It's Educational!

I wanted to do some sort of back to school themed posts for September.  So I looked at a few elementary school text books from the 1940's thru 1970's, but couldn't find anything very interesting or original.

I did think this 1955 cover for a Random House "Allabout" book was kinda fun...

It's about famous scientific expeditions, and the mysterious illustrations make it look like it could be about dinosaurs, mummy's curses, and monstrous creatures of the deep. 

Next is a 1970's brochure for the American Museum of Atomic Energy (now called the American Museum of Science and Energy.  I blame the name change on Homer Simpson.) in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

Hmm, I wonder if this means Dick Tracy's 2-way wrist TV was nuclear powered.

Lastly I found this book...

I'll try to get around to reading it sometime.  God knows the writing on this blog can use improvement.

Tombstone Junction

I have one last western themed brochure to share, it's Tombstone Junction in Cumberland Falls, Kentucky.  This park was notable for having a full-size operating steam train that ran on a 2½ mile track.

I was a little skeptical of the "See the World's Top Country & Western Stars Perform" claim (see the yellow circle above), but after checking out the Wikipedia entry it seems this was totally true.

When other small parks fold up they usually just quietly go bankrupt, but it sounds like Tombstone Junction went out in a blaze of glory.  The place caught fire twice - once in 1989 which caused serious damage, and again sometime around 1991 which was the final coup de grâce for the park. Then according to the wiki entry even the wooden train cars were intentionally burnt to salvage the scrap metal in 1992. Although it's reported the burning cars rolled away uncontrolled and crashed in a flaming heap.  I think I might have bought tickets to see that.

Ghost Town in the Sky

Continuing with the western theme for this month here's a brochure from 1979 for Ghost Town in the Sky in Maggie Valley, North Carolina. This park has been in bankruptcy for the last few years, and if you care about such matters you can read about the whole mess here.




If you want to see what Ghost Town in the Sky looked like in 2007 (which I think was the last year the park was open) here's a link to a pictorial "TPS Report."

Stagecoach Stop USA

Hope this isn't too much of a disappointment for anyone, but I'm taking a little break from the Western River Expedition animation this week.

But in keeping with the western theme this month here's a brochure from the now defunct Stagecoach Stop USA in Irish Hills Michigan...




It's sad that this roadside attraction closed back in 2009. It was a fun place for a family to visit on a quick day trip. Along with the Prehistoric Forest this is another Irish Hills attraction that's a victim of the recent "economic downturn."

Howe Caverns Brochure

I think this summer I'll go underground, and by underground I mean as in posting numerous cave brochures (are you out there reading this Todd?).

I've mentioned previously I've collected a lot of cave brochures, and although they don't make for very popular posts I thought I might as well use them up.

So anyway for those that are still reading let's look at Howe Caverns brochure...


If you watched the video above (thanks NetGeo) you saw what the Howe Caverns tour guides wear today (which is basically a nylon windbreaker). But did you notice what the uniform looked like in this retro brochure? Here I'll help you out...

It reminds me of a doorman at some fancy apartment. This was a classic look, and I'm sorry to see it's gone.

I love those "cave models." They make it look like they are the only people in the cave, and they are free to roam as they please (and possibly get married too).

Penn's Cave Brochure

The brochure's front and back, or vice versa

The authors of the book Roadside America (they also have a swell website too) described Penn's Cave as one of this country's "lazy-man's cave tours" since you ride in a boat throughout the tour.

So if Penn's Cave is "America's only all water cavern" that you "See it by boat" who are those people seen in some of the brochure pictures standing by the cave formations? Are they part of an exclusive unadvertised VIP tour? Or maybe that chick and dude are professional cave formation models who you actually see on the tour.

Penn's Cave has a spooky legend too (see above). If I was the owner I'd add a few special effects enhancements to capitalize on this. It's called showmanship people.



