Art Corner

Last updated

Art Corner was a retail store that operated at Disneyland amusement park in Anaheim, California, from 1955 until 1966. [1] The store was located in the Tomorrowland area of the park.

Contents

History

When Disneyland opened in Anaheim, California, on July 17, 1955, a temporary location for the store was set up at the end of Main Street, U.S.A., in a striped tent adjacent to the Red Wagon Inn. It offered souvenirs and Disneyana. [2] [3] The permanent location opened on September 15, 1955. [4]

Store offerings

One of The Art Corner's main claims to fame is as an outlet for Disney animation cels. These collector-prized items had once been available through the Courvoisier Gallery [5] (from 1938 until 1946), but had been off the market until Disneyland opened in 1955. [6] Disney collector Rob Richards notes "The Art Corner rescued thousands of cels from being destroyed and saved them for posterity." [2] Other offerings that had an immense impact on future artists were a series of Cartoon Character Guides on drawing Mickey Mouse, Goofy, Pluto, Jiminy Cricket, Chip 'n Dale, Donald Duck, flip books, and animation kits. [2]

Art of Animation exhibit

On May 28, 1960, an exhibit, The Art of Animation, opened adjacent to the store. It contained artwork and other items, including a thaumatrope, drawn from an international traveling display that had promoted the release of Sleeping Beauty. It closed on September 5, 1966, to make way for the renovation of Tomorrowland. [7] The Art Corner permanently closed on September 6, 1966, also to make way for the renovation. [8]

Legacy

The Art Corner was a precursor of the Disneyana shop that sold vintage Disneyana which operated on Main Street U.S.A. from 1976 to 1986. The current Main Street Disneyana shop (opened in May 1998) solely sells books and limited edition merchandise/art prints. Unlike its predecessors, this shop does not offer vintage Disneyana products. [9]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Disneyland Resort</span> Entertainment complex in Anaheim, California, United States

The Disneyland Resort, commonly known as Disneyland, is an entertainment resort in Anaheim, California. It is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Parks, Experiences and Products division and is home to two theme parks, three hotels, and a shopping, dining, and entertainment district known as Downtown Disney.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Downtown Disney</span> Shopping complex at the Disneyland Resort

Downtown Disney is an outdoor shopping center located at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. It opened on January 12, 2001; a component of the Disneyland Resort expansion project alongside the Disney California Adventure theme park and Disney's Grand Californian Hotel & Spa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PeopleMover (Disneyland)</span> Former attraction at Disneyland

The PeopleMover, sometimes referred to as the Goodyear PeopleMover and WEDWay PeopleMover, was a transport attraction that opened on July 2, 1967, in Tomorrowland at Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. Guests boarded small trains that ran on elevated tracks for a "grand circle tour" above Tomorrowland. The term "people mover", now in wider use to describe many forms of automated public transport, was first coined as the name for this attraction. PeopleMover was originally only a working title, but became attached to the project over time. The attraction was initially seen as a serious prototype for intercity public transport. The ride closed on August 21, 1995, but its station and track infrastructure—which it shared with its short-lived successor, Rocket Rods—remain standing as of 2023. A second PeopleMover opened on July 1, 1975 in Tomorrowland at the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida near Orlando, Florida, and is still operating today.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">World of Disney</span> Retail stores operated by Disney

The World of Disney is the flagship chain of specialty retail stores owned and operated by the merchandise division of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. Currently, there are four locations that sell Disney products.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tomorrowland (Disney Parks)</span> Themed land at Disney theme parks

Tomorrowland is one of the many "themed lands" featured at all of the Magic Kingdom styled Disney theme parks around the world owned or licensed by The Walt Disney Company. Each version of the land is different and features numerous attractions that depict views of the future. Disneyland Park in Paris includes a similar area called Discoveryland, which shares some elements with other Tomorrowlands but emphasizes visions of the future inspired by Jules Verne.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Disneyland Railroad</span> Steam railroad system in Disneyland

The Disneyland Railroad (DRR), formerly known as the Santa Fe & Disneyland Railroad, is a 3-foot narrow-gauge heritage railroad and attraction in the Disneyland theme park of the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California, in the United States. Its route is 1.2 miles (1.9 km) long and encircles the majority of the park, with train stations in four different park areas. The rail line, which was constructed by WED Enterprises, operates with two steam locomotives built by WED and three historic steam locomotives originally built by Baldwin Locomotive Works. The ride takes roughly 18 minutes to complete a round trip on its main line when three trains are running, and 20 minutes when four trains are running. Two to four trains can be in operation at any time, three on average.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Skyway (Disney)</span> Former amusement ride in Disney parks

The Skyway was a gondola lift attraction at Disneyland, at the Magic Kingdom, and at Tokyo Disneyland. Since all versions of this attraction took riders back and forth between Fantasyland and Tomorrowland, the route from Tomorrowland was called Skyway to Fantasyland, and the route from Fantasyland was called Skyway to Tomorrowland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Disneyana</span> Walt Disney Company ephemera

Disneyana is a term for a wide variety of collectible toys, books, animation cels, theme-park souvenirs, ephemera and other items produced and/or licensed by The Walt Disney Company. Examples range from products featuring virtually every Disney character—such as Mickey Mouse, Tinker Bell and others—to vintage stock certificates and company checks bearing the signature of Walt Disney.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Disney Gallery</span> Attraction at Disneyland

