10 photos of the early days inside Walt Disney Studios in Burbank
The Walt Disney Studios on Buena Vista Street in Burbank is the third and current location of the company’s studio.
The original studio location was in Hollywood behind a real estate office before Walt and Roy Disney realized they needed a larger facility. They built a new studio on Hyperion Avenue in Silver Lake in 1923. But after a number of successes, including “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” the brothers again realized they needed more space.
They then built a 51-acre studio on Buena Vista Street in Burbank. The company started moving in on Dec. 24, 1939, and was completed on May 6, 1940.
Here is an inside look at the studio and backlot:
1. Lunch break on the Disney Studios lot in 1946.
Embed from Getty Images2. Walt Disney acts out a scene during a storyboard conference in the early 1940s.
Embed from Getty Images3. Walt Disney, and singer and actor Nelson Eddy, discuss an illustration of “Willie the Whale,” in the film “Make Mine Music,” for whom Eddy provides a voice in 1946.
Embed from Getty Images4. A background artist paints background for the film “The Three Caballeros.”
Embed from Getty Images5. American singer and actor Cliff Edwards records the voice for the character of Timothy Mouse in animated film “Dumbo.”
Embed from Getty Images6. A colorist in the Ink and Paint Division works on a drawing of Donald Duck in 1946.
Embed from Getty Images7. An unidentified animator makes faces in a mirror which he uses as raw material for his character’s expressions.
Embed from Getty Images8. Walt Disney and singer/songwriter Johnny Mercer look over sheet music for “Song of the South.”
Embed from Getty Images9. Walt Disney plays with a young miniature horse (kept to pull a stagecoach) on the Disney Studio backlot circa 1955.
Embed from Getty Images10: Walt Disney sits at his drawing board in his studio, drawing a sketch of his character Mickey Mouse in 1955.
Embed from Getty ImagesHere’s a look at more historical photos of Walt Disney.
