Found this story on KSDK's site. Pretty interesting story, sad it never came to fruition.
http://www.ksdk.com/news/article/348062 ... -St-Louis-
http://www.ksdk.com/news/article/348062 ... -St-Louis-
Disney in St. Louis?? What could have been in 1963?
Disney in St. Louis?? What could have been in 1963?
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Where would this have been located? It may be a blessing that we did not lose a great
neighborhood like Soulard or more of the developed riverfront. It is a shame that we
do not have Disney here, but at the same time, it would have destroyed a lot of neighborhoods, if in the City somewhere. I would love to know what the park would have
done for the City. Look what it did for Orlando. I know that is a bigger
park, with better weather, than the one proposed here, but it would have made
St. Louis a national destination, if not global. Too bad!
neighborhood like Soulard or more of the developed riverfront. It is a shame that we
do not have Disney here, but at the same time, it would have destroyed a lot of neighborhoods, if in the City somewhere. I would love to know what the park would have
done for the City. Look what it did for Orlando. I know that is a bigger
park, with better weather, than the one proposed here, but it would have made
St. Louis a national destination, if not global. Too bad!
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I most definitely would not want to lose any of our historic neighborhoods or areas, however, like you said, we could have become a global destination.DogtownBnR wrote:Where would this have been located? It may be a blessing that we did not lose a great
neighborhood like Soulard or more of the developed riverfront. It is a shame that we
do not have Disney here, but at the same time, it would have destroyed a lot of neighborhoods, if in the City somewhere. I would love to know what the park would have
done for the City. Look what it did for Orlando. I know that is a bigger
park, with better weather, than the one proposed here, but it would have made
St. Louis a national destination, if not global. Too bad!
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The article says "just north of Busch Stadium" so I have to imagine some beautiful buildings would have come down.
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I'm sure they meant Busch Two, which was Downtown. But in 1963, Busch Stadium was the Old Sportsman at Grand and Dodier. If that was what was thought, imagine what that area could be like now!
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I've heard many, many, many times over the years, from multiple sources, that Walt's major target for Disney World itself was, in fact, East St. Louis. Yeah, no kidding.
Seriously, imagine East STL being called the "Happiest Place on Earth".
Seriously, imagine East STL being called the "Happiest Place on Earth".
I was thoroughly unimpressed by Orlando, and Disney. As an outsider I could not see what exactly Disney did for the city. There was a lot of cheap stucco resort buildings. A very dated feel to the whole place, or atleast what I saw of it.
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I agree that it's not a pretty or well designed place, but there's a whole lot of money floating around that town that wouldn't be otherwise. The thought of living in Orlando makes me shudder though -- it would be hard to pick a city less like St. Louis than Orlando.imran wrote:I was thoroughly unimpressed by Orlando, and Disney. As an outsider I could not see what exactly Disney did for the city. There was a lot of cheap stucco resort buildings. A very dated feel to the whole place, or atleast what I saw of it.
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The last of a ten-part series on 1963 plans for an indoor Disney St. Louis (aka Riverfront Square) was posted this week. It's an interesting story. I found it easier to pick up the story at Part 4:
http://www.disneyhistoryinstitute.com/2 ... 4.html?m=1
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http://www.disneyhistoryinstitute.com/2 ... 4.html?m=1
