From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Santa's Village was a winter-themed amusement park in the Skyforest section of Lake Arrowhead, California. Opened in 1955, it was the first franchised amusement park, one of three built by developer Glenn Holland. The other franchises, also defunct, were in Scotts Valley, California and East Dundee, Illinois. The East Dundee park re-opened in 2011 under new ownership as Santa's Village AZoosment Park (see Santa's Village (Illinois))
Opening more than a month before Disneyland, the 220-acre (0.89 km2) park was one of Southern California's biggest tourist attractions. It boasted kiddie rides, including a bobsled, monorail, and Ferris wheel; a petting zoo; live reindeer; and shops that included a bakery, candy kitchen, and toy shop.
Reduced attendance and revenue shortfalls caused Santa’s Village to close on 1 March 1998.[1] The property sold three years later for $5.6 million, and now serves as a staging area for local logging operations.[2] The faded candy cane signpost and dilapidated buildings of the park have become a ghost town along the Rim of the World Highway.[3]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa's_Village_(Lake_Arrowhead)
Opened: 1955
Closed and Abandoned: March 1, 1998
Today: Abandoned
Google Earth Images
1994
Early 2003
2003
December 2003
January 2006
2007
2009
Abandoned Ruins Photos
Modern Day Ruins Contributors Josh Stephens and Lovely Kuppio captured some amazing photos (2013) of the ruins. Here are just a few of them (follow the link below the web album to view them all):
Gingerbread House
Gingerbread House
Beehive when the park was open
Thank you Josh and Lovely Kuppio!
Links
Historical photos of Santa's Village
"Like" Santa's Village - Skyforest on Facebook!
Article - A Lake Arrowhead "Icon" Passes Away
Mr. Putman "Putty" Henck. His family was responsible for building and managing Santa's Village in Sky Forest.
Plans to reopen SkyPark at Santa's Village as of May 2014 - check out these videos!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjJfjPZlfc4
.jpg)
I went there right after it first opened and a couple of other times. I'm going to have to dig for some old family photos from there.
ReplyDeletehttp://patricktillett.blogspot.com/2013/03/santa-claus-arizona.html
ReplyDeleteWhile driving to the silver boom ghost town of Chloride Arizona, we stumbled upon a town (or what was supposed to become a town) named Santa Claus. If you have the time and/or inclination...
Are we still able to visit or is the site restricted?
ReplyDeleteIt is site restricted.
ReplyDeleteI used to work there. Haven't been by there in many years.
ReplyDeleteI was there the day President Kennedy was assassinated.
ReplyDeletehobbittown usa along highway 101 or 1 i forget in CA in the redwoods was a neat hike through the forest where you could see hobbits and laketown and the dragon smaug
ReplyDeleteLocal rumor has it the property is being purchased and an adventure park going in...
ReplyDeleteSkyPark at Santa's Village
ReplyDeletehttp://www.skyparksantasvillage.com/
Coming Spring 2015
Looks like the plans for Santa's Village are true!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.skyparksantasvillage.com/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjJfjPZlfc4
Park Plans Evolving
ReplyDeleteBy Glenn Barr, Reporter | Posted: Thursday, June 19, 2014
When the venerable Santa’s Village reopens with a new
face next spring, it will feature more than rides and its
historic North Pole charm.
Those who remember the restaurant, candy kitchen,
bakery and other commercial enterprises on the grounds
of the Skyforest theme park will be glad to know those
facilities will reopen, albeit with their product line updated
to meet contemporary tastes, said Bill Johnson, the project
manager for the park’s redevelopment.
https://www.facebook.com/moderndayruins/posts/875092869174799
Santa’s Village Plans Coming Into Focus
ReplyDeletePosted: Thursday, June 5, 2014 12:00 am
By Glenn Barr, Reporter |
Though its buyers refuse to be identified and its purchase price is being kept confidential, additional details surfaced this week about plans for the future of Santa’s Village, the iconic theme park in Skyforest, on whose sale escrow closed about 10 days ago.
https://www.facebook.com/moderndayruins/posts/875092479174838
It is currently under review for a temporary permit to reopen in its original state for winter of 2016, then after expansions are completed resume full operations in a permanent basis
ReplyDelete