AmericaJR.com’s Gloria Rzucidlo recently visited the Hamtramck Disneyland yard art/folk art display. The notion of building his artwork began when Dmytro Szylak, a Ukrainian immigrant, retired from General Motors. After working 32 years, Szylak began to search for a hobby which led to the creative idea of building Hamtramck Disneyland. To spend his spare time and with the idea of bringing something new to the city, Szylak began to convert his own backyard into a piece of art. It is a homemade construction built on top of two adjacent garages; a 30 ft. backyard filled with picture of Elvis and other pop culture stars, year-round Christmas lights, wooden soldiers armed with toy guns, American flags among many other things. The Hatch Art Gallery has purchased the two properties that make up Hamtramck Disneyland and intend to preserve the art display.
The amazing spectacle is located in an alley off of Klinger Street in Hamtramck, Michigan. To get there take I-75, get off at Caniff, take Joseph Campau north, then right on Commor – duck through the alley between Sobieski and Klinger Streets.