This Day in Disney History

On this day in 1925, brothers Walt and Roy O. Disney put down a $400 deposit on a lot on Hyperion Avenue to build a new studio.

The Disney brothers moved their Studio from the original Kingswell Avenue location to 2719 Hyperion in Los Angeles in January 1926, and named it The Walt Disney Studio.

Over the years, a number of buildings were constructed to house Walt Disney’s growing staff. It was at the Hyperion Studio that Mickey Mouse was born and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was produced. But, with the success of Snow White, the Disneys needed more space to increase production and none was available at that location. So, they searched for a new site, which they found in Burbank.

They moved from Hyperion to Burbank around January 1, 1940. The move was completed on May 6, 1940. A few of the Hyperion buildings had been moved to Burbank (see photo above), but the remainder were sold, and 26 years later they were razed for a supermarket.

Soon Disney would be producing live-action films and building elements of Disneyland on the very Burbank lot that remains Disney’s headquarters today. Although the studio has expanded over the years with new buildings and the Feature Animation and ABC television buildings just across the street, much of the studio remains unchanged today, with the classic water tower, the trademark campus feel, and the iconic street sign of Mickey Avenue and Dopey Drive.

Hyperion will always be a special part of the Walt Disney Company’s history.