Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Pointy Silver Thing

Can you guess the purpose of the shiny object in these photographs from July 14, 1955?

It's the tip - and final detail - being added to the Disneyland Moonliner Rocket,  three breathless days before the Park's opening.

    I can tell you this much- I would not want this guy's job.  Suspended from a crane 76 feet above the  terra firma of Tomorrowland, he's left his shoes on the ground, preferring sock feet. One soft footstep for man on that polished Kaiser aluminum surface...

13 comments:

steven Thompson said...

hey kevin, did you find this?!? where in the world were you? that is a crazy find . rick and i were at disneyland this past weekend and picked up one of the tiki bowls you both designed . we love it. jody said you were keeping busy. he really did an amazing job for our 'princess and the frog' stuff. hope all is well with you both.

steve t.

ElectroSpark said...

I would have no idea what that was, but... I believe you, Yes. I do,

Still shiny after all these years, I might add.

Anthony said...

Alright, Kevin.
What gives?

I KNOW that I left a comment about this very post, earlier today! AND I know that you had a completely different title on it, something about this rocket tip being a garage sale find...

What the heck?!
Did I somehow say something to offend you?

It's not very nice to try and make your followers think they're going crazy! :)

Kevin Kidney said...

Hey Anthony! You're absolutely right - I deeply apologize! I believe I accidentally deleted yours and another comment while I was re-writing the post to clear up the confusion that I had actually made an amazing discovery at a garage sale. Sadly not true! The photos are all vintage from 1955 - including the close ups of the rocket tip. My fantasizing about how cool it would be for an object like this ending up in a garage sale and buying it misled everyone into thinking that it had actually happened. That would certainly be amazing, but no such luck. As far as I know the TWA Moonliner, silvery tip and all, have blasted off to worlds unknown decades ago. I can only dream someday some little tidbit will resurface somewhere! (And that I'll find it for $1 at a garage sale!)

Thank you so much, Anthony and everyone, for your comments! I always enjoy reading them!

Disney On Parole said...

WOW!
Kevin these are Great!!!
always love your post!

Thanks Again!

Deanna said...

Check out this cool paper model of the rocket that you can make!

http://www.disneyexperience.com/models/moonliner_model.php

Anthony said...

No worries, Kevin!:)
I just wasn't entirely sure if I was going mad, or not!
I'm still kinda new to the blogosphere, and I'm finding that these sort of things happen once in awhile. Also, as a fellow blogger, I'm quite familiar with the frustrations that one encounters using this medium!

Anyway, I did notice that you stopped by my 'Circus'. Thanks for checking it out! I haven't had a chance to respond to your comments, yet... but I will!

Again, VERY cool blog and artwork you've got going on here! Both you and Jody are quite the talented gents.

Josh Holtsclaw said...

Kevin-
Always enjoy your posts. How do you find these awesome photos? Keep em coming...
-Josh

Katella Gate said...

An astonishing photo...thanks for generously sharing with us.

Major Pepperidge said...

Oh, that old thing? I used to have it - used it as a door stop. But then some neighborhood kids were doing a scavenger hunt, and one of the items on the list was "tip of rocket", so I gave it to them.*




*lies, all lies!

Katella Gate said...

As Willy Wonka says "Nil Desperandum"! You never know what you will find in an LA Garage sale. A friend of mine found a ship's postcard signed by the Captain of the Titanic and bought it ... for 50 cents.

Joke said...

Oooh. Shiny.

-J.

P.S. I was going to guess it was something jousting-ish.

Unknown said...

Man, for an OC kid who grew up with Disneyland in the 70's, this is like my dream blog. I love all your posts. Awesome stuff!!