Santa's Village was a
Christmas
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...
-themed
amusement park from 1957 to 1979, located in
Scotts Valley, California
Scotts Valley is a small city in Santa Cruz County, California, United States, about thirty miles (48 km) south of downtown San Jose and six miles (10 km) north of the city of Santa Cruz, in the upland slope of the Santa Cruz Mount ...
, United States.
History and attractions
In 1956 the Lawridge dairy farm, alongside
Highway 17 in Scotts Valley, was leased to southern California developer
Glenn Holland. He had already developed
Santa's Village (Lake Arrowhead) in 1955, in San Bernardino County, and would later build a third in East Dundee, Illinois, becoming
Santa's Village AZoosment Park
Santa's Village Amusement & Water Park (formerly known and colloquially referred to this day as simply Santa's Village) is a theme park in East Dundee, Illinois. It was originally built by Glenn Holland, who also built two other Santa's Village ...
.
The grand opening was May 30, 1957, with Danish native Carl Hansen in the role of Santa Claus and Alma Ragon as Mrs. Claus.
Carl Hansen went on to star in
KNTV television's ''Hocus Pocus The Clown and Magician.''
The main rides were a bobsled, a spinning Christmas tree and Santa's Express train. There was also a petting zoo, a huge Jack-in-the-Box and equally large Santa's boot, and an Alice in Wonderland hall of mirrors. There was also a frozen candy cane striped North Pole. All the workers dressed like elves.
In August 1966, Holland sold to developer Noorudin Billawala. In 1977, the Santa's Village Corporation filed for bankruptcy, and in 1979 the park closed for good. In 1990
Borland International purchased the land as their world headquarters.
The park had its own freeway exit off Highway 17, and as of 2023, the freeway exit signs still read "Santa's Village Road".
References
External links
History of Scotts Valley Santa's Village
{{Defunct Amusement Parks in California
1957 establishments in California
1979 disestablishments in California
Defunct amusement parks in California
Santa Claus
Amusement parks opened in 1957
Amusement parks closed in 1979