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)
