Historical Disneyland Photography by
Mell Kilpatrick Have Been Captured on Film.
In the early construction stages of Disneyland in 1954,
Mell Kilpatrick was out capturing the parks first digs.
With
Mell, having a personal relationship with Walt Disney himself; he would be
un-stoppable in capturing the construction of the park history.
The first images of Disneyland were first developed in
Mells darkroom, not only by him; yet as well as Walt Disney camera men. For,
Mells darkroom was local and convenient for Walt Disney personal photography men.
Not only did
Mell capture the photographic side of things, so did Blaine
Sissel, the father of Carlene
Thie who has written five books on the Disneyland historical side of the Disneyland Theme Park; Blaine helped with the construction of the Sleeping Beauty Castle and other out buildings in the park, along with her grandmother Katherine
Kilpatrick who worked over 18 years in the model shop, Tom Sayers Island,
Frontierland and other behind the scenes areas. This has become 3 generations who have helped in one way or another to preserving the Magic Castles legacy.
Now you can find the images of
Mell Kilpatrick in Art Museums, local book stores, the Internet and pretty much everywhere. With the ingenuity of Carlene
Thie, creating fantastic cards, pins, Art, and even historical DVD on the History of Disneyland using these images. It allows one to take a trip down memory lane and relive the good times.
Now the family contribution to Walt Disney memories can now be relived in the Golden Horse Shoe Revue Tribute in March 2008; With a Dinner & Show; Guest who will be attending this event will be Wally
Boag and Betty Taylor Stan Swanson and many more Disney finest.
About
Mell Kilpatrick:
Mell Kilpatrick's passion for photography started as a hobby. Armed with his "
Weegee" style camera,
Mell gravitated towards the streets, tracking police calls and documenting everything from car accidents to crime scenes. He became a familiar figure to the various police departments and insurance companies serving Orange County. His career as a news photographer
began in 1948 and he eventually became the chief photographer for the Santa Ana Register. As one of Orange County's best-known cameramen, he covered Orange County in every possible manner -- by air, on foot, by car, and even by boat. Determined never to miss a photo opportunity, he even attached a small camera to the dashboard of his car pointing out the front windshield!
He recorded a nascent Orange County where Interstate 5 was a meandering state highway (then called Highway 101) and vast tracts of orange groves were flattened one day and built up the next. It was from these groves that Orange County's most defining monument rose… Disneyland. And
Mell was there to chronicle its growth.
Mell worked relentlessly to capture on film Walt Disney's dream. He climbed atop scaffolding, crawled into tunnels, even hung out of a light plane 5,000 feet above Disneyland to snap the perfect shot. Like any momentous project, Disneyland under construction was sometimes chaotic and many of the features, such as a darkroom, were low priority. When
Mell found out that Walt needed a local place to develop staff photos, he opened his darkroom to official Disney photographers. The park's first images were developed in
Mell's Santa Ana darkroom.
Walt often called
Mell to photograph special days during construction, as well as granting him unlimited access to Disneyland. Along with dozens of the nation's photographers,
Mell was invited to Disneyland's press premiere on July 17, 1955, as well as Disneyland's golden opening day, July 18, 1955. History buff that he was,
Mell saved every piece of memorabilia from that day, including the official Disneyland Press Kit. Which is
granddaughter sold it to the park for the 5
oth anniversary and suggested to have the media get a copy and to have the US Post Office, say it was lost in the mail.
Mell was only sixty years old in 1962 when a heart attack claimed his life. His prized darkroom was locked and left undisturbed for thirty years. Before her death in the 1990s,
Mell's widow gave her granddaughter, Carlene
Thie, the full collection of his negatives and photographs. In 2002 Carlene opened Ape Pen Publishing Company and produced the first of five books featuring the spectacular vintage Disneyland photography of her grandfather.
Thanks to
Mell Kilpatrick, these images of the Park being built -- literally from the ground up -- will last forever.
