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| Photo: Disney |
Everyone is curious of what lies in the future, especially when it comes to what their homes may look like in the future. This fascination was particularly high in the 20th century, especially in post-World War II America. There was the immensely popular Post War House designed by Walt Disney's good friend architect, Welton Becket, which for a dollar, visitors could see an architecturally interesting house that gave a glimpse at what houses would look like in the next ten years. The house featured innovative technology and helped introduce many to residential mid-century modern architecture. Joining in on the Post War House's success, annual home shows throughout Los Angeles provided homeowners with exhibits on the exciting new technologies and designs coming to their homes in the near future.
The popularity of these houses of the future would eventually find its way into Disneyland's Tomorrowland, which was still trying to live up to its name as of Disneyland's Tomorrowland, which was still trying to live up to its name as of 1956. Attractions in Tomorrowland at the time were mainly exhibits sponsored by large companies like TWA, Dutch Boy Paints and the Monsanto Chemical Company. Monsanto has sponsored more attractions than any other company in Disneyland history. These included the Hall of Chemistry and eventually the Monsanto House of the Future.
At the same time as Monsanto is sponsoring the Hall of Chemistry exhibit over at Disneyland, the company was also sending research money over to MIT's engineering department on the possibilities of their plastics subsidiary. Part of the research were two architects, Richard Hamilton and Marvin Goody, tasked with designing a house that could be mass produced and made almost entirely of plastics. While the house was being designed, Monsanto inked a deal with Disney to display the results of MIT's research. Disney hoped the new addition would bring Tomorrowland into the future for the first time.
This was the first time that Walt Disney's team did not have much say in the design of a Disneyland attraction. Instead, Hamilton and Goody did all design work. Their intent was to design a genuine house that could become a home to a family. The task of turning an entirely synthetic, factory-made house and making it warm and inviting was no easy task, but Goody and Hamilton managed to create a house that would be both futuristic and homey.
They began with the basic shape. The architects chose a cruciform shape, because they wanted to allow as much light into the interior was possible. The cruciform was raised off the ground by a ten foot tall concrete pedestal that held the house's utilities such as plumbing and electrical. The house's concrete pedestal gave the house the appearance that it was floating above the ground.
A total of 1,280 square feet made up the house. Inside, Goody and Hamilton included a master bedroom, two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen in the house's center, a dining room, and a living room. The plan was perfect for the typical nuclear family of the late 1950s.
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| Photo: Disney |
Even though Imagineering had no hand in designing the House of the Future, Imagineer John Hench was, however, tasked with finding a location for it to reside for its ten year run at the park. The only requirement Monsanto had was that the house had to have access to electricity and water. John Hench loved the design of the house and wanted it prominently featured within Tomorrowland. In Hench's opinion, there was no place better than the left of the entrance of the land. Hench situated the house within a beautiful garden with pools that create a beautiful environment for the house. Hench placed the house within the garden to show how the house could blend in well with a natural setting. Several drawings were made by Imagineering to conceptualize how the house would fit within the surroundings of the park. After a few more studies, the site was officially chosen and prep work began.
The first thing construction crews did on the site was constructing the previously mentioned, 256 square foot concrete base or utility core. Once the thick concrete base was complete, it was time to bring in the four wings that would make up the actual house. Each wing was made up of two fiberglass shells, a bottom shell and a top shell. The bottom shell was attached to the concrete base first and a crane would bring in the top shell. After this, the floor-to-ceiling glass would be installed. This process was repeated three times until all four wings were installed. The installation only took a few days. Now it was time to install the futuristic appliances that would truly make House of the Future futuristic.
New appliances were added throughout the house. The highlight of the house's features was the kitchen. The kitchen had one of the first demonstrations of a compact microwave. It also included a dishwasher that used "ultra-sonic waves" to clean dishes. Dishes also dropped down from the ceiling. There was no refrigerator inside the House of the Future it was substituted for "cool zone" within certain cabinets.
Next to the kitchen were the two bathrooms servicing the kid's rooms and the master bedroom. The bathrooms were partly inspired by industrial designer, Henry Dreyfuss' design for the bathrooms on display inside the Post War House. Dreyfuss' bathroom design had a shower, sink and toilet that was manufactured out of plastic. The kid's bathrooms featured adjustable sinks to allow for easy access to the sink. The bathrooms were also equipped with electric toothbrushes and shavers. The master bathroom was slightly larger than the kid's bathrooms, with the addition of a vanity desk.
The bedrooms were rather standard. The kid's bedrooms shared a single wing with a divider splitting one of the wings into two rooms. The master bedroom had a telephone with a speakerphone and a video monitor to see who was at the front door. The house did have an air conditioner by Crane that allowed residents to feature different scents like oranges, roses or the ocean.
The living room featured mid-century modern furniture--made mostly of plastic. A flat screen television, which was not operational, was on display in the living room. Something that was operational in the living room was the high-fidelity stereo that was built into the house. What made this living room truly special, though, was that it was the only living room in the world to have a view of Sleeping Beauty Castle.
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| Photo: Disney |
The house was ready to open by June 12, 1957. The house was an immediate hit due much to the continuing fascination with future living and demonstration homes. It would remain a hit for Disneyland for ten years. It was on December 1, 1967 that the House of the Future closed its door permanently. This was six months after the New Tomorrowland opened to the public. When compared to the new, 1960s vision of the future, the House of the Future looked dated. It was time for it to go. The next day, demolish began.
The story of the House of the Future demolish is probably more famous as the innovations found inside. What was estimated as a single day demolition ended up taking a week as crews could not knock down the fiberglass shell with the conventional wrecking ball. Eventually, hacksaws were brought in to finish the job. As for the large concrete base, it is still there hidden behind a large hedge. The area would become known as the Alpine Garden due to its proximity to the Matterhorn. The area would later become the Pixie Hallow meet and greet.
Walt Disney always saw Disneyland as a testing ground for new ideas. House of the Future embodied that. The House of the Future was also an embodiment of the time--an optimistic time when the possibilities of future living excited a nation. At the same time, the House of the Future still captures the imagination of people today on vision. The House of the Future is both of its time and timeless, much like Disneyland itself.
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