You Can Build It - Part I

I recently acquired a set of pictures taken during the construction of EPCOT Center. Over 30 pictures labeled by what was being constructed around the photographer. While these types of pictures were strictly prohibited and Disney went through extraordinary measures to try to keep the construction crews, occasionally someone would grab some great photos. While these could have ruined the mystic at the time, they are perfect portals for looking back at the process over thirty years later. We’re going to break up our examination of these photographs into six parts over the next two weeks.

It is clear that our photographer was working on a project somewhere around the United Kingdom or Canada, as these were the two spots that had the most pictures.

The United Kingdom pavilion was structured between High Street and Tudor Lane, with a design that would allow guests to peruse the various shops while only taking a few steps step outside. Certainly, the interiors had a lot of great things to enjoy, but so too did the exteriors of the Cotswold cottage, the multitude of styles evident in the corner pub, the Georgian row houses, Hampton Court, and other architectural styles. Let’s explore what was being built as it was being built.

Listed as Roof U.K., you can spot the well-known dome of The Land’s greenhouses in the background behind the temporary power lines and framing of the United Kingdom pavilion.

Here we stand at the crossroads of the United Kingdom pavilion. To the right we see the construction of the Rose and Crown, and the shops across the road. Down the lane is the chateau in Canada with Spaceship Earth further off in the distance.

While the framing is taking place for the United Kingdom pavilion here, the real draw is obviously the chateau and Spaceship Earth once again.

Freshly installed chimneys. These would gain paint and a fresh coat of soot, or textured paint that appears to be soot, to give life to the pavilion.

The construction of gabled 1800s structure by the garden square.

An almost finished version of the shop exterior seen above. The pedimented gable is much more prevalent here.

The small cottage modeled after Anne Hathaway’s cottage in Stratford-upon-Avon. 

The backside of the cottage area, much of the theme of this corner was inspired by set drawings for Mary Poppins.

Further Reading:

You Can Build It – Part I (United Kingdom)

You Can Build It – Part II (The Land and World of Motion)

You Can Build It – Part III (Transportation and Carnival de Lumiere)

You Can Build It – Part IV (Canada)

You Can Built It – Part V (Spaceship Earth)
You Can Built It – Part VI (Miscellaneous)