Hamtramck Disneyland

Hamtramck, Michigan, United States

Public art

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Listed, not yet checked · Oct 2026

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Hamtramck Disneyland is a backyard folk-art installation of painted wooden cutouts, whirligigs, rainbow-striped sheds and found objects, begun by Ukrainian-born General Motors retiree Dmytro Szylak, who died in 2015. The nonprofit Hatch Art has owned and restored the site since 2016.

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Hamtramck Disneyland

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Site-level location · 42.4072° N, 83.0586° W

FIELD GUIDE

The story

Rainbow-striped sheds, toy dinosaurs and whirligigs fill a residential backyard in Hamtramck, where an immigrant autoworker built a folk-art world that Hatch Art now maintains. Hamtramck Disneyland was created by Dmytro Szylak, who grew up in Ukraine, came to the United States in the 1950s, worked for General Motors for 30 years and, after retiring, began building on the two properties he owned, according to Hatch Art.

The SPACES Archives describes wooden cutouts, spinning fans and whirligigs, many painted in orange, yellow and blue and lit with Christmas lights that shone year-round. Figures included the Statue of Liberty, rockets, animals, Elvis and Disneyland characters, fastened to beams that reached two stories high.

The timeline varies by source. Hatch Art says Szylak began after retiring in the mid-1980s and kept modifying the installation until his death in 2015, a project of nearly three decades. SPACES lists it as built 1992 to 1999 and says he began after retiring in the early 1990s. SPACES gives his birth year as 1923; Hatch Art gives 1922.

Hatch Art, a Hamtramck art collective, took ownership in May 2016. It has repaired the garage roofs, rebuilt a central wooden frame and added works by local and visiting artists. In 2021 SPACES noted that many pieces had been removed for conservation, quoting an on-site sign saying the rotted lumber was being replaced so that the original horses, whirligig and toys could be reinstalled. Michigan Public described rainbow-striped sheds with toy dinosaurs and rocking horses, a homemade helicopter on a central pergola and a windmill covered in small mechanical workers in 2024. Hatch Art says the lights, motion and sound components still need to be brought up to outdoor safety standards.

Hatch Art says the most impressive view is from the alley between Klinger and Sobieski streets. The site sits among homes, and Hatch Art asks visitors not to climb the structures or remove objects.

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PRACTICAL

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WHAT TO EXPECT

Hatch Art's website, which cites a July/August 2026 article, says individuals may enter the backyard unattended, and that the most impressive view is from the alley between Klinger and Sobieski streets. Restoration is continuing, so some original pieces are off display. Hatch Art lists seasonal volunteer drop-in days between June and September.

ACCESS

On Klinger Street in a residential part of Hamtramck, viewable from the alley between Klinger and Sobieski streets. Hatch Art asks visitors to respect residents and not to climb or remove anything; large groups should contact Hatch Art first.

COMMUNITY

Visitor Log

WHAT'S NEXT

Find another Big Thing nearby

The Heidelberg Project is an outdoor art environment on Heidelberg and Elba Place streets in Detroit's McDougall-Hunt neighbourhood. Artist Tyree Guyton began it in 1986, turning vacant lots and houses into assemblages of found objects; Kresge says it is considered Detroit's earliest outdoor neighbourhood art space.

Public art

6.2 km away

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