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In the entertainment world the exterior marquee is often as
important in attracting audiences as the interior adventure.
At Disneyland, for example, Walt Disney and his staff used unique
designs both to attract and to stimulate the visitor's imagination
for an unseen show or ride.
As the "Small World" cruise developed, Disney recalled
an exhibition of colorful mobiles displayed several years earlier
in his studio library ... mobiles literally built inside bottles
and snifters from such unusual materials as toothpicks, ornate
match boxes, bright tissue paper, small driftwood and other bits
and pieces.
From the memory of these two-foot tall toy mobiles came the
idea for a 120-foot high "tower of mobiles." The "Tower
of the Four Winds" was 46 feet wide at its base and weighed
in at more than 100 tons.
Foundations were driven 60 feet into the ground to brace the
structure against the Long Island winds that would be its sole
source of power. The perpetual motion of the Tower's 52 different
mobiles represented a carefree interpretation of children's exuberant
spirit.
Spinning elements on the Tower included animals from every
land, butterflies, bees, a winged dragon, and even (some say)
a big "D" for Disney, taken from the WED logo.
The Tower was a landmark for the fair, and "Meet me at
the Tower of the Four Winds" became a catch-phrase for Pepsi
and fairgoers in general.
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