Reading Eagle article July 17, 1983

Here is a July 17, 1983 article titled Sesame Place: Everything is really (rubber) ducky at the (cookie) monster of a children's attraction:

Let's take a closer look at the article:

Ernie (as well as Bert and the Honkers) had debuted in 1983.

Another great old photo with the Herry's Hand Over Water "element".

Nice shot of the Computer Gallery:

This must be the Cookie Monster "Automated Muppet" that debuted in 1982:

Here's a great shot of the (still standing) Monster Maze:

It's a real blast from the past!

Old Cars

Here is a photo of old cars kids could play on at Sesame Place. You can also see many colorfully painted doors behind the cars. You can also see a faux gas pump with the words "sub standard" on it:

Photo from Flickr

Today that area (behind Oscar's Garage) is home to picnic tables. 

Image from Google Earth

The gas pump is now in front of Oscar's Garage:

Image from Flickr

The pole with the Sub Standard sign is a little further in front of the garage, by the street:

Image from Flickr

1980 Park Brochure

Image from Henson

Here is a single page from the 1980 park brochure (page 6) that mentions a few "play elements" including Little Bird's Birdie Ride.

Inside Elmo's Eatery

Elmo's Eatery is the current name of a restaurant in Sesame Place. When the park opened it was called The Sesame Food Factory. The restaurant still has many of the design elements that were there on opening day. 

Gone are the glass walls separating the customers from the kitchen, but the area is still open and kids can watch food prepared right in front of them.

There was a faux topiary of Oscar the Grouch hanging from the ceiling earlier this year:

He has been removed recently. The topiary showed up (in a different can) outside the First Aid station at Halloween time as part of a Halloween display.

Currently the area is decorated for Christmas and Oscar hasn't returned.

Upstairs there are some great painted murals of Sesame Street characters:

Bob McGrath performing at Sesame Place

Actor Bob McGrath has been on Sesame Street since the very first episode. Today, at age 80, he still appears on the show. He has also appeared at Sesame Place:

 Image from WebShots

These images are circa 1998 and show Bob singing before a packed house at the Big Bird Theater (now Monster Rock Theater).

  Image from WebShots

  Image from WebShots

Behind him you can see the backdrops for 'Big Bird's Beach Party', the stage show that occupied the theater at that time.

 Image from Blogger

 Bob is a talented singer and has recorded many albums with (and without) Sesame Street.

Bob's Wikipedia photo was taken on a different day at Sesame Place:

Image from Wikipedia

Here are a few more images of Bob performing at Sesame Place: 

Image from Wikipedia

Image from Wikipedia

First Aid

Here is a neat look at the changes that have taken place at Sesame Place over the years. Here are two shots, one take in the early 1980s and one take about 25 years later:

 Image from YouTube

Image from Google Street Views

We can see that the landscaped area has been removed (along with the bench and trash can) and the buildings have changed color.

First Aid is still in the same location. It's attached to Cookie's Cafe (previously Sesame Cafe) which was The Computer Gallery in the 1980s.