This Hotel Suite Is a Love Letter to Disney's Iconic House of the Future

The Howard Johnson Anaheim Hotel has recreated the magic of the midcentury modern Monsanto home made famous at Disneyland Park in the '50s and '60s as a new penthouse suite. And in this designer showcase, you can actually spend the night.

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By: Deanne Revel

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Photo By: Visit Anaheim

Photo By: Visit Anaheim

Photo By: Visit Anaheim

Photo By: Howard Johnson Anaheim Hotel

Photo By: Howard Johnson Anaheim Hotel

Photo By: Visit Anaheim

Photo By: Howard Johnson Anaheim Hotel

Photo By: Visit Anaheim

Photo By: Howard Johnson Anaheim Hotel

Photo By: Deanne Revel

Photo By: Visit Anaheim

Photo By: Visit Anaheim

Photo By: Howard Johnson Anaheim Hotel

Photo By: Deanne Revel

Photo By: Visit Anaheim

Photo By: Visit Anaheim

Photo By: Visit Anaheim

Photo By: Deanne Revel

Photo By: Howard Johnson Anaheim Hotel

Photo By: Deanne Revel

Photo By: Howard Johnson Anaheim Hotel

The House of the Future

These days, the hot new Disney attraction is thrilling and fast. But several Disney experiences remain beloved for their lo-fi aesthetic including the garden tour at EPCOT's Living With the Land or the distinctly modernist aesthetic of famed artist Mary Blair forever preserved in the It's a Small World ride. They're kitschy now but at the time these attractions were examples of cutting-edge tech and the forefront of design.

Walt Disney was highly inspired by the World's Fair and exhibits that blended education and entertainment. In its first decade, Disneyland had a chemistry museum — yes, really — and even a designer showhouse. A blend of design and tech, the Monsanto House of the Future opened in 1957 and is the stuff of Disney and midcentury modern legend. An estimated 20 million guests walked through this highly curated, fully functioning home (which predicted some of the smart home features we now use) during the decade it was on display. And while the home doesn't exist anymore, you can get a taste of that midcentury magic just across the street from Disneyland. Here's the history of this fantastically retro pod and how one hotel is bringing it back in a new way.

Plastic Makes Perfect in the House of the Future

So how did this cross-shaped home come to be at Disneyland? Walt Disney was "house-hunting" for a new, futuristic attraction for Tomorrowland. And Monsanto Chemical Co. was working on something truly out-of-this-world: plastic. Without plastic we wouldn't have many of the iconic chairs we now associate with midcentury modern design. "Monsanto Chemical Co. wanted to prove that plastics had a place in housing," said Becky Cline, director of the Walt Disney Archives.

"In 1953, a prototype home was conceived by their Plastics Division, with the aid of architectural firm Hamilton and Goody, and the Department of Civil Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology," said Cline. "Monsanto, which was already a participant in Disneyland’s Tomorrowland with its Hall of Chemistry attraction, built and opened the attraction at Disneyland in June of 1957 with the hope of widening the public and industrial acceptance of the then-blossoming field of plastics.

"The house featured four 8’x16’ molded plastic modules cantilevered in pairs from a 16-foot-square central utility core that also acted as a pedestal to support the home. The kitchen/laundry area sat in the center with four 'wings' that included two bedrooms, two baths, living and dining rooms."

A Midcentury Modern Gem in the Middle of a Theme Park

Beyond the novelty of plastic, Monsanto's House of the Future showcased many design marvels that were ahead of their time, from ergonomic cabinets that lowered or raised depending on your height to a very primitive Zoom-like chat system. "Special features included lightweight movable partitions and curtain walls with sandwich-panel construction; durable laminates for countertops, tables and walls; shatterproof, lightweight fiberglass panels to control light; foamed plastic for insulation; and textured surfaces, plastic gaskets and conduits; as well as ducts and piping that were molded into the floor and wall sections," said Cline. "Appliances and furniture matched the futuristic theme and showcased many amenities that did eventually come to be — including speaker and picture phones with preset dialing, central climate control, disappearing appliances and microwave cooking."

