Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Monsanto House of the Future


This photo goes way back in time.  It was taken in the late 1960's.  Does anyone else remember the Monsanto House of the Future at Disneyland as much as I do?  It was one of my favorite attractions back then when I was just a kid dreaming of a house of my own one day.  It was installed at Disneyland in 1957 and stayed there until 1967 and it was built to represent a house that would exist in 1986.  I remember this place so well; drapes that opened and closed electronically, kitchen cabinets that would glide up and down at the touch of a button, microwave oven, flat screen TV mounted on the wall, and a stove top that was built in to the countertop and almost invisible.  All things that are quite common today but were fodder for my young imagination back then.

I read on Wikipedia that the demolition and removal of the house from Disneyland was quite a project.  The reinforced polyester structure was so strong that the 1/2 inch steel bolts used in the foundation broke before the actual structure did.  Sounds like material that could be used in tornado alley and along the hurricane-prone coast lines.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow, that is a trip back in time. Fantastically retro looking photo and building!

Kate said...

My thoughts exactly; people in Oklahoma could have used a structure like that this year!

Unknown said...

Fantastic! So cool.