Main Street U.S.A.

Many fans have known for a long time that the names on the upper-story windows along Main Street pay tribute to real people, most of them Disney employees who contributed to Disneyland in some significant way.

Typically the windows identify a “proprietor” and then give a brief description of a fictional business supposedly operating behind the window. That descriptive text is usually a clue as to what the person did at the park. For instance, the window for Wally Boag, the long-time comedian at the Golden Horseshoe, states that his business is “Golden Vaudeville Routines”; for X Atencio, “The Musical Quill—Lyrics and Librettos” suggests his musical contributions to the Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, and other attractions; and “Evans Gardens—Exotic & Rare Species” honors the landscaping artistry of Morgan “Bill” Evans.

Not all of the windows on Main Street have names on them—some have no text at all, and some identify a fictional business (Piano Lessons, Fine Food Chinese Restaurant, Massage Parlor) without naming a specific proprietor.

Two of the windows are given to relatives of Walt Disney: his father, Elias, who died 14 years before Disneyland opened, and his grandson, Christopher Miller, who was born in late ’54 while Disneyland was being built.

Walt Disney himself does not have a Main Street window, but he does have a window in Mickey’s Toontown at the library: “Laugh-O-Gram Films, Inc. W.E. Disney, Directing Animator.” The Disneyland Encyclopedia includes a list of 72 names on the Main Street windows and identifies the actual profession for each name.