OH NO HE DIDN’T – Where Was Walt Disney Born

Welcome to OH NO HE DIDN’T, a collection of the Internet’s most outrageous statements of “facts” about Walt Disney,  (No, he isn’t frozen. Clarence Birdseye sleeps alone.) as well as additional information and resources that can help you clear up any really, really idiotic misunderstandings.

for the first installment, let’s start by killing two birds with one stone. Was Walt Disney born in Marceline, Missouri? Was Disneyland’s Main Street USA based upon Marceline?

Where to start? Press play below for background music to set the right mood . . .

Though Walt Disney’s sentimentality for Marceline, MO, may have played an important role, it was Designer Harper Goff’s hometown of Fort Collins, CO, which Main Street USA was more likely modeled after. As you can see in the photos below, the buildings look more like those in the Colorado town than the Missouri one.

 

Here’s Marceline’s much less ornate Main Street USA, formerly known as Kansas St.
While there is a resemblance, that of Goff’s hometown is far stronger.

Which is not to say that Walt wasn’t inspired by Marceline. He was, deeply, and the town is proud of its former resident: they changed the name of Kansas St. to Main Street, USA, and his childhood home still stands. Volunteers rebuilt the barn in back, which had burned down, to celebrate Walt’s 100th birthday. Walt claimed Marceline as his hometown, because it had such a profound influence on him. There is a museum there with a fantastic collection from the estate of his sister Ruth, and there stands Walt’s “Dreaming Tree”, where he would sit and draw as a child.

However, Walt was not born in Marceline. He was born on Tripp Avenue in Chicago, IL, in a home across the street from the church where the minister for whom he was named preached – as did Walt’s father Elias on occasion. His parents built the house – and by that I mean his mother drew up the architectural plans and his father built it with his own hands. They lived there with Walt, his three brothers (Herbert, Roy and Raymond) and sister Ruth from 1893 to 1906. Unless he was a very late bloomer, it’s likely that Walt said his first word and took his first step here.

Over the years, the house passed from owner to owner and fell into neglect, until a kindhearted Disney fan purchased it with the intent to bring it back to its former glory. Recent restoration efforts at the house have uncovered the original wood planks that Elias, a contractor, used to build the house as well as samples of paint and wallpaper (which may also prove to be original to the house). It looks like not only will the outside of the house look as it did on December 5, 1901, but that the inside will, too!

If you would like to support the restoration of Walt Disney’s real birthplace, please go to StartSomeGood.com/wdb.

Oh, and one more thing about Harper Goff. He bequeathed this painting to the city of Fort Collins.

I’m guessing “Tom” is Tom Scherman. As you can see by that site, he lived in the greatest apartment in the history of anything ever.

If you find anything about Walt Disney online that makes you say “OH NO HE DIDN’T!” please let me know about it. Thanks for reading!

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