𝗛𝗮𝗽𝗽𝘆 𝗕𝗶𝗿𝘁𝗵𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝘆 𝗳𝗮𝘃𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝘁𝘀 999 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝘂𝗻𝘁𝘀! I'm talking about the original Haunted Mansion at Disneyland, of course.
I’ve spent way too many months researching its gorgeous architecture, so I figured I'd share some of the inspiration for the Haunted Mansion's appearance—at least on the outside.
It's hard to avoid the Haunted Mansion. It towers above guests as you walk nearby. Its imposing façade was designed to beckon you towards it, to seduce you to want to enter. It's not just because the three-story building is tall; the architectural style commands our attention. This is in part because it is different in appearance from other buildings at Disneyland. But it's also because of the very style that Imagineers chose that reels us in. It feels familiar yet exotic. Powerful. Grand.
This is the style of "America," and by America, I mean the United States. I'll come back to this.
Walt Disney wanted a haunted house
Walt Disney had wanted a haunted house at Disneyland before the park opened. In 1953, Walt Disney famously had Herb Ryman, an art director who worked at Disney animation studios, create a map of Disneyland to show to possible investors. In what is now known as "The Lost Weekend," Disney had Ryman take his vision for Disneyland Park and produce a lovely map. On that map is a spooky house, leading Disney historians and enthusiasts to acknowledge that Disney planned for a haunted mansion early on.
However, Walt Disney himself would not live to see the attraction open. It opened on August 9, 1969, three years after his death.
Imagining a Haunted Mansion: Imagineer Ken Anderson reads some books
The Haunted Mansion attraction underwent different manifestations over time. The initial sketch, which is accredited to Harper Goff (1951), shows what looks like a more traditional Victorian mansion in a dilapidated and abandoned state. Walt Disney famously vetoed having a run-down house at Disneyland.
We owe much of its exterior appearance to Imagineer Ken Anderson. He was another Imagineer tasked with helping to conceptualize Disneyland's Haunted Mansion. Like many other Imagineers, he often found inspiration by flipping through books that he had access to at the Walt Disney Imagineering Information Research Center (whew, say that 10 times quickly!). He identified one particular mansion and very clearly borrowed its exterior style and arrangement for his early concept of the Haunted Mansion. The photograph shows a famous mansion in Baltimore, MD.
The lucky book was Decorative Art of Victoria’s Era (1950), and the photograph that so inspired him was of the Shipley-Lydecker House, built in 1803. The Shipley-Lydecker House is an example of Greek Revival architecture, popular in the 19th century.
And while Disney fans might adore the Haunted Mansion today, there were a lot of people who didn't care for the mansion it is heavily based on. No, the Shipley-Lydecker House had some fierce critics. One critic described it as “pretentious." [1] Another called it “the most absurd and the most picturesque dwelling in Baltimore.” Clearly, this second critic was indecisive. Sadly, you can’t visit this mansion any longer on your Disney-inspired travels—it no longer exists!
The Shipley-Lydecker House might be the most famous and well-known (and let's face it, most obvious) influence on the Haunted Mansion's exterior, but it wasn’t the only one that Imagineers looked to when creating the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland. Imagineers borrowed a little bit of this and that from other mansions, including the Evergreen House in Maryland and Stanton Hall in Mississippi. All of them are examples of Greek Revival architecture. And notice that none of them are located in New Orleans or Louisiana. It's an interesting choice, considering that Imagineers were trying to create a Louisiana atmosphere in the land named New Orleans Square. I weigh in on the likely reasons for these decisions in my book!
The Haunted Mansion and Greek Revival Architecture
So why did they focus on Greek Revival at all when surely Disney Imagineers had many examples to choose from? There’s a lot to unpack around this idea, but it has much to do with forging an American identity. Greek Revival architecture is important in U.S. history and has clear ties to the nation's identity as a democracy. I have to save more for another post and the book because there is A LOT to say about the Haunted Mansion and Greek Revival architecture!
I’ll also be returning to how to identify Greek Revival architecture at Disney and beyond later. Feel free to contact me with your feedback. You can also subscribe to my newsletter for exclusive behind-the-scenes content. I'd love to hear what you are interested in learning more about!
Hurry back! The spirits are just dying to see what you'll read next...
Notes
[1] Maryland, A Guide to the Old Line State developed by the Works Project Administration (1940: p. 251).
Photo credits:
Stanton Hall, MS, photo: Steven Baltass, CC BY-SA 4.0
Evergreen House (now Museum), MD, photo: anonymous, CC BY-SA 4.0
Learn more!
Read more about the Lost Weekend on Yesterland.
For a great deep dive into the Haunted Mansion's conceptual transformations over time, see this post by The Long Forgotten Haunted Mansion.
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