Today I present three consecutively shot images of the Disneyland Tomorrowland Corridor of Murals, designed by Mary Blair. Shot in September 1976, our vintage photographer must have really been taken with these. Installed when Tomorrowland was re-imagined and re-christened in 1967, they definitely bring to mind Blair’s nearby attraction, it’s a small world.
The first two images show the north mural (on the CircleVision 360 attraction). While the dancing children in Tomorrowland may seem a bit out of context, the satellites at the top representing global communication kind of fit.
And who wouldn’t want to see children from all over getting along in the future?
Below is the south mural, installed on the Adventure thru Inner Space attraction.
The sun portion is truly representative of some of the temperatures lately!
There are conflicting stories about the status of these murals. Glass half full reports say that the murals are intact underneath the current c&*p that was placed on top. Glass half empty photos show that during the installation of the current c&*p large portions of Blair’s art was either removed or drilled through to make way for its uninspired replacement. I believe you can still see Blair’s Grand Canyon Concourse Mural in the Walt Disney World Contemporary Hotel, as shown in my photos from January 2010:
Not only did Blair’s designs include bold colors and shapes, the tiles were…well, tactile. In the detail image below you can see the textures within the design themselves.
If you prefer Blair’s two dimensional art, here’s a concept art piece she did for Disney’s “Cinderella” (1950:
See more Mary Blair Disneyland/WDW photos at my main website.
Satellites, is that what those were. Thank you. Even as a kid I knew the art was neat, but didn't figure how something so "it's a small world" was in Tomorrowland. For some reason it reminded me of the "behind the counter art" at every Sambo's restaurant, something very Mary Blairish that portrayed Sambo playing with a tiger. This part of Tomorrowland felt like I was walking through a giant Sambo's restaurant. I'd like to think that the murals are in tact and might one day be restored. If I were a betting man, I'd say 2067.
ReplyDeleteBy 2067 I am sure there will be something found to be offensive about the Blair murals and they will have been completely destroyed.
ReplyDelete