Walt Disney’s childhood home in Chicago opens for first public tour

A modest two-story home sits on North Tripp Avenue in Chicago’s Hermosa neighborhood. Usually unassuming, dozens of people lined up outside on Sunday, some wearing clothes emblazoned with Mickey Mouse, waiting for a chance to peek into the green and gray wooden cabin.

Walt Disney’s childhood home opened to the public for the first time this weekend as part of the Chicago Architecture Center’s Open House Chicago. Organizers said they hope to keep Disney’s legacy alive, provide insight into how the animated film pioneer grew up and inspire other young people in the neighborhood to pursue their dreams. .

“We live in the inner city of Chicago, so we can’t fathom dreaming, acting, or achieving, because we don’t really know who we’re going to become. Who we’re inspired by You never know what you’re going to give,” said Angel Reyes, hometown ambassador and Miss Illinois USA 2022.

Walt’s father, Elias Disney, purchased the property at 2156 N. Tripp Avenue in 1891. The following year, Walt obtained permission to build his two-story wooden cottage with his $800, and Walt’s mother, Flora, drew up the building plans. In early 1893, the couple and his two sons, Herbert and Raymond, moved in. A third son, Roy, was born soon after. Upstairs in a bedroom, Walter Elias Disney was born on December 5, 1901.

“(Elias) was the contractor who built these houses, and he built this house. Flora designed it,” said Ray Colon, project director for the Walt Disney Birthplace. “Having Flora and Elias’s names on the deed is very progressive. He didn’t just list her as his wife; she was an equal partner with him in his business ventures. .”

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The tour began in the reception room on the first floor, a space for families to enjoy. Colon said much of the original wood trim and walls had been removed over the years, and he only had one closet that had wood samples in it. He said he recreated the original rosette and trimmed it from a single tree. “I believe this is the way Elias wanted it.”

There is also a colorized photograph of Walt and his sister Ruth at their home in 1905 in the drawing room.

Tour guide Rich Frachey said Elias had many other jobs during his life, including as a cabinet maker, orange farmer and even a fiddle player. Mr. Frachey said he could easily imagine himself in the drawing room, playing the fiddle and working as a construction worker, telling stories about the 1893 World Columbian Exposition in Chicago.

“All kinds of innovations debuted there, including the first Ferris wheel, Cracker Jack, Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit gum, dishwashing machines, elevators, typewriters, and more,” Flachey said. “Did they sit in this parlor and read the book ‘The Wizard of Oz’?”

Some biographers have speculated that Elias’s exposition story influenced Walt’s creation of Disneyland and some of its popular attractions such as “Tomorrowland,” “Frontierland,” and “Main Street U.S.A.” There is.

The tour then included a tour of the family’s dining room and kitchen. The kitchen included items such as a washboard, butter stirrer, and rug beater. Elias built a bathroom in what is now a ground-floor closet, which organizers said was innovative at the time.

Upstairs, up a steep staircase, people got a glimpse of Herbert and Raymond’s large bedroom, while Walt and Roy shared a small bedroom. The Disney family home was located on a lot of 1,200 sqft. Organizers say a room has since been added to the back of the house, which is now used as office space.

The Disney family withdrew in 1906 and moved to Missouri. Eventually, they returned to Chicago in 1917, when Walt was a teenager. They lived in the North Lawndale area and Walt attended McKinley High School.

Colon said more than 550 people took part in the tour despite Saturday’s rain. Although attendance was lower on Sunday, he still expected a good turnout. He previously only did private tours, he said.

According to Walt Disney Birthplace, the city of Chicago tried to designate the property as a historic landmark in 1991, but the owners fought the designation and won. Now, the new owner is working with the city to restore the house to its 1901 condition.

Colon said fundraising efforts have been underway for about 10 years to restore the house to its current condition, but more donations are needed to fully restore and equip it. He said he was pleased to see so much interest in the home and hoped to organize more tours in the future.

“We’re still figuring out how we’re going to go about the registration process, how we’re going to bring people together and how often we’re going to do it,” Colon said.

For Reyes, who was born and raised in Hermosa, the turnout was “overwhelming, but in a good way.”

“We’re definitely excited just to know how many people want to know a prequel to when Walt started and what it was like for him. ” she said.

rjohnson@chicagotribune.com