FindingMickey.com

Buena Vista Street - Disney Brothers Studio

Disney Brothers Studio - Buena Vista Street: The original Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio was founded by Walt and Roy on October 16, 1923. The small backroom studio's first contract with M.J. Winkler was to produce the Alice Comedies. In 1926, the brothers renamed the company The Walt Disney Studios, after moving to a larger lot on Hyperion Avenue in Los Angeles' Silver Lake District.

Buena Vista Street - Mortimer's Market

Buena Vista Street - Mortimer's Market: After losing the rights to Oswald the Lucky Rabbit in 1928, Walt Disney created a cartoon mouse named Mortimer. Walt's wife, Lillian, disliked the name Mortimer and suggested they call the new character Mickey.

Buena Vista Street - Mortimer's Market

Buena Vista Street - Mortimer's Market: Instead of the pretentious sounding Mortimer Mouse, Lillian convinced Walt Disney to go with the more jovial name Mickey. After debuting in 1928 Mickey's popularity grew. The name Mortimer bounced around in Walt Disney's head until 1936. A tall, thin Mortimer Mouse first appeared as Mickey's nemesis in the cartoon short Mickey's Rival (June, 20, 1936).

Buena Vista Street - Los Feliz Five & Dime Flag

Buena Vista Street - Los Feliz Five & Dime: The American flag in the Five & Dime window has 48 stars, a detail tied to Buena Vista Street's 1920's & 30's theming. The United States flew the 48 star flag from July 4, 1912 to July 3, 1959. Adoption of the 48 star standard followed Arizona's induction as the 48th state and preceded Alaska's statehood on January 3, 1959.

Buena Vista Street - Personal Mailboxes

A set of personal mailboxes along DCA's Buena Vista Street features a few familiar names. From left to right the names read; S. Yoshiwara, E. Valiant, T. Ogelvie and P. Peabody.

S. Yoshiwara - Staci Yoshiwara, a devoted Disney fan and former Cast Member who passed away before Buena Vista Street's completion.

E. Valiant - Eddie Valiant, the drunken detective, played by Bob Hoskins in Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988).

T. Ogelvie - Theodore Ogelvie, Don Knotts' character from Walt Disney's The Apple Dumpling Gang (1975) and The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again (1982).

P. Peabody - Peavy Peabody, Cliff Seacord's best friend and expert mechanic from Walt Disney Studios' The Rocketeer (1991). Incidentally, P. Peabody could also be Officer Percival P. Peabody, one of the citizens from Disney's Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida.

Buena Vista Street - Julius Katz & Sons - Window Display Typewriter

Julius Katz & Sons - Buena Vista Street: The antique typewriter, on display in the Julius Katz & Sons' storefront window, apparently still works.

Buena Vista Street - Atwater School of Art & Animation

Atwater School of Art & Animation - Buena Vista Street: The 2nd floor Atwater Art Studio is named for Los Angeles' Atwater Village, an area frequented by Walt Disney and employees from the early Hyperion Avenue studio in Silverlake. The instructors listed are Walt's Nine Old Men - a nickname for a core group of Disney's animators, Les Clark, Eric Larson, Ollie Johnston, Frank Thomas, Ward Kimball, Marc Davis, Milt Kahl, John Lounsbery and Wolfgang Reitherman.

Buena Vista Street - Atwater Ink and Paint Art Supply - YMCA

Buena Vista Street - Atwater Ink and Paint Art Supply - Bulletin Board

Buena Vista Street - Atwater Ink and Paint Art Supply - Bulletin Board

Buena Vista Street - Atwater Ink and Paint Art Supply: An ad for piano lessons on the art store's bulletin board makes several references to the Disney animated feature, 101 Dalmatians (1961).

Buena Vista Street - Atwater Ink and Paint Art Supply - Bulletin Board

Buena Vista Street - Atwater Ink and Paint Art Supply - Bulletin Board

Buena Vista Street - Elias & Company - Flora's Beauty Parlor

Flora's Beauty Parlor - Elias & Company - Buena Vista Street: The signs for the fictitious Flora's Beauty Parlor inside Elias & Company, refer to Walt Disney's mother, Flora Call Disney.

Buena Vista Street - Elias & Company - Walt Decorative Moulding

The black & gold decorative moulding in the Elias & Company Men's Department contains a hidden message. Within the elaborate art deco design are the letters W-A-L-T, hidden in honor of Walt Disney.

Buena Vista Street - Elias & Company - Walt Disney

Walt Disney - Elias & Company - Buena Vista Street: A gray men's suit on display in the Elias & Company balcony is a replica of the suit worn by Walt Disney to the Hollywood premiere of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937).

Buena Vista Street - Elias & Company - The Rocketeer

Buena Vista Street - Old Oak Tree

According to Cast Members, the old Oak tree at the end of Buena Vista Street was transplanted from behind the Disneyland Hotel, giving DCA a living piece of 1955.

Buena Vista Street - Fiddler, Fifer & Practical Cafe - Bulletin Board

Buena Vista Street - Fiddler, Fifer & Practical Cafe: The FF&P Cafe bulletin board features a flyer for singing lessons with Adriana, a reference to Disney Legend Adriana Caselotti, Snow White's original singing voice.

Buena Vista Street - Fiddler, Fifer & Practical Cafe - Bulletin Board

Buena Vista Street - Fiddler, Fifer & Practical Cafe - Bulletin Board

Buena Vista Street - Red Car Trolley

Buena Vista Street's Red Car Trolleys were based on the popular light rail cars operated by the Pacific Electric Railway. When Walt Disney in the early 1920's, the Red Cars were a transportation fixture throughout Los Angeles.

In 1901, Henry Hunington (Pacific Electric Railway) took control of the Los Angeles Consolidated Light Railway and extended rail routes throughout Los Angeles County and into the adjacent Orange, Riverside and San Bernadino Counties. On April 8, 1961 the Red Car Trolley made its last trip on the line connecting Los Angeles and Long Beach.

To acknowledge its history, the Port of Los Angeles operates a restored 1.5-mile trolley route called the Waterfront Red Car Line.

Buena Vista Street - Red Car Trolley #623

Red Car Trolley #623 - Buena Vista Street: Red Car Trolley #623 carries a double reference. The 23 refers to 1923, an important year for Walt Disney. His Laugh-O-Gram Studios in Kansas City, Missourri had gone bankrupt in July, so in August of 1923 Disney moved west, deciding to try his luck making films in Hollywood, California.

The 600 in 623 comes from ithe trolley car's historic model number. Red Car #623 is patterned after the St. Louis Car Company's 600-series of trolleys that were used in Hollywood by the Pacific Electric Railway in the early 1920's.

Buena Vista Street - Red Car Trolley #717

Red Car Trolley #717 - Buena Vista Street: Red Car Trolley #717 pays tribute to July 17, 1955, Disneyland's Opening Day.

The numbering for 717 is also inspired by the trolley's type, since it is patterned after the St. Louis Car Company's 700-series of trolleys, used in city areas by the Pacific Electric Railway in the mid 1920's.