Jim Siegel

The Town of Celebration: a Pictorial Look at Celebration, Florida, Disney's Neo-traditional Community Built in the Early 1990s on the Southern-most Tip of Walt Disney World (Volume 1) Jim Siegel

A charming, full-color mini-coffee table book exhibiting the enchanting beauty of Celebration, Florida. Celebration is a unique, neo-traditional community conceived by then Disney CEO Michael Eisner, planned by Robert A. M. Stern and Jaquelin Robertson, and designed by the Imagineers of The Walt Disney Company, as well as by some of the most notable architects in the world. Founded in 1994, the town has attracted residents from all over the world, many of whom stopped by for a visit while vacationing in nearby Disney World and fell in love with this modern re-creation of a small, 1940s eastern seaboard town. Not to be confused with either Florida retirement communities or the back lot movie sets of Disney Hollywood Studios, Celebration is a real town with real people of all ages, living in an idyllic setting encouraging leisurely strolls along winding, tree-lined streets that feature well-manicured lawns and gardens, and white picket fences. Scores of neighborhood parks, elevated wooden walkways, and lakes or ponds punctuate the landscape. About half the area of Celebration is wooded conservation area. The eight villages of Celebration cluster around an inviting Town Center of shops, restaurants, and offices; the Town Center also serves as a venue for frequent outdoor concerts, festivals, and community activities. The town boasts two boutique hotels, six houses of worship, and the world-class campus of Celebration Health Florida Hospital, fast becoming a renowned center for innovative health care and medical training. But at the heart of all these features and facilities is a family-oriented, community-minded spirit that recalls a life of decades past ... a friendly, clean, safe, patriotic, and stimulating place to live. That was Walt Disney's vision for encouraging a revival of the small American towns of his youth. That vision is embodied today in Celebration.