The Real Carthay Circle Location - Walt Disney History at Snow White Movie Premier / What Remains ?
A visit to the location of the famous Carthay Circle Theatre in Los Angeles.
Transcript
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welcome everyone out of the blue here
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today's adventure will take us up to Los
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Angeles to a location that has been
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emulated almost in full just about in
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full-size reproductions here at
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Disneyland and in Florida at Walt Disney
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World and was the spot one of the
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greatest and most popular animated
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full-length features had their premiere
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let's go into some history of inviting
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you to join me
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shalyah charged up the camera battery
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he's just getting my stuff together
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putting it in the bag and ready to roll
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you're right big the foot without the
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success of that film we probably
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wouldn't have Disneyland
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he'll a skylight over there I don't know
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why I said it that way but that's what
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it is big the foot the houses behind me
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this development residential section was
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created in 1922 and is one of the oldest
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in Los Angeles in fact it is said it is
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the first to have underground utilities
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and it was given the name car se sentir
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four years later in twenty-six a
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historic theater was built just down the
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way and after that gained popularity
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they said you know what let's change the
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name from Center to car say
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Circle
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bring about all of the homes are
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completely different
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none of them built in the same fashion
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no two alike and the street names were
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after notable figures in the gold rush
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era it wasn't just any old theater
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either one of the most popular in all of
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Hollywood especially considering when it
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came to having premieres and on December
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21st 1937 a little movie by the name of
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Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs took
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place right over here
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you also notice that right up here at
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these cross streets McCarthy Vista now
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the name McCarthy is the last name of
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the gentlemen who we have to thank he
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was a developer McCarthy car say they
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basically well he took his name and gave
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it a little more pronounced he'll
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MacArthur
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got it right where devale dry the 6200
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West block links up with this
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intersection over in that little
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courtyard area well it's kind of
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obscured by the tree but there is a
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statue right there in the middle with
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the tree trunk behind it
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stepping up on the curb you could see a
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little pathway has been cleared through
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the foliage and there is the Pioneer
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standing strong after many years it used
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to be a little water area here not a
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fountain per se but just a water section
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surrounding this guy standing perched
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upon the rock I don't believe that's the
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original rock he was standing on it
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might be but I don't think it is judging
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by the photos sculptor Henry Lyon
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created this in the same year that
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behind Dan because they named him dan
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the statue here and we're using this as
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a reference point because behind Dan is
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where Carthay theater used to sit right
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back there and there are some of the
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sculptures other works still on property
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that can be seen from decades ago stand
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seven feet tall has got his pan there
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any luck buddy and weighs over 500
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pounds
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yep he's just searching to see if he's
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found any gold or silver or any copper
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Nuggets down there might have made a
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little more sense when the pond used to
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be here but I don't see anything here in
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the in the dirt damn
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keep looking no don't give up okay I
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stand corrected it looks as if two years
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prior so in 24 the statue was placed
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here but they didn't dedicate it till
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the same year as the theater in 26
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here's a photo of Jay Harvey McCarthy
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they're on the far end with the glasses
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watching the sculpture create his
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masterpiece chief Harvey McCarthy was
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the one who created a theater here's the
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dedication quite a little congregation
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they're gathered around the water used
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to be a drugstore back there and that
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was in the forefront of the theater
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theater was behind where the drugstore
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used to be see the water there as well
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see the rock is a little higher in this
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photo than it is current day he was also
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stolen back in 2009 and then refound
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2010 they replaced him fixed him up he
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was cut in half
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whoever took him cut him in half but he
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was put back together and back to his
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original spot
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he was quite disabled at the scrapyard
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good thing they got him get him back I
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read that the neighbors around here
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really missed him more or less from this
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angle is where you'll be able to match
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up and tell precisely where the theater
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used to be way back behind him there in
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the way over there probably a hundred
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two hundred yards behind Dan here there
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goes a bus as mentioned a moment ago
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there's the drugstore there the far end
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of the screen and the very immense Tower
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of Carthay circle the neon lights just
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past the street you still see the street
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still exist a little busier current day
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however and there's a school way back in
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the distance that school still exists
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even though the theater is long gone you
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can almost tell where the waterway would
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have been kind of like kind of just kind
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of tucked away here in this section and
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then all of this you know many many
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years ago you've been waiting ankle-high
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maybe even waist-high probably not that
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deep he would have had some company
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had me luck and in the same little area
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is this not so little tree I point that
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out because now I'm gonna walk over
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there and show where the premiere was to
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what the critics called Disney's folly
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the critics didn't think it was a good
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idea the first of many career choices
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that Walt took that proved the critics
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wrong another one being Disneyland which
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no happened to the late or mid 50s they
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called that Walt's folly so Disney's
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folly which tended to be a success
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becoming one of the highest-grossing and
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you adjust it by today's ratio on
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inflation the number one animated film
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above frozen above Incredibles think
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about that and the critics they shunned
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it as well as the American Film
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Institute granting it and saying that it
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is the greatest animated film of all
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time I think a lot would agree with that
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groundbreaking one of the first American
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here in the u.s. full-length animated
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features
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no one said it would do well but he knew
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something he probably remembers when
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wall came through maybe I don't know he
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may have been too busy looking for sofa
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also should mention that with the money
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that was made off Snow White
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he took that in parlayed it into
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Disneyland because you know you got to
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have money to build a theme park and
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there was so much profit okay I'm just
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I'm disturbing day in here I got a fare
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to move on
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there are now two totally different
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types of buildings there now keep in
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mind obviously you know the theme park
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Disneyland was not created right after
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the film success but that's what kind of
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kind of catapulted the company the
