Disneyland

rthansen

From 1955 to about 1962 Yale & Towne operated the Yale Lock Shop on Main Street in Disneyland. Then had a collection of antique locks and safes there. When the shop was closed, acording to Disneyland, Yale took back all their property. The people at what now is Yale have no Idea what happened to these displays. Any information would be most helpful.

Dean Nickel

You are going to have to talk to some of the old sales reps to be sure… I have a feeling that they never made it back to Yale. They were most likely sidetracked to someones personal collection. I have heard of some stuff like that on normal convention displays. Heck Abloy’s large (the key was 2 foot long) fully funtional disk lock is missing last I heard and that was from a normal convention. Start with the Yale reps and find out who in the US has been with them the longest… and start there.

Paul Prescott

I will bring this thread to the attention of BBE, he may know the answer.

Paul

Here is his reply :

The Yale lock collection was compiled by Charles Courtney around the end
of W.W.II. Most of this collection is intact and on display at their
world headquarters in Monroe, NC, USA. When I was last there, display
cases lined the hallways and included seven masterpiece locks. The
oldest lock in the collection was used by a King Darius and is inlaid
with silver and ivory. I wish I could remember the year of that lock
but can only remember that it was BC.

Some few items from the collection have been donated to the Lock Museum
of America in Terryville, CT, including the original patent model for
the mortise cylinder. Some items from the collection were taken by
Eaton executives and actually installed on their houses in the Monroe
area and not likely to be recovered. The large plastic cylinder models
were discarded in 1991 and one of them is in my own collection.

The collection of catalogs, advertising samples and other paper records
of historical interest were discarded in 1992 and lost forever as they
were under 6 feet of earth fill before I heard about it 500 miles away
in TN where I had been transferred.

One gentleman who could answer specifically regarding collection items
from the booth at Disney would be a now retired employee Chuck Charter,
who began his employment with Yale at that booth.

Hope that helps,
BBE.

Dean Nickel

What a crime! All that history out the window…. :evil:

McGreevy-Key

Greetings to all,

In searching for information regarding the Yale Shop on Main St., Disneyland, I came across the posting here, regarding same. My father, W.K. McGreevy, was the West Coast Gen. Mgr. for Yale during the construction of Disneyland. We lived on Ohio St., Anaheim, California during that time to be closer to the project. I am in search of any existing photos of the shop, its interior, and any other information related to the running, displays, or personnel who worked there during its existence. I am in hope of finding some old photos connecting my father with the shop, as we summered so frequently there after moving to Fremont, California then Fullerton. I’d also ask your assistance, if possible, in locating Mr. Chuck Charter to pay my respects. He is an old family friend.

Thank you.

Kindest regards,
Karen L. McGreevy-Key

PS. For those who are collecting antique Yale keys, believe it or not, I discovered a padlock intact with key, and functional on ebay last night. As far as I know it is still there. Search for Yale locks specifically…