Just off the beaten path at Disney's Hollywood Studios, tucked between the 50s Prime Time Cafe and Hollywood & Vine Cafeteria of the Stars, are the Echo Lake Apartments. During the Golden Age of Hollywood, the Echo Lake area was the swanky neighborhood home to many early stars of the silver screen.
The gate leading up to the apartments is locked - sorry, residents only. Step a little closer, though, and you might be able to get an idea of who lives here. Just take a look at the names on the mailboxes. They're actually the names of several of the Imagineers who worked on Disney-MGM Studios back in the 80s.
Notable is the name on the top right box: T. Kirk.
Tim Kirk started with Walt Disney Imagineering in 1980 and worked on projects ranging from Kitchen Kabaret at Epcot to the new Fantasyland at Disneyland. For Disney-MGM Studios, he was a production set designer and art director for the Great Movie Ride and contributed to Muppet*Vision 3-D and the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular. Tim and his brother Steve now run their own firm, Kirk Design, but before leaving Walt Disney Imagineering they were the senior designer and senior creative VP for Tokyo DisneySea in Japan.
Something I've always wondered about Echo Lake: If you look in the lake near where the newstand used to be, there is a big cut tree laying in the lake. It's not a real tree. It's a prop but why is it there?
ReplyDeleteShawn --
ReplyDeleteThanks for these absolutely brilliant posts about the details at the Studios (and other parks). I've often felt that the Studios is the best looking park (except for the hat in front of the Chinese Theater) in terms of its architecture, attention to detail, and lighting at night.
Bill Wilson
With all of these posts, you're giving me lots of things to check out the next time I go. Very cool!
ReplyDeletezapjones,
ReplyDeleteI'm not completely sure, but I believe the artificial log "floating" in the lake is actually there to cover up some piping and other unsightly equipment under the water.