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Perhaps you remember the story. Around ten months ago, two theme park professionals announced they had purchased the house in Chicago that was Walt Disney’s birthplace and childhood home, with the goal of restoring it to how it was when the Disney family lived there. Through KickStarter, they tried to raise the funds needed for a proper restoration. Although 838 backers pledged $111,138, the project did not get a single dime because the Kickstarter goal was not met. That could have been the end of the story. They could have quietly backed out and put the real estate back on the market. Instead, that was just the opening chapter. Today, we’ll see what the house looks like now, what has happened this year, and what’s ahead.
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2013 House in December 2013 |
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Back in December 2013, Walt Disney’s birthplace looked like many other houses in the Hermosa neighborhood of Chicago. It was an unremarkable two-story cottage on a well-kept block of small single-family homes and two-flats on narrow lots. Beige aluminum siding hid its original wooden clapboards. Two mailboxes at the front door indicated that there were two apartments inside. There was no historical marker or other indication that Walt Disney had been born upstairs in 1901 or that the Disney family—Elias and Flora and their children Herbert, Raymond, Roy, Walt, and Ruth—lived there until they moved to Marceline, Missouri in 1906. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2014 House in September 2014 |
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Now the same house doesn’t look so good. Most of the aluminum siding is off the house, revealing numerous scars from modifications made to it over the years. A dark triangle on the front facade is from a porch that was added in 1924 and removed in the 1960s. There is still no historical marker linking the house to young Walt Disney, his parents, and his siblings. But there is a sign that wasn’t there before. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2014 Sign in the front yard |
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The sign lets passers-by know that this is now a work-in-progress. The current appearance of the house is a temporary but necessary step in restoring it to how it looked in the early 20th century. There’s also a lot happening that you can’t see. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2014 Aluminum siding gone from the east and north sides |
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The last time the Commission on Chicago Landmarks considered the house for official Chicago Landmark status was 1997. June Saathoff, the owner at that time, felt it would hurt her economically. Also, at least one key politician believed a discredited urban myth about Walt Disney. Now it’s a different story. After buying the property in 2013, new owners Dina Benadon and Brent Young started the long process to obtain official Chicago Landmark status. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2014 Current front door, probably from the 1960s |
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One of the qualification criteria for Chicago Landmark status is “identification with a person or persons who significantly contributed to architectural, cultural, economic, historic, social, or other aspect of the development of the City of Chicago, State of Illinois, or the United States.” Chicago has produced its share of notable people, but Walt Disney is arguably the most famous person ever born in the city. In addition, the house is a fine example of the low-cost, wooden-framed workers’ cottages built in Chicago in the late 19th century. Its architectural integrity is already impressive. Despite additions, remodeling, and modernization throughout the 20th century, the house is still largely the original handiwork of Walt Disney’s father Elias Disney. With committed owners and a team of highly respected restoration and cultural heritage professionals ready to turn the calendar back to the period when young Walt Disney lived there, this house promises to have unquestionable historical significance. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2014 In need of attention |
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Another change that’s not obvious by looking at the house is that it now has 501(c)(3) non-profit status. That’s significant because donations are now tax-deductible. Also, it addresses the concern that some people had during the December 2013 Kickstarter campaign about giving money to what then appeared to be a for-profit venture. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2014 Not a pretty sight in September 2014 |
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The Walt Disney Birthplace is now part of a new organization called The Center for Childhood Creativity and Innovation at The Walt Disney Birthplace. That’s an awfully long name, so they abbreviate it as CECCI. You may wonder how “Childhood Creativity and Innovation” crept into the name and how that relates to the mission of restoring The Walt Disney Birthplace and opening it to the public. Actually, from the time that Dina and Brent bought it, they wanted to use the childhood home of Walt Disney and Roy Disney to inspire and teach the children of Hermosa. Maybe some of them will achieve greatness, just as Walt and Roy did. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2014 Former window sizes and locations revealed |
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Another “invisible” change is that The Walt Disney Birthplace project now has an Executive Director. In July 2014, Todd Regan—also known as Dusty Sage of MiceChat—left his “day job” as Sr. Vice President of Marketing for a telecommunications company to take the helm of The Walt Disney Birthplace. He is also the Executive Director of O-Zell Soda Company, a boutique soft drink company whose profits will all go to The Walt Disney Birthplace. Regan brings 25 years of marketing experience, social media skills honed at MiceChat, a passion for Disney history, and boundless energy to The Walt Disney Birthplace. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2014 Rear addition with different siding |
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As I wrote in an earlier Yesterland article, “Renovating an old house and restoring an old house are two different things. The former means fixing it up; the latter means bringing it back to how it once was. The former tends to be expensive. The latter tends to be much more expensive.” |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2014 Aluminum siding still on the rear addition |
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There’s a big, costly job ahead. The current 1,600-sq.ft. two-flat will once again be configured as the 1,200-sq.ft. single-family home it once was. That will mean rebuilding Elias Disney’s staircase (based on the staircase from another house he built), removing the addition from the back of the house, and making the house look as it did at the beginning of Walt Disney’s life. Doing an authentic restoration takes a lot of detective work. The team pulled newer drywall off interior walls upstairs. Project architect Charles Pipal discovered the original window framing, including original sash cords and weights. New windows of the correct size are now on order for around $2,000 each from a supplier who manufactures Victorian era windows for projects such as this. Pipal, who is also an Adjunct Professor of Historic Preservation at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, has students studying paint samples and evidence of wallpaper. Everyone working on the project is excited to be part of it. Despite its current appearance, Elias Disney’s 19th century wooden clapboard siding is in remarkably good shape. About 75% of the house will have original siding. The rest of the exterior will be covered with new wood that matches it. A local paint supplier is donating paint. The house is expected to be white with a blue-grey trim, as described by Roy O. Disney during a 1967 interview—with detective work by Pipal and others possibly determining the exact shades. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2014 Raised foundation |
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The restored house won’t be exactly the way it once was, but it should be very close. For example, Elias Disney built the cottage without a basement. A subsequent owner raised the house onto a brick foundation with a basement in 1924. The basement will stay as part of the restoration. Removing it would be cost prohibitive, and it offers useful space. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2014 Front of the house |
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By December 5, 2014, the 113th anniversary of Walt Disney’s birth, Phase One of the exterior work should be complete. The siding, windows, and paint will look as they did in Walt’s time. In spring, Phase Two will add a new porch, a fence, and landscaping. I hope you are as excited about the restoration of The Walt Disney Birthplace as I am. The next chapter begins Tuesday, October 21, 2014. You can be part of this chapter through StartSomeGood. Depending on when you’re reading this, that could be a few days from now, or it may be in the past. Visit the official website of The Walt Disney Birthplace for more information. |
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Click here to post comments at MiceChat about this article.
© 2014 Werner Weiss — Disclaimers, Copyright, and Trademarks Updated December 5, 2014. |
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, Curator of Yesterland, October 17, 2014.