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studios and he went for another vision
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he was a man of many visions the
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original building was destroyed in 1969
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I really wish it was still around to be
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amazing to see with my own eyes however
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there are you know there are recreations
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in two different spots on both coasts
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East and West Coast Florida and here in
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California physical address is 63 16 San
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Vicente Tribe
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there's a street sign if you step into
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Hollywood studios on their Sunset Drive
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you can see their version it's the
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smaller of the two recreations and is a
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gift shop and the other is a little
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larger but still not quite as massive as
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the original located at DCA Disney
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California Adventure and Anaheim and it
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has a restaurant in it even though there
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is no theatre and it's not in a complete
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circle like its predecessor that is
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modeled after it's pretty dang close the
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way it looks when the premiere happened
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all the guests of honor would have
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pulled up right here out of their limos
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walked in and you will see the bust of a
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statue from the same guy who created the
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Pioneer and this this little area here
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is pretty much the same on either side
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those buildings are different but this
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little courtyard it's kind of the same
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this is an aerial view from back in the
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good old days in the top-left corner
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there you will see the the park I was
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just in where the little water lake was
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and then I crossed over so right about
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there is where I'm standing so in the
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middle of the courtyard is where the big
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pillar was it reached to the heavens and
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that courtyard right there in the middle
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the sidewalks are kind of sort of the
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same okay after reshift aware I'm
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standing not exactly they have redone
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the pavement but this angle here is
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precisely this angle so the main
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entrance a lot of those famous photos of
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celebrity guests going in the entrance
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we've been right there the marquee would
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have been straight ahead
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pretty amazing to think about right and
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this screen grab of Walt Disney knack
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seeing his vehicle
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we'd have been taken right there from
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the road as he got out of his vehicle
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passed that bust and right up there kind
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of near the roofline would have been a
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huge neon sign stating this location
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directly above my head there's that
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there's the sign they got the lights
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they going up sign there and then kind
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of tilt this way a little bit would be
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that big that big pillar in the sky
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really two of the main focal points to
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line everything up well not only this
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courtyard but this bust can be seen very
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prominently in a few photographs a few
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historical photographs from that time
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period still here
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there's also another piece of
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documentation from back then that has a
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street sign in it it is around this back
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corner I believe right over here
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zoomed in just a little bit but it says
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foster Drive street sign there on the
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far end now that I've kind of zoomed out
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a little bit more so we're looking for
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this angle here on Foster the 900 South
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Block we just turned this direction just
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a bit and you will get the proper
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perspective Oh
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how things change over five decades 51
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plus years give or take it's a good
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thing historical evidence is floating
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around out there
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definitely a good thing pathway extends
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back to here and there is a rock with
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some little placards on there the
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Carthay Circle Neighborhood Association
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the Carthay circle community and on this
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side dedicated to the native sons of the
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Golden West from the Historical Society
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quite a number of beautiful trees
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through here it's very fascinating I
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didn't notice the first walkthrough but
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take a look where the original entrance
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was look at the name of this cafe right
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here this is the precise spot where you
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would have entered under the marquee how
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cool is that and what happened in there
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that film changed a lot of things you
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know if you know anything about Disney
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or if you've gone to the theme parks it
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all kind of stemmed from that success as
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I mentioned a moment ago but think of
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the attractions and the rides you know
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Snow White scary adventures or the mine
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train the new mine train or meet and
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greets with the characters that you see
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all the time in the parks based on the
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film that premiered right over my
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shoulder taken from where I am standing
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at the moment would be this
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yep where my feet are planted is where
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the photographer took that totally
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unrelated but for another movie they
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they place a wreck plane kind of head
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back across the road now forgot to
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mention something that's over there by
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the Pioneer yeah they cross back over
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and and show that spot another spot not
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the Pioneer spot but a little farther
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down than that it's always fun to
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retrace steps while taking steps you
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know because I'm walking I'm stepping so
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I'm not only retracing but taking taking
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them myself it doesn't look as
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impressive as it probably did back then
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but this little grass section median
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that runs through the middle of both
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either on coming or going the opposite
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direction traffic they had real-life
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versions created from the homes and
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different no facades seen in the
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animated Snow White
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right through here that guests for those
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who could not attend to those who did
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attend the premiere could see in real
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life all set up right here
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true story
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might be a little tough to see but I
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wanted to show it in this location
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because here's one of them that sat
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right there the Pioneer down there
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and the theater behind them gotta love
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it this one for me really drives the
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point home okay just take a moment to
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kind of let it soak in that tree there
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it's the tree over to the side is still
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there Wow
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certainly has grown quite a bit over the
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years a butterfly just went by that's
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awesome I get pretty excited about this
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stuff just kind of makes sense to hold
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this up in the proper spot don't you
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think this is about as close as it gets
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right here under the glitz and the
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glamour of old Hollywood
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could just see everybody pulling up
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right now in their limos
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no wonder people that are getting on
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that off that bus have any idea of the
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of what took place here I'm sure they've
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seen snow white
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this is where snow white the premiere
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took place
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I don't think they heard me the person
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getting out of that car definitely
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didn't hear me at 8:45 on that faithful
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evening things changed that's going to
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the next video the vlog is up look at
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this look at this they're up there we go
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I didn't I just saw that the sculptor
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has engraved well they have well the
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sculptor probably didn't engrave that
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but they have they have documented here
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for for posterity the vlog is over to
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the gallon pioneers of 49 of whom Daniel
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that's where we get the name dan was a
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leader and an outstanding example