Mid-Century Geographic

Mention the National Geographic -- It identifies you! Context and corrections welcome. I am not a historian.

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Photo by Edward S. Carmick, Jr.

From "Sierra High Trip," National Geographic, June, 1954.

A Hiker's Burro Asserts His Independence on the Bank of Evolution Creek Gentle, strong, and incomparably surefooted, the burro is the favorite beast of burden for many campers. He can relieve human backs of up to 100 pounds of food and gear. His notorious stubbornness often comes from fatigue, old age, or fear, though downright cussedness sometimes leads an animal to see what he can get away with. This hiker will not easily move his companion by tug of war; a bit of psychology, however, may do wonders. Once the donkey gets his feet wet, he will forget his objections and trot amiably across.

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Kodachrome by Philip J. Webster.

From "The Fabulous Sierra Nevada," National Geographic, June, 1954.

Thirsty shooting stars (Dodecatheon jefferyi) grow amid cloud pictures painted on the mirror of a creek in Kings Canyon National Park. Cerise blossoms, drooping from the ends of long stalks, assume the shape of feathered darts.

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Kodachrome by Douglas Whiteside.

From "The Fabulous Sierra Nevada," National Geographic, June, 1954.

Merced River Gorge, Seen from the All-Year Highway to Yosemite, Looks Like a Picture Turned Askew. California Poppies Gild the Slope

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Kodachrome by Douglas Whiteside.

From "The Fabulous Sierra Nevada," National Geographic, June, 1954.

A Rainbow Hovers Above Waterwheel Falls Dropping into the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne, Yosemite Park's Mile-deep Gorge

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Kodachromes by B. Anthony Stewart.

From "Focusing on the Tournament of Roses," National Geographic, June, 1954.

"Heigh-ho!" Carol the dwarfs Marching Across a Log Decked in Mignonette Blossoms Snow White, a live beauty, waves as her gnomish friends leave for work. They moved by individual motors. Bashful, the shy one, hid behind the cottage door. peeping out during the parade, he fell frequently. Snow White (Inset) Dresses in Red Flannels on Chilly New Year's Morn Floats for 1954's parade bore more than two million blooms; the Snow White entry alone carried some 40,000. Decorators fashioned the dwarfs' home from chrysanthemums and the tree from vanda orchids.

On January 1st, 1954, the low temp hit 41*F at 5 am. I'd be in longjohns, too.

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Kodachrome by B. Anthony Stewart.

From "Focusing on the Tournament of Roses," National Geographic, June, 1954.

Bambi, the Adventuresome Deer, Gets a Chrysanthemum Coat For the ride through Pasadena, Bambi cavorted in a forest glade with his playmates, Thumper the rabbit, Flower the skunk, and Friend Owl. A concealed motor moved the deer's head and a butterfly on his tail. Music from Walt Disney's Bambi score poured from hidden sound equipment. This float won the Mayor's Trophy for the best entry from Pasadena, climaxing a year of planning and work by the West Colorado Street neighbors. Designs submitted in the spring won approval by midsummer. Construction started in the fall. During the final 24 hours, high school students worked around the clock, gluing fresh flowers to every inch of the frame. Here they follow a painted color pattern. Bambi's body is a combination of chicken wire, cheesecloth, and plaster of paris. Although professional float building has become a thriving Pasadena industry, most of the Tournament of Roses work is done by volunteers. Citizens gave 40,000 hours to this year's parade.

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Kodachrome by B. Anthony Stewart.

From "Focusing on the Tournament of Roses," National Geographic, June, 1954.

Alice and Her Friends Drift in Wonderland The White Rabbit, blowing his trumpet, obscures the Cheshire Cat. The Mad Hatter discourses beneath a topper showing its price tag. Roses, delphiniums, bachelor's-buttons, and chrysanthemums paint the scene. Float costs ranged from $3,000 to $20,000. One decorator spent $7,000 on flowers alone.

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Kodachrome by B. Anthony Stewart.

From "New Rush to Golden California," National Geographic, June, 1954.

