Assingment 5- Peter Reijnders

Peter Reijnders, born Petrus Lambertus Wilhelmus (Peter) Reijnders on July 24th, 1900, was a Dutch inventor, photographer, and film director.
He was born in 's-Hertogenbosch and found his love for photography and film early on. By the end of his life he directed over 58 films; winning awards and world recognition for many of them and his photography became just as well known. It was this passion that brought him to work with a now famous Dutch company...Philips (Yes, who invented the CD and makes awesome electronics. With Philips, he helped to invent many of the little gadgets that made Philips famous after their very popular radio sold over 100million units. Gadgets like the new electric razors with heads that moved to fit to your face better; Philips made transistors, helped to reinvent the lightbulb, and would go on to invent the first compact audio device; the tape.
But Reijnders is even more famous for what he decided to work on once he left Philips- the first modern themepark. Philips had created the Eindhovense Stadswandelpark to celebrate their 60th anniversary- where a public park and its nearby forest was turned into a (Grimm) fairy tale; castles, shops, story tellers, haunted woods... When Philips dismantled the entire set up at the end of the season, Reijnders quit Philips and decided he wanted to built a permanent park there- where the lavish gardens and heavy wood would be the perfect set up for what would be called the "Efteling".
In this park, before it opened in 1952, parts was build, demolished, and rebuilt because they were built too well. The houses of elves were straight (They should be crooked!!) pathways were even and it simply wouldn't do for the aurora Reijnders and others wanted to deliver. After an investment of nearly 1 million gilders and then a last minute crunch to redo another area of the park; it opened and was widely successful- having won hundreds of awards and even the award for best theme park in the world on several occasions. Walt Disney himself based much of his original Disney Land park off of the Efteling; shouting delightfully that this was how a theme park was supposed to be- where everyone was happy, the food was good, the rides were fun, it gave an air of mystery, and employees played their part in the park.

http://www.usa.philips.com/about/company/local/history/index.page

http://www.friso.addr.com/index.htm?http&&&www.friso.addr.com/informatie.htm?http&&&www.friso.addr.com/geschiedenis/decennium1952.htm

http://www.usa.philips.com/about/company/local/history/index.page

http://www.cultuurwijzer.nl/www.cultuurwijs.nl/cultuurwijs.nl/cultuurwijs.nl/i000800.html