😲🌴 Da Kine Huna Disney Office Stay Right Unda Our Nose
Ho, brah! 💥 Try figga dis one out! Walt Disney an his braddah Roy wen go start dea kine animation biznez in da back of one real estate office in Los Feliz, Los Angeles, an most peopo neva even know! No really get plenny reason fo stop an tink about da flat-roofed building wit one skateboard shop an one photocopy sto inside, wit da black awnings an gray stucco outside. 🏢
Dat is, unless you spot da small kine clue fo da building’s mo’olelo, one Mickey Mouse poster stay on top one tinted window. 😉 Da plain building on Kingswell Avenue, in da nice kine neighbahood unda da Griffith Observatory, wen hold da office fo da Walt Disney animation company. 💫✨ One century ago, in 1923, Disney an his braddah Roy wen move dea small kine operation from dea uncle’s garage in Los Feliz to da back of dis building, wea stay one real estate office dat time. 🏠
“Da kine tru Cali start-up mo’olelo,” said Ben Proudfoot, one filmmakah who stay renting da upstairs part of da building fo his production studio. “Get choke powah wen rememba da world’s biggest entertainment company wen start in dis small kine cornah unit.” 🎬🌟
In August 1923, Walt Disney, who stay only 21-years-old dat time, wen move from Kansas City to Los Angeles wit oni $40 in his pocket an one coat an one pair pants wea no match. He wen work fo couple years drawing an doing animation, an wen like be one movie director in Hollywood, but neva find da kine job he like do. 🎥💼
“One half of my suitcase wen get my shirts an underwear an da kine stuffs, an da oddah half wen get my drawing materials,” Disney wen say, from da Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco. “I woulda like be one director, [but] befo I know it, I wen pull out my drawing board. I wen go back to da cartoons.” 🖼️🖌️
Disney wen quick sell da “Alice Comedies,” one series of shorts dat mix animation an live action, to one national distributor. Da success wen help Walt an Roy fo move in October 1923 from dea uncle’s garage to da Kingswell Avenue office. Tree years aftah, dey wen move again, to one mo’ big kine studio about one mile away on Hyperion Avenue. 🚀🎞️
At da Disney museum in Presidio of San Francisco, get one room full wit photos an mementos of da early days of da Disney Brodahs Studio on Kingswell. One black an white photo show Walt an Roy, both tall an skinny, wearing berets, standing outside da studio in 1924. Get handwritten lettas between da brodahs dat get da Kingswell Avenue address. Get one funny kine photo of da studio’s staff, all standing in front of da glass storefront, pretending fo pour liquor in each oddah’s mouths (Prohibition stay going strong dat time). 📸🍺
Disney wen meet his wife at da offices, aftah da company wen hire her fo work as one inker, who trace da animators’ drawings onto celluloid sheets fo be photographed fo production. “Dey wen quick start one courtship dat wen lead to dea marriage,” said Kirst en Komoroske, executive director of da museum, wen tell me. 💑💍
Even wit all da mo’olelo, da Kingswell building no get any kine historical designation, so maybe one day, could be torn down. 😢 Da Hyperion Avenue studio wen get bulldozed in da 1960s, Komoroske said, an now stay one shopping centah, wit one commemorative plaque on top one lamppost outside. 🛍️🚧
Marine Ter-Pogosyan, da ownah of da copy sto now stay in da Kingswell building, wen take charge fo preserve Disney’s legacy in Los Feliz. 📚🏰 She wen tape da Mickey Mouse poster to her window. Above her sto’s big kine industrial copier stay one bright kine mural of da seven dwarfs from “Snow White.” 🎨🍎 On top da walls of da small kine sto get images of Pluto, Donald Duck, an Mickey, plus black-an-white photos from Disney’s time in da neighbahood. 📷🦆
Ova da sound of da copiers, Ter-Pogosyan wen tell me, “I neva know about him or his ‘ohana, but I stay tryin’ fo keep um so everybody know dis was Walt Disney’s first studio.” 🎉🐭 So da next time you stay cruisin’ tru Los Feliz, rememba fo give shaka 🤙 to da small kine building wea da magic wen start!
NOW IN ENGLISH
Disney’s First Office in Los Angeles Right Under Our Noses 🕵️♀️🌴
Guess what, folks! 💥 Walt Disney and his brother Roy started their animation business in the back of a real estate office in Los Feliz, Los Angeles, and most people had no idea! There isn’t much reason to pay attention to the flat-roofed building with a skateboard shop and a photocopy store inside, adorned with black awnings and a gray stucco exterior. 🏢
That is, unless you spot a subtle hint to the building’s history—a Mickey Mouse poster on a tinted window. 😉 The unassuming building on Kingswell Avenue, in the lovely neighborhood below the Griffith Observatory, once housed Walt Disney’s animation company office. 💫✨ A century ago, in 1923, Disney and his brother Roy moved their small operation from their uncle’s garage in Los Feliz to the back of this building, which was a real estate office back then. 🏠
“It’s the quintessential California start-up story,” said Ben Proudfoot, a filmmaker who now rents the upstairs portion of the building for his production studio. “It’s inspiring to remember that the world’s largest entertainment company started in this humble corner unit.” 🎬🌟
In August 1923, 21-year-old Walt Disney moved from Kansas City to Los Angeles with just $40 in his pocket and a mismatched coat and pair of pants. He had been working in drawing and animation for a few years and aspired to become a movie director in Hollywood, but he couldn’t find the kind of work he was looking for. 🎥💼
“One half of my suitcase had my shirts and underwear and other items, and the other half had my drawing materials,” Disney said, according to the Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco. “I would have liked to have been a director, [but] before I knew it, I had my drawing board out. I started back at the cartoons.” 🖼️🖌️
Disney quickly sold the “Alice Comedies,” a series of shorts that mixed animation and live action, to a national distributor. The success allowed Walt and Roy to move in October 1923 from their uncle’s garage to the Kingswell Avenue office. Three years later, they moved again, to a much larger studio about a mile away on Hyperion Avenue. 🚀🎞️
At the Disney museum in the Presidio of San Francisco, one room is filled with photos and mementos from the early days of the Disney Brothers Studio on Kingswell. A black and white photo captures Walt and Roy, both lanky and wearing berets, standing outside the studio in 1924. Handwritten letters between the brothers are stamped with the Kingswell Avenue address. A gag photo of the studio’s staff shows the team assembled in front of the glass storefront, pretending to pour liquor into one another’s mouths (Prohibition was in full swing at the time). 📸🍺
Disney met his wife at the offices after the company hired her as an inker who traced the animators’ drawings onto celluloid sheets for production. “They almost immediately started a courtship that led to their marriage,” said Kirsten Komoroske, executive director of the museum. 💑💍
Despite its history, the Kingswell building doesn’t have any historical designation, meaning it could one day be torn down. 😢 The Hyperion Avenue studio was demolished in the 1960s, Komoroske said, and the site is now a shopping center, with a commemorative plaque on a lamppost outside. 🛍
