Image: We Celebrate The Opening of Disneyland On This Day in 1955 with Topographic Maps

Description: Our #TBT celebrates the opening of Disneyland on this day in 1955. We've provided a portion of the 1965 Anaheim, CA topographic map showing the original footprint of the park still surrounded by orange groves. Notice the Matterhorn ride is shown and labeled on the map because it was noted as a significant man-made structure. Walt Disney's magical kingdom, built on 160 acres of orange groves and walnut trees with a $17 million investment in the town of Anaheim, was just 30 minutes south of Los Angeles. On this day the press and invited guests entered the park to find an ornate castle, a rustic frontier fort and tropical jungles. Even though the day did not go smoothly with some parts of the park unfinished it has proven to be one of the most popular attractions in the world hosting 14 million visitors a year. You can view earlier maps of the area online using the Map Locator and Downloader on the USGS Store at store.usgs.gov to view the area when it was populated with just a handful of houses and miles of orchards covered the landscape. Our newest Anaheim, CA US Topo map, which includes aerial imagery, shows the addition of California Adventure Park.
Title: We Celebrate The Opening of Disneyland On This Day in 1955 with Topographic Maps
Credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/27784370@N05/14674531684/
Author: U.S. Geological Survey
Usage Terms: Creative Commons Attribution 2.0
License: CC BY 2.0
License Link: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0
Attribution Required?: Yes