list_text=          One day in 1953, while working at 20th Century Fox, Bill Martin received a surprise phone call: Walt Disney was seeking help to create his new theme park, Disneyland.  Eager to expand his talent as an art director and set designer, Bill readily accepted the challenge and went on to contribute to the designs of many attractions, including Sleeping Beauty's Castle, Snow White's Adventures, Peter Pan's Flight, and more.  
          When Bill and the small group of Disney designers brainstormed together, Walt never knew what sort of wacky ideas they would devise. As Bill once recalled with a chuckle, "One of our first ideas for Main Street was a corset shop called 'The Wizard of Bras.' For some reason, Walt didn't like it."
          Walt did like Bill's creative genius, however, naming him art director of Fantasyland. Among his contributions, he designed the layout of each Fantasyland attraction, and later, designed the course of the Monorail around the Park. He also contributed design elements to Carnation Plaza, Bear Country, New Orleans Square, Pirates of the Caribbean, Autopia and the Haunted Mansion.
          Born in Marshalltown, Iowa, on June 15, 1917, Bill and his family later moved to Los Angeles, California. In 1937, he graduated from Los Angeles Junior College and continued his studies in architecture at nearby Chouinard Art Institute and Art Center School of Design.  
          After school, he landed a job as a set designer for 20th Century Fox until World War II, when he served as a captain in the U.S. Air Force training pilots and bombadeers. Following the war, he worked for Panoramic Productions and returned to Fox Studios as an assistant art director.
          When Bill first joined WED (Walter Elias Disney) Enterprises, now known as Walt Disney Imagineering, he and other newly-initiated Imagineers toured amusement parks across the country to fuel ideas for their new creative venture - Disneyland.  Then, using the Studio's animated movies as themes for attractions, they helped Walt develop his three-dimensional world of fun and fantasy.
          In 1971, Bill was named vice president of design at WED Enterprises, overseeing the master layout of the Magic Kingdom for Walt Disney World in Florida. His design projects included Main Street U.S.A., Cinderella Castle, the utilidors beneath the Magic Kingdom and the canal systems on the 27,000-acre property. He also designed various watercraft, including the Admiral Joe Fowler and Richard F. Irvine riverboats, steam launches and side-wheel steamboats.  
          In 1977, after 24 years with the company, Bill Martin retired. He returned, however, to consult on such projects as the Mexican and Italian pavilions at EPCOT Center and the master layout of Tokyo Disneyland.&