Classic Treasures from the Disney History Vault... from the Worldwide Disneyana Specialists of Saturday's Toys...  

Item:  Presenting one of the earliest architectural concepts in the development of Walt Disney's plans for his Florida "City of the Future"... later to be known as the "Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow" (E.P.C.O.T.)

Date:  January 1966

Description:  This vintage ozalid print was created at WED Enterprises and represents one of the first architectural concepts of what was then known as the Walt Disney's "City of the Future" and as noted on the white label at the lower right corner, updated to reference the "Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow; copyright WED Enterprises - Jan '66".  Also stamped as "c. 1966 WED Entereprises" just above the label.

The print would have likely been available to the delegation that Walt Disney and his "Florida Project" planners were about to take in mid-January 1966 to meet with representatives from Westinghouse (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) and at General Electric (Wilmington, Delaware).  The purpose of the trip was to meet with the top companies in American industry in developing the technological infrastructure (communications; transportation; computers; etc.) that would be needed in the event that this monumental project could be developed in Central Florida.

The delegation from WED Enterprises included:

• Walt Disney
• Joe Potter
• Joe Fowler
• Marvin Davis
• Roger Broggie
• Bob Gurr
• Lee Adams 
• Steve Mulle (Westinghouse representative; computer information services)

The team departed in Walt Disney's Grumman Gulfstream executive airplane (aka N732G) from Burbank Airport (BUR) at 5:18pm on January 16, 1966; arriving at Pittsburg at 11:25pm.

Their meetings with Westinghouse would take place over the next two days, January 17 - 18, 1966.  On January 19, the team flew to Wilmington for discussions on the same subjects with the team from General Electric.

This particular rendering would have been created within the WED Enterprises department led by architect George Rester, Director of Architectural Concept Design.  He was significantly involved in working closely with Walt Disney throughout 1966 as the pace of work accelerated on the project.

It is possible that Rester's name is in the title block now covered by the label that was applied to the lower right corner of the document in January 1966.  However, rather than to attempt to lift the label, we'll opt to leave it in place and let more experienced conservationists use tools that might be able to help in further evaluating any hidden information.

The print was previously folded and punched (left margin) at WED for prior storage within a 3-ring binder. As there is no known public inventory of the specific materials that were transported for these important meetings with Westinghouse and General Electric, we are left only to evaluate the visual elements that contribute to as much provenance as we can reconstruct, as described above.

In this early plan, it is evident that the basic concept was followed as the project progressed, though work on the hotel centerpiece underwent several more adjustments in the coming months, leading to later architectural updates that were then colorized and enhanced by Imagineer Herb Ryman.

Bottom line:  1966 EPCOT concept illustrations are nearly impossible to find through today's online marketplace.  This vintage WED Enterprises designed document is exceedingly rare; as overseen by managing architect George Rester.

Measurement:  11" x 15.75" (folded to 8.5" x 11" for previous storage at WED Enterprises)

Condition:  Very good condition; previously folded for long-term storage as preserved for the past six decades