There's been a lot of concern lately with Knott's Berry Farm's demolition of some of their famous Main Street Ghost Town buildings. The company claims that they are not removing the buildings, but are remodelling them due to damage associated with age. The reason many old time Knott's fans are worried is because in the past few years many of the atmospheric attractions have been removed and replaced with roller coasters. Gone are the Mystery shack, the Church of reflections (moved to outside the park), and the old pan for gold area. The Boot Hill graveyard now has an ugly roller coaster blocking the view of the giant old west mural. Hopefully these buildings will come back better than ever.
This view is of the barber shop, but there's more than meets the eye here, as the outlaw one eye Ike is sitting in the chair while a wanted poster hangs above.
The outside of the building with a few slats for guests to peek in.
A closer shot of the two figures. These obviously are not wax figures, but have the same function as the traditional figure. These wooden characters have to last out in the elements, and these often hot buildings.
The barber should be sporting a cigar, as evidenced by the space between his lips. Even without it, I enjoy the expression on his face.
Another character sitting off to the side.
Sorry for the blurry sign. Here's what it says:
Barber Shop
Typical of tonsorial establishments of the Old West is this old time barber shop. Notice the rack of old mugs. . . Each individual customer had his own private mug and personal soap. Note also the cow's tail hanging on the wall. An early day barber cleaned his comb by dragging it down this cow's tail.
Having a shoe shine boy in a barber shop was a common practice in the old days, bringing the miner and cowboy a touch of the sophisticated life in the big city.
This week, Madame Tussaud's Las Vegas unveiled their newest figure. Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman now has his own wax doppelganger, and is immortalized along with the likes of Robert Schuller, Sammy Davis JR. and Hugh Hefner. The figure (that's it on the left) looks more realistic than the actual man. At least less slouchy.
A close up of the figure giving the thumbs up to everybody. I'm not sure how long they keep local celebrities in their museums, but I'm sure it will be for as long as he is in office.