I wasn't going to bother to post this map portion of the brochure, but then I thought what the heck. Here you go all you smartphone users, if you find yourself in the vicinity of Penn's Cave maybe you'll find this map helpful.

Cypress Gardens

Here's a card from the 1970's (I think) for the now defunct Cypress Gardens.


Legoland Florida is scheduled to open sometime in October 2011 on the old Cypress Gardens site. From looking at the tiny map on their Web site it appears the botanical gardens and the ski show are still there. I think it's possible most of what Cypress Gardens was will continue on.

Mammoth Cave Brochure

I love caves, and have a large collection of cave brochures from across the country. I'd gladly use them in posts more often, but the previous times I've posted something cave related it's always one of my least popular pages.

Since there doesn't seem to be much interest in caves, I'm not going to bother posting every page from this Mammoth Cave National Park brochure...

That cover looks dated, like something from the 1950's, but it's not. Well I'm sure the brochure was originally designed in the late 50's, but this cover was still used into the 1980's.

Actually it's kinda cool I think, also they probably used this cover because of the classic thriller that was filmed at Mammoth Cave...

The movie Mammoth! (1956) was made by the same team that created Niagara (1953) three years earlier. It's a movie that's not very well known even by movie buffs. It's not too bad, and anything with Peter Lorre is always worth a look. Add it to your Netflix queue, and be sure to let me know how you liked it.

More Rock City

Here's a retro brochure for Rock City. Above is either the front/back, or the back/front.



This page of the brochure touts the Rock City Restaurant - "The Restaurant Built Around a Rock." I'm not sure if this restaurant is still operating. If anyone reading this knows if this restaurant is still in business please leave a comment.

Above is the exact same brochure, but with a different type face for "Rock City." Nothing that interesting, just being a completest.

Weeki Wachee

Let's take the plunge into another retro brochure collection. This time it's that classic mermaid attraction Florida's Weeki Wachee...

The two images above are from a card that I believe dates from the early 1970's.

The brochure below is from 1978...

I'm assuming the picture of the girl with torpedo-like underwater scooter was intended to be the front, and the "shark girl" was on the back of the brochure - but it could go either way. Maybe with the popularity of Jaws "shark girl" was placed in the racks facing up.


If you look closely at these brochures you''l see that Weeki Wachee was once owned by ABC Leisure Attractions - which was a subsidiarity of the American Broadcasting Company. Weeki Wachee is no longer owned by a private company, and is now a state park.

Supergrass made a music video for their song "Low C" which plays like a mini Weeki Wachee documentary. Check it out...

AutoWorld

Well here's the brochure for the infamous Six Flags AutoWorld in Flint, MI. It's a little controversial, and was featured in documentaries made by a well-known portly provocateur (you're smart, I'm sure you know who I'm talking about).

There's been a lot of speculation on AutoWorld's failure. I think the basic reason it failed was because it was simply a bad idea. The automobile theme was too limiting to support an elaborate indoor "family entertainment center." Even in Michigan, where major car companies are headquartered, and tens of thousands of people make their living from the auto industry there weren't enough people interested in visiting AutoWorld to support the place.


Oh look the brochure folds out into a "fun map" to help you plan your visit...


It's funny how the back of the AutoWorld brochure urges to "Plan your visit soon!" Yeah, you better have since it lasted less than 2 years.

It's time to say goodbye to AutoWorld!

Mystery Fun House

Here's a 1990's brochure for Mystery Fun House in Orlando, FL. It was the attraction notable for a large fiberglass wizard on the front of the building. Mystery Fun House operated from 1976 through 2001, and was located virtually across the street from the Universal Orlando Resort.

It's interesting to note, that in a little over a month, Islands of Adventure at Universal Orlando will be the home to a certain very popular boy wizard. So now that wizard who use to hang out at Mystery Fun House can... Umm... Yeah, I got nothing. I thought I was going somewhere with this setup, but I got nothing. Please enjoy the rest of this brochure for this defunct attraction.