Randall Duell

Born in Kansas 1903, Randall Duell was the architect of most of America's theme parks. Following the success of Disneyland, that park's general manager, C. V. Wood formed Marco Engineering with Disney art director Wade Rubottom and Randall Duell joined in 1958. Marco developed several failed Disneyland-wannabes, including Pleasure Island near Boston and Freedomland in the Bronx. Duell formed Randall Duell and Associates in the early 1960s after his success designing Six Flags Over Texas in Irving, TX. RDA of Santa Monica, CA, quickly became the preeminent theme park design firm, employing other art directors such as John DeCuir (and often swapping artists with Disney). RDA was responsible for Astroworld, Magic Mountain, the Six Flags parks, the King's Island and King's Dominion parks, both Great Americas and many others.