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Anaheim Xanadu: New Entrance, Pan Pacific-esque Turnstiles Debut At Disney California Adventure
Photo by LinLorienelen via Twitpic
Disney California Adventure debuted the first peek of its extreme makeover on Friday with a bank of shiny new, Pan Pacific Auditorium-inspired turnstiles to welcome roller skaters park goers from this weekend forward, according to the Disney Parks Blog.
Inspired by the iconic Pan Pacific Auditorium, the turnstiles will set the stage for the new Disney California Adventure park entrance. Buena Vista Street will transport guests to Los Angeles as Walt Disney found it when he first arrived in California, with buildings inspired by structures that existed during the 1920s and ‘30s - including the Pan Pacific Auditorium. A landmark structure in the Fairfax District of Los Angeles, the auditorium was the premiere location for indoor public events until it closed after almost 40 years in 1972.
The original "Streamline Moderne" auditorium, which was destroyed by a fire in 1989, was designed by local architects Wurdeman and Becket. Welton Becket, a neighbor of Walt Disney, was reportedly the person who suggested Disney use artists, not an architectural operation, to plan out Disneyland. "It was this advice that led to the creation of WED Enterprises (now Walt Disney Imagineering)."
The next major park improvement will be "re-creating" the Glendale-Hyperion Bridge.
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