Q: I visited Independence Hall in Philadelphia and found the floor plan to be a mirror image of the version in Buena Park. Why did Walter Knott flop the blueprints?
A: Like almost every other visitor to the Knott's replica since 1966, you assumed that the side of the building facing Beach Boulevard was the front. It isn't. In Philadelphia, they consider the less flashy northern side to be the front.
Theme park historian Ken Stack says visitors are additionally confused by "the fact that Knott's turned the Supreme Court Room into a souvenir gallery. There really is not a fully fabricated Supreme Court Room in the Knott's version."
Next time, try entering from the side facing "Knott's Lagoon" and see if that helps.
Q: How did Knott's Berry Farm end up with Cable Cars and where did they go?
A: For far more information on that subject than you ever wanted, I refer you to my recent article on Yesterland.com.
Q: Isn’t it strange that there’s a Panda Express in Ghost Town at Knott’s Berry Farm?
A: Yes, a Chinese fast-food place looks odd in the Old West. But there’s an easy fix. The building could be redecorated just a little to become Ghost Town’s Chinatown, reflecting the important role of the Chinese in early California. They built our railroads, prospected, picked crops, and started businesses. Many mining boom towns had Chinatowns, as did Anaheim, Orange, Santa Ana and purportedly Tustin.
For now, however, Knott’s Panda Express just looks like a row of shiny new Western falsefronts and the interior looks entirely modern. This is a major departure from the original aesthetic of Ghost Town as the ruin of an old boom town.
But it's not too late to "weather" the buildings and redecorate them to make the area look like an authentic Old West Chinatown. Knott’s is always at its best when it combines fun with history.
Q: Does Buena Park's Silverado Days have anything to do with Silverado Canyon?
A: It actually has more to do with Knott's Berry Farm. The name "Silverado" just sounded appropriately Old West-ish. In the late 1950s, Buena Park's downtown merchants, threatened by new shopping centers, planned to take a page from Knott's Berry Farm and give Downtown an Old West makeover. For emphasis, they also changed their annual "Home Town Days" festival into "Silverado Days." The event included a parade, barbecue dinner, square dance, and rodeo, and everyone in town dressed like cowboys for the week. More recent additions include carnival rides and contests, including horseshoes and hog-calling. (Sadly, there is no "Buena Park Days" festival in Silverado.)
[This entry was once just a very brief version of the story of the Cable Cars at Knott's. But with a much more complete version now written, I've changed the post to include a variety of items relating to Knott's history. -CJ 1/5/2023]
1 comment:
All those years I worked at Cable Car Kitchen (or CCK as we often called it) I never heard of the name "Jester's Pantry." (or that the building is as old as I am) Wow, that's great to know. Thanks!
It may go under another name now but much of the original building remains the same. I'm happy to see they kept the building after all these years.
It was a fun place to work. Made some good friends there. Even met my wife working at the berry stand at Sutter's. (Married 22 years now with four kids)
I applied for and was set to become a Cable Car operator. The job fell through I think because of the decision to end the Cable Car operations at Knott's.
One of the drawbacks to the Cable Cars at Knott's was their inability to stop on a dime. The cars were heavy and they took a little time to role to a stop. Something cable car operators had to be very careful of. I heard (this is only a rumor coming from me) that this played a part in the decision to discontinue cable car operations.
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