Hello, It was one of those things that folks saw after the park was opened. Our dad took the whole family to visit with one of his friends that lived in that part of Orange County. The road Katella runs East-West. It is one of those streets that was laid out in the whole square line city planning ideas. Roads go north-south and covers the whole county area. Back then, Orange County was full of orange groves and got its name from such endeavors. If we took the road by our Westside of Long Beach house called Willow Street, by the time we crossed over two rivers and headed East, the street was now renamed Katella. By, 1955, it ran by the famous amusement park. From the first time riding those Disneyland Monorail trains, the color choice was always blue. Over time, there were other colors to go along with the different Monorail trains. We had never seen trains on overhead rails and the ride was wonderful. When in the train, the track wound around the Disneyland complex and near the streets that we took to get to the park from our Westside of Long Beach house directly. The major east-west street, Willow Street was changed over to Katella as it neared the Disneyland park. But the left turn major cross street was Harbor Blvd. That was where we were able to see the monorail trains above the public street adjacent to the park’s famous ride. Harbor Blvd crosses Katella and that was the two roads to get from our house to Disneyland. Jnaki The view from a first time train ride was awesome. But to see the actual cars below was a fascinating thing for a little kid in 1956. No, we did not go to Disneyland on opening week or months to follow. Our dad got the word from his friends that it was packed from opening day to months later. So, he waited until he thought the “coast was clear.” It was in 1956 and we were able to go see the whole park for our selves as a family. YRMV After the day at the whole park, including lunch and dinner, we drove the 19 miles west on Katella back to our neighborhood in the Westside of Long Beach where we had lived since 1947.
The 1940 photograph depicts the famous but long-gone Billups “Skull & Crossbones” railroad crossing at Grenada, Mississippi.
The Jalopy Journal
