building. Lastly the wanted poster inside could have been done better, it needs to look like the guy in the chair or the humor is lost. Actually maybe the guy in the chair is to blame, either way they need to match. Still the overall appearance is an improvement. Maybe they just haven’t had a chance to finish the details. Let’s hope!

"Silver Dollar Saloon"

I don't think anyone expected the Saloon to return to it’s former role and unfortunately the results live up to the expectations. This is the only let down in the whole bunch. The ugly green target board has returned, the raccoon on a stump has also returned to add an air of realism to the proceedings. The exterior lines of the saloon we’re retained but it is now an unfinished shell for the shooting gallery. The decorative steel grille is all that is left from the old Saloon. I am also hoping that they are not done with the details here as well but I fear that they are.


Deadwood Dick’s grave


D.D.’s grave is still there but the grave markers have been redone. Unfortunately they, like some of the grave markers in Boothill, do not look very authentic. I forget where but I read that back when Ghost Town was originally built they made the signs look weathered by painting the letters on and then sandblasting the wood to give it that aged look. The painted letters would stay raised up while the wood on the background was worn down. I wish that they would give that a try these days.


Overall I think that Cedar Fair has done a very good job rebuilding this part of Main Street. I hope that as much care goes into the next part of ghost town that gets "refurbished".


That's all for now. Take care and Thanks for Readin'

Main Street Update

I finally made it out to the farm Tuesday evening so I wanted to post an update on the progress of the peek-ins. The walls are still up, but they look to be about ½ way done rebuilding at this point. They have completely rebuilt the framing with new lumber and have begun the work on

the facades.

It looks like the original windows are going back into Hop wing Lee’s laundry and it also looks like they are using the original door and window for the Assay Office. The Barber Shop is still just a frame at this point but hopefully they will follow suit and use the original trim pieces as well.


It appears the Silver Dollar Saloon will be returning as a shooting gallery judging by the design of the framing. You can see the decorative steel grille that used to be above the bar in the background. I wonder if this will be a shooting gallery with the old Saloon as the theming. Hopefully they won't put the green targets back in that made it look like a game from "The Price is Right"


It looks like they are doing a good job and trying to recreate things accurately. Time will tell if the interiors are done with as much care. I was happy to see that they retained and will be reusing parts of the original peek-ins. I am anxious to see the finished product.

Barrel House

Many people know of the "Bottle House" at Knott's which is an example of how creativity was used to build shelter when conventional materials were hard to come by. There is another example of this creative building approach near the mine head in front of Boothill. The "Barrel House" walls are made from, you guessed it, barrels. This structure is a Knott's original (not refurbished) and one of the sights I make a point to see when I visit the park. There used to be another house made from creative materials (freight boxes) right next door to the barrel house but unfortunately it was removed to make room for the relocated gold panning attraction.

The prospector realxes inside his Barrel House

The Barrel House is located just behind the "Lucky Cuss" mine head and in front of the graveyard at Boothill over on School Road. You have probably heard the warning to beware of "hitchhiking ghosts" but what about jogging ghosts?

That's it for today. I am planning to head to the farm tomorrow (weather permitting) and hope to have an update on the Main Street peek-ins posted by the end of the weekend.

Take care for now, and Thanks for Readin'

Old Redwood Tree

For today’s post we have a then & now shot from the Marketplace. What a wonderful place the Marketplace once was. It was full of wonderfully fun things to see! Sadly most of the features that made it so special are now long gone. One of those special features was the old “Redwood Tree” stump that used to sit behind Virginia’s gift shop. It was from this very piece of tree that I learned about counting the rings to find out a trees age. I remember trying to count those rings and never being able to make it all the way through without losing track. These are the simple pleasures that make the memories of a lifetime.

The sign reads “This cross section is from a coast redwood. It was over 780 years old, over 13 feet through and nearly 300 feet high. It had its first birthday in 1161.”

This same area today. In this space now resides a phone booth, which in it's defense is fast becoming a relic of the past that may one day be marveled.

I am not sure when the Redwood Tree was removed but I know it has been gone for quite some time. Does anyone know approximately when it was removed?

So long for now! Take care and Thanks for Readin'

Old Miner Statue

Well the official word is that the peek-ins will be back. Let’s hope that they stay true to their original form. They are rumored to be back this month so I will try to make it out to the farm for updates on the progress. In the meantime we will resume our regularly scheduled programming.
Today’s post features the miner statue that used to be atop the fountain over by the goldmine at the entrance to ghost town. Following an internet tip I headed out to Cabazon California off of Interstate 10 on the way to Palm Springs. The statue stands in front of the Wheel Inn Café which can be found directly in front of Claude Bell's dinosaurs.

“The Cabazon dinosaurs were started in the 1960s by Knott's Berry Farm sculptor and portrait artist Claude K. Bell (1897-1988) to attract customers to his Wheel Inn Cafe which opened in 1958.”
-excerpt from Wikipedia-

Although I cannot confirm that this is the exact statue that used to reside at the farm I can say that if it is not the original it is an exact replica as can be seen in the photos below. The only difference I see is the paint color. Can anyone can confirm its authenticity? Does anyone know how long it has been there? I am pretty sure that I still saw it at the farm back in the mid 90’s. Perhaps there was more than one. It’s topics like these that inspired me to start this blog. I look forward to learning and sharing more.

Take care and Thanks for readin’

Miner Statue in front of the Wheel Inn Cafe in Cabazon

Again from a different angle

What I believe is the same statue at it's original home at Knott's Berry Farm (photo is from Davelandweb.com I believe)

And for fun a shot of one of Claude Bell's Dinosaurs.

The way things were

I thought I’d post some pics of how the south side of Main Street looked shortly before the recent travesty. Here are some pictures I took back in November '08 that show the peek-ins and Saloon. I cannot believe that they tore these down. I am so glad that I decided to revisit the park this past year and take a lot of photos of what is/was left. I really believed that if anything was safe it was the remaining buildings on Main Street. Now I know that nothing is sacred. So very sad, I don’t think they even realize what they have done. Those simple peek-ins were not only a part of Southern California history, they were a part of theme park history and a time capsule of a simpler time when people were entertained by displays such as these. My grandparents were entertained by these displays and shared them with my parents who in turn shared them me and I barely got the chance to share them with my children. Four generations of memories leveled.

Assay Office & Deadwood Dick's Grave

Panning right to Hop Wing Lee's Laundry and the Barber Shop

Looking down Main Street at the Silve Dollar Saloon

Goodbye Main Street!

I went over to the farm today to see the damage for myself. The entire south side of Main Street up to the Grill has been leveled. It looks like Deadwood Dick's grave is the only survivor. The Grill is currently still standing and looked to be open. And now for the photographic evidence.

Construction wall as seen from the entrance

Construction wall looking back up Main Street.

Peeking over the wall, looking East. You can see Deadwood Dick's grave in the upper left.

Panning to the right

A little more to the right.

Full Right, That is the back wall of the Ghost Town Grill on the right hand side.