World's Largest Living Thing: the General Sherman Tree Though not so tall as the coast redwood, Sequoia gigantea bulks much larger. This one rises 272 feet, as high as a 25-story building. The base's 36 1/2-foot diameter would span most streets. If cut into lumber, the tree could build 29 six-room houses. Its trunk dwarfs the ranger's horse. The General Sherman tree began life as a pinhead-size seed about 3,500 years ago. The giant sequoia, though fire-scarred, has not lost its vigor. Sequoia National Park built a 30-foot platform to enable the National Geographic photographer to shoot General Sherman full in the face. He had to work fast, since winter sunlight illumined the base of the tree only 10 minutes a day, at noon.

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Kodachrome by B. Anthony Stewart.

From "New Rush to Golden California," National Geographic, June, 1954.

California poppy is the State flower. Early Spaniards called it "cup of gold" and "drowsy one."

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Kodachrome by B. Anthony Stewart.

From "New Rush to Golden California," National Geographic, June, 1954.

Spring's Magic Brush Paints California with Wild Flowers The Golden State catalogues more than 4,000 species of wild plants; even its southeastern deserts count 700. Each spring when the rains come, blooms cover fields, hills, and mountain heights, and the land runs riot with solid masses of color. Most years wild flowers are scarce in the desert, and the floral display is short. But when rain falls in abundance, blossoms spring from almost every foot of sand and rocky soil. During such a year, owl's-clover and purple lupines clothe wide, flat, and usually parched areas of the Central Valley near Bakersfield.

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Ektachrome by Josef Muench.

From "New Rush to Golden California," National Geographic, June, 1954.

Bougainvillea Blazes Across a Moon Gate in Sunny Coachella Valley

This popular and brilliant vine, named for an 18th-century French navigator, runs riot across the tropical and subtropical world. In the United States it grows in California, Florida, and on the Gulf coast, thriving in full sun.

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Kodachrome by J. Baylor Roberts.

From "New Rush to Golden California," National Geographic, June, 1954.

Golden marigolds set a field ablaze in the Lompoc Valley, a flower-seed center near Santa Barbara.

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Photo by U. S. Navy, Official.

From "New Rush to Golden California," National Geographic, June, 1954.

Mountainous Snows Trap the City of San Francisco on Ill-fated Donner Pass Drifts, piling 25 feet high in spots, nearly cover the train and its three engines. Blizzards raged around this stricken Southern pacific streamliner for three days and nights in January, 1952. Wheels froze on the tracks. Relief Diesels (right) pulled within yards, then stalled. Snowplows finally cleared U. S. Highway 40 (trench in trees) and rescued 256 passengers and crewmen. A century earlier. such snows doomed the Donner Party.

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Kodachrome by B. Anthony Stewart.

From "New Rush to Golden California," National Geographic, June, 1954.

Ribbons of Light Flood Market Street, San Francisco's Gay Wide Way This telephoto view from Twin Peaks looks 4 1/4 miles toward the old Ferry Building, whose tower was patterned after the Giralda in Seville, Spain. Twinkling "stars" are picture windows on the steep hills of Berkeley.

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Kodachrome by J. Baylor Roberts.

From "New Rush to Golden California," National Geographic, June, 1954.

Judy Long Consumes a Work of Art Masterpiece of Drake's Fancy, an ice-cream parlor in the Sir Francis Drake Hotel, is a Swan lake. Strawberries, chopped almonds, chocolate sauce, whipped cream, and three scoops of ice cream form the bulk. Pastry wings and swan's head transform the sundae into a sugary bird.

The Sir Francis Drake Hotel is now the Beacon Grand Hotel.

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Photograph by Howell Walker.

From "New Rush to Golden California," National Geographic, June, 1954.

Pagoda-roofed Street Lamps with Tinkling Bells Line Chinatown's Grant Avenue

This appears to be the block of Grant Avenue between California Street and Sacramento Street, in San Francisco.

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Ad for French Line cruises. June 1954.