6060 WILSHIRE BOULEVARD, LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA 90036
SPOILER ALERT : there's a bit of Disney automobile-related history housed inside the Petersen Automotive Museum as you will see. Get yourself in gear, because your personal tour of these artifacts begins now! Step this way, please.
Naturally, we will head straight for the AUTOMOBILE HISTORY HALL on the 3RD FLOOR, in order to view the first of our first Disney related artifacts. Before we introduce our first artifact, we'll momentarily transport to New York, during the fall of 1929, where a young Walt Disney has just met with distributor Pat Powers. You may have heard an oft-quoted story (supposedly relayed by Walt), of how "a fellow kept hanging around my hotel waving $300 at me and saying that he wanted to put the Mouse on the paper tablets children use in school. As usual, Roy and I needed money, so I took the $300." If this account is true and correct, it could be concluded that the first licensed Mickey Mouse merchandise was born at that moment. Mickey's face was soon everywhere - bubble gum, celluloid toys, watches, and much, much more!
Apparently Mickey's face graced more than merchandise targeted at children. One thing that was very popular from the 1920s to the 1950s was the hood ornament. Hood ornaments originated as decorative radiator caps. They were used by manufacturers to display brand logos, but owners could remove them and personalize their vehicles with novelty car mascots. Before bumper stickers, license plate frames, decals, and antenna balls heralded the presence of Disney fandom, there was no better way to let the world know that you were an avid Mickey Mouse fan, than sporting a Mickey Mouse Mascot on the front of your car!
Research shows that quite a few official and "bootleg" Disney character mascots were produced and circulated. During the 1940s and 1950s, Mickey Mouse's popularity began to be eclipsed by a certain co-star. we weren't surprised to see an incarnation of Donald Duck as a vehicle mascot!
Moving on, I would like to turn your attention toward the illuminated attraction in the center of the AUTOMOTIVE HISTORY HALL. Sponsored by the AAA Automotive Club of Southern California, the interactive slideshow exhibit highlights the progressive growth of freeways and highways across the United States, by decade.
As each cultural epoch "rolled" into the next, popular destinations (as Disneyland) would increase motorist usage of such roads, as well as necessitate their further construction. Of particular interest to us, are the mid-1950s - when Disneyland debuted and Americans flocked from all directions toward Walt's newly constructed fantasy land in Southern California! Construction on Disneyland began just after the 11-year Santa Ana 5 freeway project got under way. You might recall hearing that numerous advisors recommended this location to Walt because of it's proximity to this major thoroughfare that most of us now utilize today. You'll notice that Disneyland - an influential landmark upon Anaheim urban development , is given brief recognition (projecting for just a few moments) over a map of the United States' Federal Highways.
After patiently waiting for the 1950s to be displayed, we are rewarded with this very direct Disneyland reference - a shot of Disneyland's iconic Sleeping Beauty Castle, highlighting it's Southern California location!
Moving on through the HALL OF HISTORY, we'll turn the spotlight toward the section accommodating the vehicular stars of Hollywood stage and screen. We'll make our way beyond most recognizable cars, with our eyes set on one particular lovable, anthropomorphic automobile! When the 1963 Volkswagen Beetle returned to the "big screen" in 2005 for "HERBIE : FULLY LOADED", a call went out for several "stunt Beetles". This stunt Herbie answered, receiving a suspension upgrade, a full roll cage, new disc brakes, and Goodyear racing slicks in order to perform his own NASCAR stunts for the film.
This particular "Herbie" received a good amount of screen time. He can be seen in several scenes of the film, driven by Lindsay Lohan as Maggie Peyton.
Just one of 838,488 1963 Volkswagen Beetles built.
SIDEWALK SPEEDSTERS : THE GROWN-UP WORLD OF CHILDREN'S CARS (NOW THROUGH OCTOBER 28, 2018)
We simply cannot impress enough, that "DISNEYLAND is truly EVERYWHERE", and our next artifact in the CHARLES NEARBURG FAMILY GALLERY testifies to just that! The "SIDEWALK SPEEDSTERS : THE GROWN-UP WORLD OF CHILDREN'S CARS" is a collection of kid-sized electric and gas-powered cars.
Though we were surprised to find it was the centerpiece of the collection (with it's own display), our next artifact felt right at home amongst the other motorized children's cars! We would like to present . . . the TOMORROWLAND AUTOPIA MARK VII!
From 1955 to 1999, The TOMORROWLAND AUTOPIA had eight versions of the Tomorrowland Autopia vehicle (Mark I - Mark VIII). In the year 2000 (during Chevron's sponsorship), those cars were replaced by three more vehicles. So in total, eleven types of cars have raced through the Tomorrowland Autopia's tracks during that time.
One year after the center guide rail was first installed, these brand new Corvette Stingray- inspired automobiles were introduced to the speedway. These cars came ready to "ride the rails", preventing the vehicles from getting scratched or dented from the sides of the track.
You'll want to race down here, as "SIDEWALK SPEEDSTERS : THE GROWN-UP WORLD OF CHILDREN'S CARS" is a temporary exhibit appearing until the end of November 2018.