BACKSTORY: Welcome to page 2 of my Disneyland Town Square photo collection. You'll find photos from the 1970's to present day, as well as a few fun stories and facts. Please use the menu below to go to the desired section you'd like to see.
In comparing the façade of the Bekins/Global Storage area in Town Square with how it looks now (see photos below), you'll note that it looks totally different. The change occured in 1990, as these photos from the Party Gras parade show. Here's the story from blogger Mike Cozart:
An LA Architectural firm bidded lower than WDI and they got the job and it shows! This was at a time when outside firms were able to do inside projects incluing the design. Around this time the Eisner Reqime also began to farm our a great deal of park graphic design work to outside firms like Hunt and Associates. This cut the work being done by WED-WDI designers and DL & WDW sign makers. I think it also watered down a great deal of Disney park signage and posters.
I recently came across some architetcural drawings for Disneyland's Main Street USA dated May 2nd 1955 and the Bekins locker building that opened with the park is not shown at all but in it's place are two completely different buildings to the left of the Emporium Annex (Bld. #303) The alternate structures are numbered #301 and #302 and still listed as BEKINS and the WED WAGON WORKS. I wonder why the design was so greatly changed two months before the park opened?
