Welcome to the construction site of "New" Tomorrowland. This was the Tomorrowland of Walt Disney's dreams, since it was the land that he had to give the shaft to at the last minute in order to stay on deadline and not borrow any more money from the banks.
Zooming in a little closer to this 1966 image, we can see that the Peoplemover is already in place.
Just one more step closer and we can read the sign: "we're building a new Tomorrowland grand opening 1967."
2 more construction shots from this batch to share.
Zooming in, could that be Walt in the blue cardigan? Let's just say it is and I won't argue.
In this one, you can see the Carousel of Progress attraction building coming along nicely.
The GE sponsorship logo is already prominently on display.
More "New" Tomorrowland photos at my main website.
Oh, man...JG is going to LOVE these!
ReplyDeleteDave, that really does look like Walt in the blue cardigan, but I wonder if his health was good enough to let him go on site at that point. I'll concede the point, though, because I really want it to be Walt. He's definitely there in spirit.
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ReplyDeleteIf you reverse engineer it (imagineer it?)...why would anyone take a oddball photo of random scaffolding and some guys rear end?...unless the photographer KNOWS that is Walt and he's taking a picture him and not the construction area. Ya, I'll go with that.
ReplyDeleteI'm a believer! Tomorrowland is in such need of Disney's talents today. KS
ReplyDeleteI actually think it is Walt. The frame and the stance are very distinctive! So, count one more vote for "IS."
ReplyDeleteWow, how did I overlook this post? Pays to go back and check.
ReplyDeleteThis is wonderful stuff, Dave. There is so much complicated concrete work in the New Tomorrowland, and the formwork to produce it is even more complicated.
Remember, formwork has to produce the "negative" image of the final cast-in-place concrete work. It's akin to the description of Ginger Rogers dancing, "doing everything Fred Astaire did, backwards, in heels". It's both an art and a science since the woodwork has to be engineered to resist the loads imposed by placing the concrete, as well as the weight of the structure. Then it's all torn down and disposed of. Some of this support work is visible in pics 4 and 7.
Also, must remember, all these complex 3D curves were invented and detailed out before CAD drafting. This work is a cinch with today's electronic power tools, but in 1965, when these designs were conceived, all the drawings were produced by hand tools and slide rule calculations. Now, CAD drawings can be inserted into 3D milling machines to produce the formwork directly.
I've seen some construction drawings for the central PM tower and the Y-intersection track at the entrance (visible in the first 3 pics); they are nothing less than amazing, and the wooden formwork to produce those shapes must have bordered on cabinetwork quality. It's just brilliant work by all the parties involved. And completely overlooked by the architectural profession of the time because "Disneyland".
As for the man in the photo, I'm convinced that's Walt.
JG