08/28/2026
Giovanni LiDestri, owner of the historic downtown Rochester building that originally housed the University Club of Rochester, contacted me regarding my Dad's portrait of Walt Disney - which was taken in this building in the 1950's not long after he became a staff photographer at Eastman Kodak. Mr. LiDestri wanted to put together a tribute to that historical event and I was excited to help him make that happen. The caption on the photo reads "This famous portrait of Walt Disney was taken in this building on June 15, 1961 by legendary Kodak photographer Neil Montanus." The building is now called The Inn on Broadway and features a classic steakhouse and Vannis Jazz Lounge.
Some history: By 1961 color TV was beginning to replace black and white TV and Kodak began their sponsorship of "Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color" TV show on Sunday evenings. This led to one of Neil Montanus' first big assignments as a Kodak staff photographer, to take the official portrait of Walt Disney. For this photo, Walt Disney flew to Rochester on his private jet. Neil set up his lights and a giant 8 x 10 view camera at the University Club in Rochester. Disney executives subsequently called Neil's portrait the best portrait ever taken of him. My Dad sent a copy to Disney, which he signed and returned to us. And it's been a family heirloom ever since, where it still hangs in my dad's study.
