 Source: Apple Valley Blogs
July 1955 – 1964
LOCATION
Main Street USA – Yale & Towne’s little storefront was tucked on the southern side of Main Street, a few doors down from the Market House. Today, the Market House has absorbed this space, though it still displays a marquee reading “The Book Rest”.
EXPERIENCE
Details:
- Merchandise – souvenir keys, locks
- Unique Features – display of locks & keys throughout history, from ancient devices to modern key systems
Yale & Towne Lock Shop offered guests a somewhat unusual souvenir shopping experience. You wouldn’t find ordinary house keys and door locks here. Instead, guests would purchase souvenir keys to Sleeping Beauty’s castle!
CLOSURE
Let’s be honest, as cool as it is to purchase keys to the iconic castle…that one special souvenir isn’t enough to keep a shop on competitive Main Street alive. By the 60s, the “boring” old stores were rapidly closing, especially those owned or operated by outside sponsors. Yale & Towne Lock Shop closed its doors for good in 1964, and was quickly replaced by a jewelry shop, drawing in visitors with glittering window displays.
TRIVIA
The shop may be long gone, by Yale & Towne’s legacy remains; all doors at Disneyland use Yale locksets.
At some point, the shop morphed from Yale & Towne to just the Yale Lock Shop (as you can see in the photo). However, I have been unable to verify a date as to when the name shortened.