Walt Disney birth home in Chicago may become museum
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-walt-disney-birth-home-in-chicago-may-become-museum-20131203,0,5287850.story
By Meredith Rodriguez
Tribune reporter
7:31 p.m. CST, December 3, 2013
The home on Chicago's
Northwest Side where Walt Disney was born in 1901 has been sold to a California couple who
aim to make it a historical site, museum and community resource.
Situated in the working-class and now mostly Hispanic
neighborhood of Hermosa, the 1600-square-foot two-flat at 2156 N. Tripp Ave. has been on the market
for several years, its history largely unknown, according to Ald. Rey Colon,
35th.
"Hermosa is kind of an unlikely place for something
like this to happen," Colon
said. "This will really add to lifting up that particular part of the
area, that part of the neighborhood."
The home's humble history and location is part of the appeal
for the new owners. Brent Young and Dina Benadon, who are married and own an
animation studio in Silver Lake,
Calif., have spent much of their
careers designing theme park attractions. When Walt and his brother and
business partner, Roy, were born in the house, they said, Hermosa was also a
working-class neighborhood.
"That these two amazing men came out of that average
neighborhood — anyone can do it," Benadon said. "There seems to be a
great symbol for the neighborhood and for Chicago and the American Dream."
Walt Disney's father built the house in what was then a new
section of Chicago,
and the family lived there from 1893 until Walt was about 4. His father also
built a church around the corner and worked on the 1893 Columbian Exposition,
the world's fair that reportedly inspired Disney's theme park ventures.
On Thursday — Walt Disney's birthday — the owners will join
the alderman, a grandson of Roy Disney and their team of preservationists at
the house to launch a Kickstarter campaign to raise $500,000 for renovations.
Prizes for donors will range from getting their name inscribed in a
leather-bound book that will remain in the house to a one-night stay — for a
donation of $10,000. The owners bought the house for $173,000 and at this point
have not filed for nonprofit status.
Young, Benadon and their restoration team are brainstorming
ways to make the home an attraction that will inspire creativity in young
people. The team hopes to gain landmark status for the structure. An attempt in
the 1990s failed, largely because the owner opposed it. Research and design
plans will be made this winter, and in the spring, crews will begin removing
aluminum siding and undoing decades worth of renovations and additions.
"We're hoping that there's something in there,"
Young said. "Walt's original cartoon drawings of the little mouse in the
corner, maybe."
mmrodriguez@tribune.com
Walt Disney
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walt_Disney
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney, December 5, 1901 –
December 15, 1966. was an American business magnate, animator, cartoonist,
producer, director, screenwriter, entrepreneur, and voice actor. A major figure
within the American animation industry and throughout the world, he is regarded
as an international icon, and philanthropist, well known for his influence and
contributions to the field of entertainment during the 20th century. As a Hollywood business mogul, he, along with his brother Roy
O. Disney, co-founded the Walt Disney Productions, which later became one of
the best-known motion picture producers in the world. The corporation is now
known as The Walt Disney Company and had an annual revenue of approximately
US$36 billion in the 2010 financial year.
http://www.biography.com/people/walt-disney-9275533