Before Epcot opened in 1982, Wat Disney World already had some beautiful mosaics on its property, in the form of the five panels that tell the story of Cinderella, inside Cinderella Castle in the Magic Kingdom.
Designed by Imagineer Dorothea Redmond, the mosaics were done by Hanns Scharff, a WW2-era German interrogator who turned into a mosaic artist in the 1950s, and whose other work included the California State capitol building, the Dixie State College Cine Arts Center and several schools, colleges and universities.
So when Disney was building its second park in Florida and wanted a mosaic at the entryway to The Land pavilion, they knew exactly who to call – Hanns Scharff.
The mosaic is meant to depict the various layers of the earth, which fits in perfectly with the theming of The Land. But did you ever notice that the tile aren’t just on the wall, but they also curve onto the floor? There’s a reason for that.
And it wasn’t on purpose…
