History of Main Street Prologue On this page you can find some tidbits and snippets into the history of Disneyland’s Main Street. Over the last 40 years, Main Street has become the embodiment and heart of Disneyland with it’s continued since of tradition and preservation of Walt’s dreams. Here you may gain some insights onto those traditions and learn some of the secrets of Main Street USA.
Main Street Facts and Figures
The concept of Disneyland’s Main Street had its beginning when Walt visited a railroad fair in Chicago in 1948. As recorded by the Nickel Tour this would in fact be the start of Disneyland as in the coming weeks Walt sent out memos describing his new dream, but it was also the start of Main Street.
Main Street, which was the concept that launched Disneyland was the first of the individual lands do be designed. Studio animator Ken Anderson was given a small office locked away from his fellow animators as he toiled away created the perfect small American town, for what was at the time a small park across the street from the Burbank Studios.
Main Street was Walt’s tribute to his old boyhood town of Marcline, Missouri. It would be a scaled down version of a real working town, with a train station, fire station, and city hall. As an added plus it would also create a very familiar home like feel to it, as it was the first land that visitors would encounter upon every trip to the Magic Kingdom.
As most people know, the buildings on Main Street are scaled to 7/8 of their original size. This is to give the buildings an illusion called forced perspective. Forced perspective gives the buildings on Main Street the sense of being taller than they really are. The buildings, which appear to be over three stories tall in places, are in actuality only one and a half stories tall. Forced perspective also plays apart in creating a sense of the length of Main Street. Buildings near Town Square are built slightly bigger than those near the plaza. Looking north up Main Street this gives the appearance of a long Main Street with a small castle at the end, while looking south down Main Street, Town Square (and the exits) seem closer.
Points of Interest:
Concepts:
- Other Notable Buildings
- #103 Carriage Place Clothing
- #101 Emporium
- #107 Crystal Arcade
- #115 New Century Timepieces
- #201 Carnation Café
- #220 China Closet
- #210 Disney Clotheirs
- #104 Market House North
- #100 Main Street Inn
