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Executive Lifestyle
Zoë Ettinger and Erin McDowell
Updated
2021-10-02T15:46:32Z
- Walt Disney was born on December 5, 1901, in Chicago and died in 1966 in Burbank, California.
- Throughout his life, he lived in multiple properties, mainly in California.
- He called his vacation home in Palm Springs, California, his "Technicolor Dream House."
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
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Walt Disney lived from 1901 to 1966. He was born in Chicago, but he spent most of his life in California.
Disney was diagnosed with lung cancer in 1966 and died just months later. Following his death, his brother Roy finished his plan to open Walt Disney World in 1971.
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Walt Disney was born in Chicago, Illinois, on the second floor of a 18-foot-by-28-foot wooden cottage designed by his parents. It cost them $800 to build.
His father, Elias, obtained a permit to build the home in 1892 — before Disney was born — and his mother, Flora, drew up plans for the home. The following year, they moved in.
It cost them $800 to build.This was not an insignificant sum at the time — according to Flora Disney, her husband was making a dollar a day.
"A dollar a day. Seven dollars a week. That's all he made for the year, averaged for the year was $7 a week," Flora Disney said at the couple's 50th wedding anniversary,according to the Walt Disney Archives. "And there wasn't any such thing known as relief then. Living wasn't as high … He borrowed the money to build it."
Disney lived in the house with his parents and brothers, Roy, Herbert, and Raymond, and sister Ruth, until he was 4 years old.
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The home has since been renovated and turned into a heritage site called The Walt Disney Birthplace.
The Walt Disney Birthplacewebsite says, "We have already lost too many buildings that were an incredibly important part of Walt Disney's history. And that is why we have purchased this house and will restore it to its original state, honoring and preserving the home for generations to come."
It took five years for the home to be renovated to appear as it did in 1893, ABC7 reported in 2018.
The renovation reportedly cost several hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The bay window looks out over the front porch.
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Walt Disney moved to Los Angeles in 1923. Four years later, he built this home on Lyric Avenue.
According to Los Angeles Magazine, his brother Roy built an identical home next door.
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In 1932, Disney and his wife, Lillian, built a family home in Los Feliz, California.
According to Disney Examiner, Disney worked with architect Frank Crowhurst to design the Tudor- and French-style home.
The 6,388-square-foot house has four bedrooms and five bathrooms, according to a Sotheby's listing.
According to the listing, the home has a "Mediterranean entry, circular rotunda, painted ceilings, vaulted beamed ceilings, original stained leaded glass, and a Juliet balcony."
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It was last listed in 2014 for $3.65 million.
According to Collider, the home cost $50,000 to construct and was built mainly by unemployed Depression-era workers.
The Disneys lived at the home from 1932 to 1950.
Special touches, like the painted ceiling and wrought iron railing, give the home a storybook feel.
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A spacious dining area shows off the Tudor-style architecture.
Disney lived at the home with his wife and two daughters, Diane and Sharon.
The billiard room, one of 12 rooms in the house, was no doubt a good place for Disney to unwind.
There are five Disney resort hotels that have complimentary pool tables.
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A spacious master bedroom features French-door windows.
There are four bedrooms in the home.
The private screening room, pictured below, was where Disney watched many of his films, according to the home's most recent listing.
The Disney family would come together to watch movies and screenings from the studio.
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Some of Disney's most famous films were released while he lived in his Los Feliz home.
"Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" was released in 1937, "Pinocchio" was released in 1940, "Fantasia" was released in 1940, "Dumbo" was released in 1941, "Bambi" was released in 1942, and "Cinderella" was released in 1950.
Details like this storybook ceiling make the home look like something out of a Disney movie.
The room looks like it could be right out of "Sleeping Beauty," which, according to Collider, was imagined while Disney lived in the home.
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The home featured a playhouse for Disney's daughters, Diane and Sharon.
According to Glamour, the pool pictured above is not the home's original pool and was constructed in 1963, after the Disneys lived there. Disney's original pool was on a lower tier of the property that was sold, and it still remains on that piece of land.
Disney built his vacation home in Palm Springs in 1962 as a retreat for him and his wife, Lillian.
