The Capitol of Disneyland

Dramatically lit in the foyer of the Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln attraction is the stately “Capitol of Disneyland”. Many guests assume this was built by the Disney Imagineers at the time the attraction opened, which was in 1965, but it actually has a history dating back 30 years prior, to 1935…a full 20 years before Disneyland opened.

In 1932, George H. Lloyd, a 53 year-old stone carver from South Wales, began carving this intricate model using Caenstone from France. It took him 3 1/2 years to finish, and five years later, in 1940, he began touring the country with it, showing it in department stores and other venues. Years later, while showing it in Los Angeles, Walt Disney saw it and realized it would be perfect for his new park, Disneyland.

You can read all about how Mr. Lloyd came to carve this model, as well as how Walt came to own it, in the first-ever-published story about the model found in the book, The Hidden Secrets & Stories of Disneyland.