Obscure Disneyland spot holds one of park's oldest secrets - SFGATE

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Tucked off of Main Street, U.S.A., the haphazard-looking little wall has long fascinated Disney fans. Most visitors would likely never see it, since the real attraction is the drinking fountain in front.

But in a place that has been crafted to perfection, the wall is puzzling. It’s tucked in the alley between the Starbucks and Disney Clothiers, on the right side of Main Street if you’re facing Sleeping Beauty Castle. As you’re walking to the lockers, you’ll see it directly next to that doorway; the collection of bricks looks out of place among the highly curated, colorful designs of the iconic street. The left side of the wall features perfectly uniform bricks, while the right is a hodgepodge of different shapes. It looks like a mistake, but it’s definitely not. In fact, it holds a secret to how Disneyland was built.

“It’s called the test wall — as if they’re testing a bunch of different bricks,” Kevin Perjurer, creator and host of “Defunctland,” tells SFGATE. The wildly popular YouTube series, which has amassed more than 1.3 million subscribers, explores the history and, ultimately, extinction of both beloved and forgotten amusement parks and attractions.

“One theory is that this was set up and built off-site as a way to show Walt or someone different brick styles so they could approve it really fast,” Perjurer explains. “They’d walk by, when they’re making a thousand decisions a day, and say, ‘Which bricks do you want on Main Street?’”

It's a fact that the rush to build and open Disneyland was not without its many challenges — particularly shortages of both time and materials.

The "test wall" at Disneyland with many styles of brick.
Carly Caramanna

“They very much were running out of everything to the point of the opening day disaster that everybody knows about,” Perjurer says. “The theory is that test wall was just used as a wall because they needed the materials. This is a literal test brick wall.”

But Perjurer doesn’t know if he believes that theory — or maybe he doesn’t want to believe something with such a simple explanation.

“The second theory is that this was going to be the entrance to Liberty Street,” says Perjurer.

A far more tantalizing explanation, especially for the many Disney fans who salivate over the “could’ve beens” and “should’ve beens,” Liberty Street would have been one of several annexes connected to Main Street, U.S.A. These annexes wouldn’t just be used to bring guests to another time period, but assist with traffic flow.

“The idea was on the left you had Walt's bricks for his turn of the century hometown,” Perjurer explains. “The bricks on Main Street are straight lined and they are very proper — all even, all uniform, that are laid how bricks are laid today.”

The right side reflects the styles of bricks that would be found in Liberty Street, a land to be rooted in colonial times — the pre-industrial revolution when bricks were handmade.

“That transition from the bricks of Walt’s childhood to the bricks of Colonial America would transition visually and then you’d walk — and all the bricks in that area would be that way,” Perjurer says.

If true, it would have been a true testament to the thought put into the theme park. “All the Imagineers were really trying to do as close a job as they could with building materials, influence, architecture throughout time. It was less an aesthetic choice and more of a historic choice,” he adds. “The theory makes sense with history.”

A close-up of the brick wall.
Carly Caramanna

Liberty Street never came to fruition, despite the announcements and advertisements in 1956 alluding to an impending opening. A wall was constructed, to the right of the brick wall, where early guests to Disneyland could get a literal sneak peek via a shadowbox depicting a small-scale version. The idea didn't die, though: Liberty Square eventually found its way into Walt Disney World, complete with the Hall of Presidents that had been planned for Disneyland.

That space now remains to the right of the brick wall but leads to a backstage area for cast members.

Another theory is rooted in movie magic — and this one reveals some serious intel about how Disneyland was first created.

“There’s been a lot of speculation about it,” Jim Shull, retired executive creative director at Walt Disney Imagineering, tells SFGATE. After three decades with the Walt Disney Company, Shull is familiar with the early stages of designing and building new projects. He was instrumental in the design of countless Disney Parks projects, including Hollywood Studios’ Rock ’n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith at Walt Disney World, Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure in Epcot and Toy Story Playland at Disneyland Paris.

“The reality is you’re asking a question that has as much to do with technology as culture,” he says. “Disneyland was really built as a movie set.”

As the unprecedented park was being built in 1955, Disneyland’s designers were marrying techniques used in the movies — such as building faux facades — with real world practice, according to Shull. The bricks may not even be real bricks, but a faux brick wall made using a technique brought over from Europe. Designers could construct everything from statues to marble walls often using a mix of plaster and hay that would be spread over chicken wire before being sculpted.

“A lot of Disneyland was done that way,” Shull says. “You had a lot of craftsmen who knew how to do it. It’s likely the reason it’s there is because they were doing a test — or mockup — and that’s something we’d do frequently at Disney.”

These mockups would often be done on location as opposed to off-site.

Shull had a similar experience while constructing Toy Story Playland in Disneyland Paris. “In Toy Story land in Paris, we did these giant pebbles,” he explains. “Rather than doing the pebbles back of house or in a vacant lot, we actually sculpted these giant pebbles in the land.”

Luckily, that process worked for Shull and his team. “The thought is if we’re right, and they do look good, instead of making 20, we only have to make 19 more. So, there’s an advantage to that. That may have been the philosophy in doing the brick wall in Anaheim. It was a test and it was good enough that they left it there.”

It’s widely documented that Disneyland was riddled with opening day issues, including lack of restrooms and little access to water for guests — and so, it’s possible that the team simply made do as they could.

“Part of it was a learning curve,” Shull says. “Disneyland was the first immersive theme park. They did a lot of things that worked and a lot of things that didn’t work.”

With mounting theories, the brick wall remains in the shadows of the Disney community’s great fascinations. Disney fans are unique in that they have a way of latching onto the smallest things and creating fandoms around them. Places, personalities and even objects — inanimate ones — are given so much attention by passionate fans that they develop lives of their own.

Trash cans from different park lands were so popular, they became official Disney Christmas ornaments. A purple wall at Magic Kingdom is so beloved, it’s has been featured on a Disney Parks jacket.

Perhaps one day we’ll see “test brick wall” merchandise or even a selfie spot.

“I’m shocked always by the people on social media who take something, like the bricks, and speculate off of that,” Shull shares. “It’s done in good faith — and innocent — but it’s very often wrong. The most obvious reason is probably the least interesting reason.”

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Obscure Disneyland spot holds one of park's oldest secrets - SFGATE

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