Tuesday, July 5, 2011

45 Years Ago on the 4th of July

I started to do this post yesterday, the 4th of July, but I didn't have my disk with the images with me. So here it is a day late.
July 4, 1966 was the dedication of Independence Hall at Knott's Berry Farm. This was the realization of Walter Knott's dream. The following are some articles about the construction and some of the promotional materials.
First up is the back cover of the July/August 1965 issue of The Knotty Post showing Walter Knott presenting the plans for Independence Hall to the Buena Park Building Department.


Next is an item is from the January/February 1966 issue of The Knotty Post with an article about the making of the bricks.



And the next article is from the March/April 1966 The Knotty Post about putting on the finishing touches.


The next items are of the dedication program.










The next two items are a couple of three panel brochures. The first one was probably made up before the Hall was finished since it has the concept drawing on the front. The second is in color, has photos and there's a date of 7/69 on it.





The last printed item is the Independence Hall souvenir booklet.

















I'm going to finish up with a couple of nice photos of Independence Hall.








 

4 comments:

  1. I have had a fun time looking thru your blog. What great history you are sharing. Thanks

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  2. Great post, Allen.
    The dedication of Independence Hall is a memory that will always stick with me. I watched it from atop my father's shoulders that July 4th.

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  3. So much content in one post!

    Especially nice to see Hub Chamberlain (who was something of a local historian for Buena Park), Bud Hurlbut, and that watercolor concept art for Independence Hall by my old pal Jerry Nicholson. (I'd still love to see that painting in full color someday.)

    Thanks as always!

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