Walt's Formal Office - D23 Treasures of the Walt Disney Archives at the Ronald Reagan Library

After Walt Disney passed away in December 1966, his office was left untouched with exception of his secretaries and housekeeping. When Dave Smith was initially hired by the company as a consultant, there was not much work to do. The archives had not been officially created yet and many in the company were not aware that anyone was keeping track of such things.

Recently, I had the chance to speak to Dave about the process of archiving the offices. One of the first assignments Dave took on occurred in 1970, was to catalog and store everything in both Walt's formal and working offices.  He painstaking made detailed notes, took exact measurements and catalogs each item including furniture, books and trinkets through the rooms. The items were boxed up and put into storage.  Dave said that he felt perhaps one day, someone would want to recreate the office, much like is done with the oval office at Presidential libraries.

The office space was later used by Ron Miller and then Michael Eisner.  Currently, it is occupied by Shaun Cassidy for his production company.

It wasn't long before these items came out of storage and were put into Disneyland when The Walt Disney Story opened in the Main Street Opera House in April 1973.  Walt's working office was packed up and shipped to Walt Disney World in 2002 as part of the "One Man's Dream" exhibit and remains on loan there from the archives to this day.  The formal office was packed up at Disneyland in 2009 when The Walt Disney Story featuring Great Moments with Abraham Lincoln was again reworked and reopened.

Current Display at the Reagan Library

 Right now, the formal office is once again on display.  It now features the exact dimensions and exact placement of all items as they were originally when Walt Disney used the office.  

 

You can see this display at the D23 Treasures of the Archives exhibit opening July 6, 2012 at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, CA.