Korkis Korner: Main Street, U.S.A. Is NOT Based on Marceline

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Main Street, U.S.A. Is NOT Based on Marceline by Jim Korkis

Jim puts the kibosh on the myth surrounding the classic land.

Read it here!

[CONNCR]

The stories of Main Street, USA and Marceline, MO were something I "knew" for many years, even before I was a Disneyland CM. I lived in Missouri for two years in the mid 70's, but I visited Marceline this last summer for the first time. I drove into town on a sleepy Sunday morning, and looked around for anything that even remotely resembled Main Street, USA. Obviously I didn't find much. However, even before stepping foot in town, I had an understanding that what Walt was after was a feeling, a mood, more than actual buildings. As a young boy, the excitement of going into town for an afternoon - even if it was only a mile away or celebrating 4th of July downtown, must have had a huge impact on him. The one item in Marceline that struck me however was the centrally located park in the midst of downtown. There was even a bandstand / gazebo in the center - very similar to what was built for Town Square but never actually installed.

conncr

[Alex S.]

The one strong "Main Street" vibe I got in Marceline was a diagonal, cutting-the-corner, storefront like the one Into the Emporium from Town Square. But that's hardly a unique architectural element.

[disneykaren]

Thank you for writing this one. I really appreciate having you debunk the many myths about Walt Disney. How about tackling the myths about all the quotes Walt Disney supposedly said. Again, many thanks Jim! Hope to have you sign my Vault of Walt one day

[Cory Gross]

Great article! It was also timely for me as I've been researching a bit about Main Street, its purpose in Disneyland and things like that lately for my own blog.

When the Jolly Holiday Bakery opened I ended up getting embroiled in the debates about how its destroying Disneyland's authenticity and blahblahblah. What struck me is how people think it is supposed to be an authentic replica of small town America at the turn of the century. It's not. If one wants to see that kind of thing, go to an historical village. Main Street owes far more to the nostalgic image of the "Gay Nineties" than to the historical 1890's. Its reference points are primarily cinematic, from films like The Gay Nineties, The Naughty Nineties, Belle of the Nineties and Disney's own The Nifty Nineties. It has more to do with the Mellomen album Meet Me Down on Main Street than the historical realities of Marceline, Missourri, or Ft. Collins, Colorado. I love Main Street for exactly that reason!

Despite Walt's speech about the hard facts that created America, Main Street is like Fantasyland, Adventureland, Frontierland and Tomorrowland: a dream space bringing the worlds of imagination into tangible reality.