Silver Lake, Hyperion Avenue, and Walt Disney’s Early Studio

 

In 1925, Walt and Roy Disney needed more animation studio space. They put down a deposit of a few hundred dollars on a large lot in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles. In January of 1926, they moved into the newly renamed Walt Disney Studios located at 2719 Hyperion Avenue. Over the next 14 years, the “Hyperion studio” would expand to include a number of buildings to house Walt Disney’s growing staff and successful projects.

In 1928, the Hyperion studio gave birth to Walt’s iconic Mickey Mouse cartoon character. Mickey was followed by other Disney characters, such as Minnie Mouse, Donald and Daisy Duck, Goofy and Pluto. Walt’s first full-length animated hit, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, was also created here, in 1937. The over-the-top success of this film led to the studio’s continued expansion and somewhat haphazard growth. By 1939, the Hyperion studio had swelled to 1,500 employees and the push was on to relocate.

So in June, 1938, the Disney brothers put down a $10,000 deposit on a 51-acre plot of land a few miles away in the city of Burbank. The move was made in 1939. One year later, the old Hyperion site was subdivided and sold for industrial use. Today, that spot is the location of a Gelson’s Market and shopping center. (A historical marker on a nearby lamp post commemorates the Hyperion animation studio.)

 

Over the years, the name ‘Hyperion’ has been used by the Walt Disney Company for multiple divisions and attractions, including Hyperion Books and the Hyperion Theater at Disney California Adventure Park.

Before the founding of the Hyperion studio, Walt and Roy Disney had moved their fledgling office and work space  to various locations in the nearby Los Feliz neighborhood. At first, in the summer of 1923, “The Disney Bros. Cartoon Studio” was established in their uncle Robert Disney’s home garage located at 4406 Kingswell Avenue. Later, the brothers leased office space at 4651 and 4649 on the same street. All three buildings have survived to present and are still in use by other parties. But to many Disney fans and aficionados, the Hyperion studio location represents ground zero for the start of Walt Disney’s  “Golden Age” of imaginative creations.