Harriet Burns

Harriet Burns

Harriet Burns was a Disney Legend[1], Imagineer and a pioneer for women in the themed entertainment and design industry. Harriet was the first woman ever hired by Walt Disney Imagineering in a creative rather than an office capacity. Her role as an attraction and product designer for Walt Disney Imagineering laid a path for the many talented women who followed in her footsteps.

Education and Career

Harriet was awarded a Bachelor's Degree in Art from Southern Methodist University in Dallas. She later studied advanced design at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque.

In 1953, Harriet moved to Los Angeles with her husband and small daughter. There, she joined Dice Display Industries Cooperative Exchange and began a career in prop and set design for television shows including "Colgate Comedy Hour" and interior sets for Las Vegas Hotels including the Dunes. Her work was highly regarded and she was put in charge of designing the whimsicaly themed Southern California tourist destination Santa's Village.

In 1955 Harriet worked briefly at the Walt Disney Studios as a set painter and then designer for the Mickey Mouse Club television show. As part of her work she coordinated the show's color styling and even designed and built the iconic "Mouse Clubhouse."

In short order she was moved to WED Enterprises, now called Walt Disney Imagineering, by Walt himself, where she helped design Sleeping Beauty Castle, New Orleans Square, the Haunted Mansion, and more. She also designed all of the "singing birds" in the Enchanted Tiki Room, the first Audio-Animatronics attraction at Disneyland and played a key role in the 1964 World's Fair attractions.

Post-Disney

In 1986 Harriet Burns retired and moved to Santa Barbara. But she stayed active in the Disney community and was a frequent guest at Disney and fan organized events. Burns is the only woman to have a window on Disneyland's Main Street USA. It's inscription reads "The Artisans Loft - Handmade Miniatures By Harriet Burns". In 2000 she was inducted into the Walt Disney hall of fame as a Disney Legend.

Harriet Burns died on July 25th, 2008 at the age of 79.