He lived in the home with Lillian until his death in 1966.
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He called it his "Technicolor Dream House." It sold last year for $1.1 million.
It sold in May 2020.
The interior features bright red accents.
He didn't call it his "Technicolor Dream House" for nothing.
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The home's many windows allow for light to flow throughout.
The dining area opens right up to the backyard.
The one-story home has four bedrooms.
Bright accent walls keep with the technicolor theme.
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The master bedroom features shiny gold furniture and a blue accent wall.
It also has a sliding door to the backyard.
The large open floor plan has lots of space for entertaining.
The living room has its own bar area as well.
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A spacious kitchen has a nice view of the pool.
The black and white kitchen is perhaps the most muted room in the home.
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Walt Disney's final home was his Carolwood Estate, where he lived until his death in 1966. The home has since been torn down.
Above he can be seen riding a train outside his Carolwood home. He built the one-eighth scale train and named it the Carolwood Pacific Railroad.
Just over a year after Lillian's death in 1997, businessman Gabriel Brener bought the property for $8.45 million and knocked down the home. In its place, he built a 35,000-square-foot mansion in 2001. The eight-bedroom mansion, which sits on 3.6 acres of land, sold in 2014 for $74 million, according to the Los Angeles Times.
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The barn from Disney's Carolwood Estate, pictured below, is now on loan to the city of Los Angles and is located in Griffith Park.
Though Disney's Carolwood home was demolished, the barn was saved and is normally available to visit on the third Sunday of every month.
Disney's barn was also his workshop, where he planned many projects.
According to the Carolwood Foundation, Disney spent many hours building trains in his barn and called it his "happy place."
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As an enthusiast deeply immersed in the world of Walt Disney, let me provide you with a comprehensive analysis of the concepts covered in the article about Walt Disney's various homes and their significance in his life.
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Early Life and Birthplace:
- Walt Disney was born on December 5, 1901, in Chicago, Illinois, in a modest wooden cottage built by his parents Elias and Flora Disney. The house, costing $800, was where Walt lived with his parents and siblings until he was 4 years old.
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The Walt Disney Birthplace:
- The birthplace in Chicago has been renovated and transformed into a heritage site named "The Walt Disney Birthplace." This preservation effort took five years and cost several hundred thousand dollars.
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Move to Los Angeles:
- In 1923, Walt Disney moved to Los Angeles, where he and his brother Roy built homes on Lyric Avenue. Later, in 1932, Walt and his wife Lillian constructed a family home in Los Feliz, California.
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Los Feliz Home:
- Designed by architect Frank Crowhurst, the Los Feliz home had Tudor and French-style elements, featuring a Mediterranean entry, circular rotunda, painted ceilings, vaulted beamed ceilings, original stained leaded glass, and a Juliet balcony.
- The home, with four bedrooms and five bathrooms, cost $50,000 to construct and was mainly built by unemployed Depression-era workers.
- Walt Disney lived in this home with his wife and two daughters, Diane and Sharon, from 1932 to 1950.
- The house became a place where Disney created and watched some of his most famous films, including "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," "Pinocchio," "Fantasia," "Dumbo," "Bambi," and "Cinderella."
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Palm Springs Vacation Home:
- In 1962, Walt Disney built a vacation home in Palm Springs, California, known as his "Technicolor Dream House." He lived there with his wife until his death in 1966, and the house sold for $1.1 million in May 2020.
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Final Home - Carolwood Estate:
- Walt Disney's final home was the Carolwood Estate, where he lived until his death in 1966.
- The Carolwood Estate was later demolished, and businessman Gabriel Brener bought the property for $8.45 million. A 35,000-square-foot mansion was built in its place in 2001 and sold for $74 million in 2014.
- The barn from Disney's Carolwood Estate is now on loan to the city of Los Angeles and is located in Griffith Park. It served as Disney's workshop, where he spent hours building trains and referred to it as his "happy place."
This detailed overview showcases Walt Disney's journey from his humble beginnings in Chicago to his various homes in California, each playing a significant role in his personal and professional life. The preservation efforts, architectural details, and the connection between Disney's homes and his creative endeavors provide a rich narrative of his legacy.
