Liberty Square, Edison Square etc...

ZaneB

ZaneB

Active Member
Original Poster
Hey guys. I found in a book I bought a while ago a copy of a Disneyland map from just after the TL expansion (subs, matterhorn, monorail). I observed it closely and found a few areas that no longer exist, which interested me alot. They were:

-Liberty Street
-Edison Square
-Skull Rock

Liberty street and Edison square were listed as future developments.

I was hoping some of you might be able to explain what these attractions were like, maybe even share pictures? Any information would be highly appreciated :) Thanks!
 
Rufus T Firefly

Rufus T Firefly

Well-Known Member
Liberty St. and Edison Sq. never got off the drawing board. Skull Rock was in Fantasyland next to Captain Hook's pirate ship. I believe that they were both removed when FL was renovated in the 80's.
 
Rufus T Firefly

Rufus T Firefly

Well-Known Member
Capt Hook's pirate ship was a counter service restaurant sponsored by Chicken of the Sea tuna. The ship and Skull Rock were located in the spot that Dumbo now occupies.
 
Californian Elitist

Californian Elitist

Well-Known Member
Ahh, Edison Square:) In short, Edison Sqaure was to be about technological advancement in America. It was pledged to go where the Plaza Inn is now in the late fifties/early sixties, and was the original location idea for Mansion, I believe. Unfortunately, it never got off the ground. Here's a link to an article about Edison Square and a photo. The concept art is gorgeous.

http://travel.usatoday.com/alliance...012/01/A-Visit-to-Edison-Square-1959/612426/1

D23_UDC_EdisonSquare2.jpg



Here's an article on Liberty Street (another concept from the late fifties/early sixties), which was to pay homeage to the American way of life. This too never got off the ground.

http://www.mouseplanet.com/8167/The_Liberty_Street_Story_1959


libertystreet.jpg



Skull Rock actually existed in Disneyland, and it was located in Fantasyland. It was not an attraction, just something very nice to look at and eat by. Skull Rock looked awesome and it added to the overall feel of Fantasyland. There was also a restaurant in the area called Captain Hook's Pirate Ship Restaurant, and it was close to Skull Rock. They were both taken out when our Fantasyland was re-imagined, and Dumbo was moved to to where Skull Rock was.

http://www.yesterland.com/skullrock.html

242096314_eaba68da3d.jpg


Captain Hook's Pirate Ship Restaurant:

pirateship_lympany.jpg
 
ZaneB

ZaneB

Active Member
Original Poster
wow, thanks so much guys!

Edison Square and Liberty Street look like they were great ideas!

And skull rock looks like it should of stayed... but oh well :D

thanks again!
 
lazyboy97o

lazyboy97o

Well-Known Member
Skull Rock did not actually join the ship until 1960. If you have a copy of Disneyland: Inside Story or The Art of Disneyland they both feature Sam McKim's 1958 wall map on the inside cover. You'll notice that even then, Liberty Street and Edison Square were already listed as "Future Developments" along with the Submarine Ride (but no monorail or Matterhorn), Adventures in Science, a differently laid out New Orleans Square with the Thieves Market, the Haunted House (Haunted Mansion) and the Wax Museum (Pirates of the Caribbean).

Liberty Street in a way did become a reality in Liberty Square. The 1958 map even lists The Hall of Presidents as one of the attractions coming with Liberty Street.
 
TP2000

TP2000

Well-Known Member
Edison Square was planned in the late 1950's, and it actually did get off the ground, but in a different and great, big beautiful way.

Edison Square's interiors were to be a series of theaters, arranged in a horsehoe pattern behind the facades of the cul-de-sac street. Audiences would shuffle into a series of four different theaters that presented the history of electricity and Thomas Edison's early inventions in American homes, and Imagineering was courting GE as the sponsor. The concept didn't get off the drawing board in the late 1950's, but continued to percolate until it was turned into the more elaborate version for the GE Carousel of Progress for the 1964-65 World's Fair in New York. But instead of having the audience walk from one theater to the next, the audience revolved from one theater to the next, and the result was magic.

Disneyland's Edison Square Interior Schematic - WDI circa 1958
edisonsquare_map.jpg


The circa 1958 sketch above shows the six different segments of this walk-through attraction. The lobby with exhibits of Thomas Edison's early laboratories and achievements, Scene One as a pre-electric home, Scene Two as an early-electric home, Scene Three as a circa 1960 suburban home, Scene Four as a futuristic skyscraper apartment, and the post-show exhibit area where GE would display their current products and concepts.
 
Cosmic Commando

Cosmic Commando

Well-Known Member
It's incredible how it seems like every major attraction for WED at that time started as a walkthrough before it morphed into a ride. What a different place Disneyland would have been in the 60's/70's with a walkthrough Mansion, Pirates, and Carousel of Progress!
 
lazyboy97o

lazyboy97o

Well-Known Member
Cosmic Commando said:
It's incredible how it seems like every major attraction for WED at that time started as a walkthrough before it morphed into a ride. What a different place Disneyland would have been in the 60's/70's with a walkthrough Mansion, Pirates, and Carousel of Progress!
Click to expand...
It also throws a wrench in the "Disneyland is not a museum" line, as these walkthroughs were very much elaborate takes on museum type exhibits, like the exhibits now finding themselves in museums.
 

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