Magic Lands: Western Cityscapes and American Culture After 1940 [Paperback]

John M. Findlay (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 22, 1993

The American West conjures up images of pastoral tranquility and wide open spaces, but by 1970 the Far West was the most urbanized section of the country. Exploring four intriguing cityscapes--Disneyland, Stanford Industrial Park, Sun City, and the 1962 Seattle World's Fair--John Findlay shows how each created a sense of cohesion and sustained people's belief in their superior urban environment. This first book-length study of the urban West after 1940 argues that Westerners deliberately tried to build cities that differed radically from their eastern counterparts.
In 1954, Walt Disney began building the world's first theme park, using Hollywood's movie-making techniques. The creators of Stanford Industrial Park were more hesitant in their approach to a conceptually organized environment, but by the mid-1960s the Park was the nation's prototypical "research park" and the intellectual downtown for the high-technology region that became Silicon Valley.
In 1960, on the outskirts of Phoenix, Del E. Webb built Sun City, the largest, most influential retirement community in the United States. Another innovative cityscape arose from the 1962 Seattle World's Fair and provided a futuristic, somewhat fanciful vision of modern life.
These four became "magic lands" that provided an antidote to the apparent chaos of their respective urban milieus. Exemplars of a new lifestyle, they are landmarks on the changing cultural landscape of postwar America.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The four planned cityscapes examined in Findlay's arresting study had an impact on urban design and architecture across the United States. Disneyland, with its theme-park concept, influenced shopping malls, Main Streets and historic districts. Stanford Industrial Park in Palo Alto, Calif., a research center which became "downtown" for Silicon Valley, blended elements of the suburbs and the campus into an unprecedented site for industry. The retirement community of Sun City, Ariz.--outside Phoenix and tailored to its affluent members' tastes and needs--demonstrated how to keep the city at bay. The Seattle Center, a civic complex built on the site of the 1962 World's Fair, brought suburbia to the central city. These and other "magic kingdoms" were designed to insulate people from urban chaos, yet paradoxically, argues Findlay, they reinforced social divisions, increased environmental problems and accentuated urban sprawl. This provocative study rethinks the meaning of urbanization in the American West. Findlay is associate professor of history at the University of Washington. Photos.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

New York and Chicago may have traditionally been the architectural meccas of the United States, but don't discount the American West as a prime example of urban architecture in the 20th century. Author Findlay didn't, and he has presented in this volume studies of four Western cityscapes: Disneyland, Stanford Industrial Park, Sun City, and the 1962 Seattle World's Fair. His thesis here is that the architects for these areas were attempting to build cities that had no counterpart in the East, cities that were totally different from what had gone before. There's not much written on this subject, and Findlay's clear writing style adds to this book's attractiveness. Recommended for special collections.
- Carol Spielman Lezak, General Learning Corp., Northbrook, Ill.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 394 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press (September 22, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520084357
• ISBN-13: 978-0520084353
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #336,156 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent urban history, September 28, 2005

By 

William M. Knoblauch (Arizona, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Magic Lands: Western Cityscapes and American Culture After 1940 (Paperback)

In Magic Lands John M. Findlay argues that in twentieth century planned communities arose across America to offer alternatives to urbanization. Finlay examines four case studies: California's Disneyland; Silicon Valley; Arizona's Sun City; and the Seattle World's Fair. These "magic lands" were sources of recreation, inspiration and optimism for the rest of the country.

Magic Lands begins with a look at the West's rapid growth at mid-century. Findlay credits the military spending of World War II and a post-war boom driven by the G.I. Bill for increasing populations and changing landscapes. New industries--such as Hewlett-Packard in Silicon Valley and Boeing in Seattle--aided this growth by driving the west to new economic heights. With new jobs came an increase in demand for housing and shopping plazas. The result was the "horizontal" urban community, one which sprawled outside of the urban center creating sprawl. Reacting to this eastern-style growth, westerners escaped to planned communities for amusement and alternatives to urban lifestyles.

The alternative communal visions presented in Magic Lands varied drastically. Walt Disney envisioned Disneyland both as family entertainment and as his example as "the city of tomorrow". Stanford built an industrial center that relied on the surrounding natural geography and climate to draw its workforce. Sun City transformed the natural landscape to provide an "ideal" active retirement community. Seattle rehabilitated a run down neighborhood to house it's 1962 world's fair. In each case, changes in these areas transformed their adjacent communities geographically, economically, and culturally.

The reasons for transforming these landscapes was constant, but the methods by which these Magic Lands were constructed varied drastically. Disneyland was built under the close supervision of Walt Disney, who envisioned his planned community as an example for the entire country, but Stanford's Industrial Park (i.e. Silicon Valley) never had a master plan--simply a goal: to build a leading high tech industrial center. In the case of Sun City, a drive for profit (and little else) led to the construction of this rich and green retirement community in the Arizona desert. Seattle's World Fair aimed to revitalize its downtown district--it ultimately failed. In each case, the results of these communities influenced national ideas on architecture and urban landscapes.

While Magic Lands offers a compelling look at these four planned communities, their similarities are tenuous at best. Comparisons of Disneyland to the Seattle World's Fair are sometimes a stretch, while Sun City shares little in common with Seattle. These are vastly different and unique communities. More compelling is Findlay's final chapter that shows the impacts of these communities today in places like Irving and Los Angeles. These planned communities had vast cultural and environmental impacts, and these topics could be covered more in depth. These are minor criticisms. Magic Lands is an insightful read that will both appeal to scholars and lay-readers interested in urban development and the growth of the American West.

4.0 out of 5 stars Good History of Planned Communities, October 22, 2003

By 

Bill Brown (Phoenix, AZ United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Magic Lands: Western Cityscapes and American Culture After 1940 (Paperback)

Findlay has written an excellent book in urban history. He weaves theory into his narrative effortlessly with few exceptions. Those rare exceptions occur when he heavy-handedly repeats his message, but they are easily overlooked. He also masterfully uses the photographs to enhance his argument, though one wishes that he had included comparative maps to make the micro-communities "legible" to the reader. His argument was convincing overall and left one wishing that he could have treated just a couple more important western landmarks. His most important contribution is to help the reader understand how western cities evolved from eastern, nuclear conception of a city to a model akin to the solar system.