Of course, some features on display haven't happened yet. "Other more fanciful dreams included atomic food preservation, ultrasonic dishwashers and floating furniture," said Cline.

Another Midcentury Modern Gem Down the Road

There are countless hotel options right beyond the Disneyland gates, but only one has kept its midcentury modern spirit: the HoJo. One of the first hotels to open in Anaheim in the decade following the park's opening, the Howard Johnson Anaheim Hotel still features a gorgeous arched roof in its signature lobby. And General Manager Jonathan Whitehead is in the process of adding more mid-mod design to the hotel's interiors, too. "I wanted an iconic midcentury modern suite to pay homage to our midcentury designed hotel next to Disneyland,” said Whitehead. So with designer Caroline Mclean, he set out to recreate a piece of the House of the Future.

BOOK NOW | Howard Johnson Anaheim Hotel: Expedia, $100

Shared Disney and Design History

"The Howard Johnson Anaheim Hotel was designed by William Pereira, the renowned architect responsible for the Theme Building at LAX, along with the Disneyland Hotel and the Transamerica Building in San Francisco," said Whitehead. "The round lobby building and arch rooflines, along with other architectural elements, contribute to the retro design," of the Howard Johnson Anaheim, he said.

BOOK NOW | Howard Johnson Anaheim Hotel: Expedia, $100

The House of the Retro Future Suite

The House of the Retro Future Suite at Howard Johnson Anaheim Hotel features 700 square feet with a living room, dining area, bedroom and bathroom with two showers. "I just love how the whole suite works together to transport you to another time and space," said Whitehead. Reservations require a two-night minimum and the price tag is $1,957 — in tribute to the year the original attraction opened at Disneyland.

A Tomorrowland-Inspired Entryway

While it's not a carbon copy of the House of the Future attraction, there are nods to the design everywhere as well as to the original style of the Tomorrowland park area. "We wanted the room to evoke the feeling of old Tomorrowland from the '60s with lots of white, silver and aqua with pops of orange," said Whitehead.

Inspiration: The Monsanto Living Room

The future caught up with the House of the Future, and in just a decade the attraction was refurbished twice to keep up with the innovations of the time. "In 1960, the exterior received a new paint job, a TV-movie-stereo center was added to the living room, and designer Vincent Bonini gave the house a more open look using lighter colors and a 'suspended in air' motif," said Cline. "In 1964, designer Vladimir Kagan created a new look with vinyl flooring of deep blue with glints of lighter blue, green, purple and gold. This new flooring was matched with coordinated rugs of Acrilan acrylic fiber."

SHOP | Midcentury Modern Swivel Plastic Shell Chair : Overstock, $109.9

House of the Retro Future Living Room

There were a lot of opportunities to recreate the original designs in the suite's living room and the most important for Whitehead was the TV frame. "The white television frame is my favorite element," he said. "It was designed by the artist Dave Avanzino and is such an iconic element from the original, even though it was just a prop." The nearly floor-to-ceiling windows have a similar white frame and mimic the original home's giant curved wing portals.

However, other elements in the suite are simply a contemporary riff on Space Age-era design, such as the record player and vinyl collection or these "futuristic" Flor carpet tiles.

Bold, Bright Colors in the New Suite

The living room also features a custom design by famous midcentury-inspired artist, Josh Agle, or Shag. "We worked on a design of a family in the suite with some fun elements. It really is a statement art piece for the room," said Whitehead. The suite also features additional themed art by Michael Murphy, Shag and a model of the original attraction.

A Custom Build Worth the Wait

The suite's living room has the same futuristic credenza and curved sofas as the original House of Tomorrow — right down to the same round cushions. Whitehead said the custom-built pieces took the longest to reproduce and it took several attempts to get the curve just right. For lighting, he said the tension pole lamp was inspired by the original and custom produced for the suite, but the Gerald Thurston wall sconce is the exact same model as in the original home.

Inspiration: Monsanto Dining Room

The House of the Future dining wing featured several iconic furniture pieces such as molded plastic chairs, a tulip table (complete with a built-in lazy Susan turntable in the center) and low-profile seating with built-in end tables. And a hallmark of midcentury modern furniture, which can be seen everywhere in this space, is white plastic furniture or a white plastic frame with a contrasting colorful cushion.

