FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail

The odd structures contained within

The problem with Uncle Walt’s grand designs for Disneyland was that they all came at a cost. With only $17 million to invest in the total project, Imagineers had to scrounge for change in the couch cushions whenever they could. Their creativity constantly warred against the financial outlay of the best ideas. What happened is that many people involved with construction learned how to stretch their budget. They employed their creativity in new ways, ones involving bargain hunting.

Have you ever admired the magnificent gas lamps that line the streets of Disneyland? They’re the real deal. One of Disney’s Imagineers discovered them in Baltimore, Maryland. The lamps are authentic 19th century antiques. What’s most impressive about them isn’t the style, though. It’s the price. A set designer for Disney who had transitioned to park construction discovered the pieces.

Since they were more than 150 years old back in the 1950s, the lamps were classified as scrap metal, and he acquired the lot of gas lamps…for three cents per pound. Yes, you pay more for light bulbs than Disney originally paid for the historic lamps that add to the idyllic setting of Main Street, U.S.A. As an aside, the person who found this deal was Emile Kuri. Fittingly, he won an Academy Award for Best Art Direction for 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea roughly three months prior to the opening of the park. He had a great 1955.

Oddly, the lamp posts aren’t even the strangest or cheapest acquisition that still exists at Disneyland’s Main Street, U.S.A. today. The next time you study the flag pole, pay special attention to the black post that comprises the base. You’ll notice that it has a different style and structure. That’s not accidental. Kuri was driving around town when he noticed a car crash had upended an antique street lamp. It was now junk to any sane person who didn’t win a couple of Oscars for Best Art Direction.

Kuri, on the other hand, saw an opportunity. He offered a whopping five dollars for the displaced street lamp and even did the (literal) heavy lifting himself to carry it away from the scene of the accident. That ornamental lamp is now the base of flag pole. You’ve spent more on a cheeseburger at Disneyland than the corporation did in buying the object.

 
FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail

Add new comment

About Theme Park Tourist

Theme Park Tourist is one of the web’s leading sources of essential information and entertaining articles about theme parks in Orlando and beyond.

We are one of the world’s largest theme park guide sites, hosting detailed guides to more than 80 theme parks around the globe.

Find Out More About Us...

Plan Your Trip

Our theme park guides contain reviews and ratings of rides, restaurants and hotels at more than 80 theme parks worldwide.

You can even print them.

Start Planning Now...