The buildings on Main Street were built using forced perspective. The first floor of the buildings are built at regular human scale but the second and third stories are each built smaller than the story below–even the bricks, boards, and windows are smaller. This optical illusion encourages the eye to travel up and the tricks us into thinking the buildings are much taller than they are.

And the next time you are admiring those buildings, read the names on the windows. The tradition of honoring individuals with a personalized decorative window was started on Main Street, U.S.A. by Walt Disney and has continued at Disney parks worldwide. A Disneyland window is considered the ultimate honor anyone can receive from “The Happiest Place on Earth.” Most recently, the Sherman Brothers, received a window on Main Street. Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman are the Academy Award winning composers of the music from “it’s a small world,” The Enchanted Tiki Room, and “Mary Poppins.”