House of the Retro Future Dining Room

If some elements in the dining room look just like the original home's furniture, it's because they are. After some thorough antiquing, Whitehead found and refinished this George Nelson lazy Susan table. "The chairs are from Modernica in LA," he said. "They specialize in fiberglass shell chairs. I think we nailed the look of the original!"

And the peacock artwork is a nod to a similar piece of '60s art shown in the original home. "There is only one photo of the original that I’ve seen," he said. "I asked my artist friend, Sam Carter, to create his own version of this piece. My custom framer and I worked out a fantastic design to accent this special creation."

SHOP | Midcentury Modern Plastic Shell Dining Shell With Metal Legs: Overstock, $78.74

Retro Drinkware You Can Buy Today

This isn't your typical hotel kitchenette. The molded plastic ice bucket and tray as well as these retro glasses from Atomic Drinkware create a '60s bar vignette. Even better: The Keurig disposable coffee cups come with the HoJo's original retro logo.

SHOP | Atomic Drinkware Rocks Glasses Set: Atomic Drinkware, $45

Inspiration: The Monsanto Bedroom

The House of the Future was very much designed for the cookie-cutter, atomic-era family with two adults and two children. The children's wing bedroom featured split plastic paneling to divide the room in half, creating two space-saving bedroom vignettes that mirrored each other. And the cabinets and textiles are a great example of the overall color palette of the home (and two popular mid-mod colors): bright citrus orange and bold teal blue.

SHOP | Knoll Tulip Stool: 2Modern Furniture & Lighting, $1,326

House of the Retro Future Bedroom

The large bedroom features two queen beds unlike the original home's main bedroom or children's room. "Since the original House of the Future bedrooms were not designed as a family hotel room, we decided to use midcentury and Guggenheim-inspired elements in our bedroom," said Whitehead. Instead of riffing on the specific design of the attraction, the bedroom takes general cues from the midcentury modern movement, especially Frank Lloyd Wright's Guggenheim Museum.

Taking Cues From Midcentury Modern Architecture

While the curved windows are impressive, you can't ignore the giant statement wall that runs behind both beds. "The wall is meant to reflect the circle elements used in Pereira designs, and the furnishings have the classic midcentury modern style," said Whitehead. The motif is reminiscent of elements in William Pereira's designs for both the original Disneyland Hotel as well as the Anaheim Howard Johnson Hotel.

Chair Crush No. 1

Like the original Monsanto design, there are loud pops of orange everywhere such as the cushion of this womb-style padded bucket chair. The orange even plays off the roof of the HoJo's resort buildings.

SHOP | Draper Chair With Tangerine Cushion: Wayfair, $839.35

Replicating Iconic Silhouettes in Decor

While the dining room table doesn't have a true tulip base, the stools in the original children's room had them, and Whitehead included a nod to this in the nightstand's table lamp. The smart tablets throughout the suite are also a nod to the original home's communication system, and Whitehead said the Alexa Show 8 devices provide some voice controls in the suite.

SHOP | Ore International Tulip Table Lamp: Amazon, $60.25

Chair Crush No. 2

An entire room of plastic isn't exactly practical for a hotel room, though Whitehead worked in several molded plastic pieces such as this task chair and the lamp behind it. "Some of the lamps are not specifically designed for use in a hotel and had pull chains and other fragile bits," said Whitehead. "I used wireless Lutron Caseta switches to replace the internal switches for durability and also for the futuristic look. In homes, they can work with Alexa and Google devices."

SHOP | Eames Yellow Molded Plastic Task Chair: Lumens, $1,045

Futuristic Tech in the House of the Retro Future Suite

In the spirit of showcasing new tech, the House of the Retro Future Suite has a lot of fun features you don't see in hotel rooms or even smart homes, such as this giant vanity in the bathroom. "The mirror can pair with a Bluetooth phone and act as a speaker," said Whitehead. Even the toilet is smart. And there's no tank or handle. The sleek Avoir toilet by Kohler is controlled by a remote Bluetooth button on the wall.

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