SDCFans - The Unofficial Fan Site For Silver Dollar City
Silver Dollar City & Celebration City Discussion => SDC Memories/ Park History => Topic started by: shavethewhales on August 16, 2007, 12:09:11 AM
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Does anyone know more about this attraction?
All I know is that it opened with the park in 1960 as some type of fun house. It was upgraded into what is now Grandfather's Mansion. Other than the tilted room which lives on in the mansion, I don't have a clue as to what the Shack held.
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The tilted room seems to have been the main part of Slantin' Sam's. I've never seen anything other than tilted stuff in the postcards and brochures from back then. I do know that, judging from one of the brochure things, it seems that at one point, people were taken through Slantin' Sam's in groups by a guide.
I know that they had a REAL faucet in there so they could show water running "uphill", and had brooms and what-not for showing off the gravity tricks.
That's all I've been able to glean from pics/etc.
~ "Becky" Joy ~
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I've heard of this before but I don't really know anything about it. Did it used to be where Grandfather's Mansion sits now?
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Yup, and I believe the entrance began where the top of the stairs to the tilted room are in the mansion. I THINK. It's difficult to get too much info on the old layout from the handful of pics available of Slantin' Sam's. I'm thinking of asking Conductor Sam if he could highlight Slantin' Sam's on the blog the way he did Rube Dugan's Diving Bell; I'm sure there's gotta be some pics in SDC's archives that we haven't seen (like there were for the Diving Bell).
Joy
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I know the exit was a slide. Jack Herschend was the first to slide down the newly polished slide and flew for good distance. The Springfield Library has pictures of it in a book that you can’t check out. I will go sometime and see if I can scan them.
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^Ah, one more thing that can never be again, so long as the insurance companies retain their control over the park, and the nation's fun in general.
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I believe the slide was the exit to Herman the Hermit's (yes it was taken from the group in the 60's) Tree Top House. It was replaced by the Infinity Room when the theme was changed to H.H. tree top still. That was supposed to be the effect from the stills fumes.It was abandoned after a structural collapse onto the train tracks one night while the park was closed. The theme then changed to the tree top root beer factory compleat with a SDC childrens book about a young Zeak Hatfield catching a goast with taffy as bait in A cage at the base of the tree. It turned out to be a racoon. All of this was then removed and changed to huck finns hideaway.
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I've got that children's book, thanks to Ebay (and it's apparently the only mis-binding in existence, as far as I've been able to find). I've also got the "Day the Toys Came to SDC" book; still looking to get "The Littlest Mule".
I never got to see the Infinity Room; from everyone's descriptions, I would LOVE to have seen it.
~ "Becky" Joy ~
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What, are we talking about the tree house or what is now the mansion?
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thats the tree house. Incedentaly, I remember going down that slide as a young child. It had drops that were hard on the backside an I was not amused! ;D There was a stair bypass for moms and dads by the way Here is a video of it (at 17:17)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usVlfVQeDp4&feature=related
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/bizarrerecords/344483389/
Here is a poastcard from Sam's mid 60's
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^That's great Old Guy! Now I can finally say I've seen a picture of Slantin' Sam's! :)
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I do not remember the brooom but I remember the water running up hill. I know that on my first visit Grandfathers was there. I remember the slide. It was rough and I did not like it. Didn't they add a room with a bunch of little lights at one time? That was really a weird room. It was very dark and it seem like it went on forever.
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Slantin' Sam's was billed as a place where "water runs uphill and everything operates in amusing defiance of gravity."
"It is easier to scale a wall than to remain flat-footed on the floor."
(http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu218/rubedugans/IMG_1473.jpg)
(http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu218/rubedugans/IMG_1474.jpg)
One of the iconic poses in the Mining Shack was to "lean on air".
(http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu218/rubedugans/IMG_1475.jpg)
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I've never seen most of these shots of slantin' sams. Thanks for posting. I wish I could tell where in the present "mansion" these shots were taken. I do remember that a maintenance guy I worked with told me he helped to upgrade the shack to the mansion. He said Mary Herschend oversaw the work, and that he was one of the people who cut down a tree and lost his job because of it. He came back to work a day or two later, and she let him get back to the construction, warning him not to cut down any tree she didn't give permission to cut! All I know is that basement room in the mansion is what is left of the shack.
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Another great find rube!
I have always been curious about Slantin' Sams since I never got a chance to see it in person, and there are so few pictures of the attraction. Did it still have the same overall appearance on the outside? Did it still follow the same "course" inside? Oh the questions! :D
You are right Junior, Mary Herschend was very serious about her trees! I sure appreciate her attitude towards it too. The last thing we want is for Silver Dollar City to turn into a flat parking lot style theme park. I hope the current management doesn't lose sight of this philosophy.
Speaking of the shack, there is a picture posted earlier in this thread of the lady standing at an "angle" with a broom stick standing up all by itself at an "angle." That picture gets me every time! :)
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My first photo appears as if it were the entrance to John's room-from inside the tilt room, or the exit area leaving the tilt area (based on the angle of lean, I would say the exit...) and the "lean on air" shot looks most likely the region near the bed, benches. I believe the first photo would also have been around the corner/ wall from the standing broom trick.
(http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu218/rubedugans/SlantinSams.jpg)
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And if I am not mistaken, I think that the red headed gent in the above shot is none other than PETE HERSCHEND. Anyone know for sure? Could that be his future wife posing with him?
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Since we have established that the basement floor is what is left of Slantin' Sam's, then is it just me or does this picture look as if this scene is what is now the mirror exit ramp you see today. The angle looks right and notice the hand rail in the photo.
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It does.
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you guys jsut keep coming up with awesome pictures.. thanks
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Only a few more pieces left in my Mining Shack Catalogue...
# 8 on this map is the Mining Shack
(http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu218/rubedugans/IMG_1478.jpg)
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i wasnt aware of sams, i will sure walk through GM this next time down there.. I really like all the pics and ifo you guys have and give out.. then go to SDC to see if i can find/locate items.
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Nice addition rube! What does anyone know, or remember what the shack looked like from the outside? Did they have to give a face lift to turn it into the mansion?
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Having worked with a fellow who helped upgrade the shack to the mansion, I know it doubled in size and really the only stuff left from the original shack is the area with the slanting floors on the lower level of the mansion. The gag features have changed over the years, but the attraction is a classic "gravity house." I have never seen an exterior shot of the shack. The photos you have seen are all of the different gags inside the structure. Funny to note the folks are all dressed in early 1960s dress, no one was "in theme" in these post card shots. Of course, at this time, SDC was kind of "old west" themed, the "ozarks" theme came about more strongly in the later 60s.
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Agreed Junior. I have yet to find a photo of the outside of the shack. I have looked, believe me! Out of all of my items, all interior shots are either publicity shots, or postcards. No interior shots from guests of the park have come up anywhere. I began researching the "Tilt house" concepts a few years back. I pretty much knew how they worked...but I had to look up more information.
From the Grandfather's Mansion thread
http://sdcfans.com/forums/index.php?topic=357.0 (http://sdcfans.com/forums/index.php?topic=357.0)
here are the pages that talk about HOW the houses work.
Rube Dugans wrote:Re: Grandpa,s Mansion
SPOILER ALERT!!! IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO KNOW THE PHYSICS/REASONING BEHIND THE ANOMOLIES WITHIN THE GRANDFATHER'S MANSION DO NOT FOLLOW THE LINKS ABOUT TILT HOUSES.
Otherwise Enjoy!
www.dafe.org/attractions/history/tilthouse/tilthouse.php
http://www.sandlotscience.com/MysterySpots/Mystery_Spots_1.htm