When designing the Germany Pavilion for EPCOT in Walt Disney World, Imagineers hoped to recreate the feeling of the German platz or plaza. As such, the facades of the shops and dining locations surrounding the central fountain depicting St. George and the Dragon, allude to architecture found in Frankfurt and Rothenburg, in addition to the obvious reference to the Freiburg Kaufhaus in the façade on the right side of the pavilion.
The Norway Pavilion in World Showcase was intended to be a representation of the real nation of Norway, so when Imagineers were tasked with incorporating an imaginary kingdom, they did so with a faithfulness to the real-world location it would sit amidst.
Soon, the style was present across the country in the form of diners, gas stations, train terminals, and commercial buildings, but perhaps one of the most famous examples of Streamline Moderne was built in 1935 at the corner of Fairfax Avenue and Beverly Boulevard in Los Angeles.
When it was decided that Italy would serve as inspiration for one of the World Showcase pavilions in Epcot at Walt Disney World, the architecture of Venice was chosen to be featured at the forefront of the pavilion.
As guests enter the World Showcase Promenade, it would be nearly impossible to miss the impressive “stone” structure with the high-pitched, copper-patinaed roof which towers over the first pavilion on the right side of the lagoon. Known to Epcot as the Hotel du Canada, it sits atop one of the park’s premier restaurants, Le Cellier.
In the mid-19th Century, Napoleon III charged George-Eugene Haussman, Prefect of the Seine, with recreating the center of Paris. What followed was decades of massive
The Torii Gate at Itsukushima Shrine rises from the Seto Inland Sea and appears almost as if it is floating alongside the island of Miyajima. Conveying a quite strength, the structure serves to distinguish between the sacred and the commonplace.
Liberty Square, perhaps more than any other land in Magic Kingdom, is populated by locations which are real, historically inspired, or imagined.
The east side’s Plaza Restaurant, with its understated charm, is a continuation of the turn-of-the-century, Victorian architecture, but the west side’s Crystal Palace is more of a diversion. Grand in its appearance, with its enumerable windows and glass pane domes, it creates an appropriate transition to the British and French colonial architecture of the Adventureland facades.
Upon learning the history of The Gasparilla Inn, it is plain to see how this hotel, and others like it, served as thematic source material for Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Spa. However, this oasis in Boca Grande served as more than just a nonmaterial inspiration. Its exterior appearance is actually represented on the grounds of Disney’s flagship resort.
“Hollywood, 1939. Amid the glitz and the glitter of a bustling young movie town at the center of its golden age…” …stand two silent sentinels guarding the way to the homes among the hills.
Sadie Mae is a world traveler. She crossed the Atlantic Ocean and traversed much of the contiguous United States. She spent time in a museum and even had plans to be part of a daily show in Walt Disney World….but that is getting a bit ahead of the story.