The Disney Gallery is an attraction and merchandise location at Disneyland in Anaheim, California, United States. It opened at its current location on Main Street, U.S.A. on October 2, 2009. From 1987-2007 it was located in New Orleans Square above the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction. The Gallery is a changing exhibition area focused primarily on artwork from Walt Disney Imagineering created in the designing of the Disneyland theme park. Merchandise relating to the current exhibition is usually available for purchase as well.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Disneyland Hotel (California)</span> Hotel at Disneyland Resort

The Disneyland Hotel is a resort hotel located at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California, owned by the Walt Disney Company and operated through their Parks, Experiences and Products division. Opened on October 5, 1955, as a motor inn owned and operated by Jack Wrather under an agreement with Walt Disney, the hotel was the first to officially bear the Disney name. Under Wrather's ownership, the hotel underwent several expansions and renovations over the years before being acquired by Disney in 1988. The hotel was downsized to its present capacity in 1999 as part of the Disneyland Resort expansion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flying Saucers (attraction)</span> Former attraction at Disneyland

Flying Saucers was an amusement ride at Disneyland in Anaheim, California from 1961 to 1966. The ride was manufactured by Arrow Development and National Research Associates, Inc.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bob Gurr</span> American amusement ride designer and Imagineer

Robert Henry "Bob" Gurr is an American amusement ride designer and Imagineer. His most famous work was for Walt Disney's Disneyland Park, and its subsequent sister parks. Gurr is said to have designed most, if not all, of the ride vehicles of the Disneyland attractions when the park opened, including Autopia, The Haunted Mansion, the Disneyland Monorail, the Submarine Voyage, and the Matterhorn Bobsleds. He was named a Disney Legend in 2004. He also worked on the King Kong Encounter animatronic for Universal Studios Hollywood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tony Baxter</span> American amusement ride designer

Tony Wayne Baxter is the former senior vice president of creative development in Walt Disney Imagineering and was responsible for creating designs and carrying out the construction of attractions all over the world. He announced his departure from his full-time position to become a part-time adviser on February 1, 2013, which was also his 66th birthday. During his 47-year tenure with the company, he oversaw the construction of multiple contemporary Disney theme park attractions, including Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Star Tours, Splash Mountain, The Indiana Jones Adventure, and Journey Into Imagination, and served as the executive producer of Disneyland Paris.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Disneyland</span> Amusement park in Anaheim, California

Disneyland is a theme park at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. It was the first theme park opened by The Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney, and opened on July 17, 1955.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">D23 (Disney)</span> Official Disney fan club

D23: The Official Disney Fan Club, also known as Disney D23 or simply D23, is the official fan club for The Walt Disney Company. Founded in 2009, the organization is known mainly for its biennial exposition event, the D23 Expo. The name D23 refers to D for Disney and 23 for 1923, which is the year Walt Disney founded the company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Main Street, U.S.A.</span> Themed land at Disney theme parks

Main Street, U.S.A. is the first "themed land" inside the main entrance of the many theme parks operated or licensed by The Walt Disney Company around the world. Main Street, U.S.A. is themed to resemble American small towns during the early 20th Century. In Tokyo Disneyland, it is called World Bazaar and covered by a glass Victorian-style conservatory roof to shield guests from the weather there. At Shanghai Disneyland, it is called Mickey Avenue and is orientated to help introduce visitors to Disney characters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Disney utilidor system</span> Utility tunnel system at Magic Kingdom

In Disney theme parks, the utilidor system is a system of some of the world's largest utility tunnels, mainly for Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom in Florida. The utilidors, short for utility corridors, are a part of Disney's "backstage" (behind-the-scenes) area. They allow Disney employees to perform park support operations, such as trash removal, and for costumed characters to quickly reach their destinations on the surface out of the sight of guests to avoid ruining the illusion that is being created.

Paul Edward Wenzel was an American artist, best known for his career with The Walt Disney Company, creating illustrations for movie posters and retail merchandise.

References

  1. Strodder, Chris (2017). The Disneyland Encyclopedia (3rd ed.). Santa Monica Press. p. 55. ISBN   978-1595800909.
  2. 1 2 3 "The Disneyland Art Corner". 2719 HYPERION. February 23, 2009. Archived from the original on August 1, 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  3. "The Story of the Red Wagon Inn (Wade's Wayback Machine) by Wade Sampson". Mouseplanet.com. July 4, 2007.
  4. Gennawey, Sam (2014). The Disneyland Story: The Unofficial Guide to the Evolution of Walt Disney's Dream. Keen Communications. p. 111. ISBN   978-1-62809-012-3.
  5. Acme Animation Galleries/Special Courvoisier Page Archived April 17, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  6. "CELabrating Disney Ink and Painters (Wade's Wayback Machine) by Wade Sampson". Mouseplanet.com. April 21, 2010.
  7. "The Art of Disney (Wade's Wayback Machine) by Wade Sampson". Mouseplanet.com. October 11, 2006.
  8. "Chronology of Disneyland Theme Park by Ken Polsson". February 24, 2012.
  9. "The History of the Official Disneyana Convention". Mousetreasures.com (archived). September 15, 2007. Archived from the original on September 15, 2007.