“Forgotten Hollywood”- The Return of Santa’s Village…

Posted on October 17, 2016 by raideoman1 | No Comments

Manny P. here…

   The long-closed but fondly remembered Santa’s Village may open early next month — but only on a limited scale. Developers of the 153-acre Skypark at Santa’s Village, in the Lake Arrowhead community of Skyforest, have asked San Bernardino County to issue a temporary use permit to operate on the footprint of the former amusement park, which opened in 1955 — the same year as Disneyland — but closed in 1998.

santas-logo3

alan-ladd  The 220-acre park was one of Southern California’s biggest tourist attractions. It boasted rides, including a bobsled, monorail, and ferris wheel; a petting zoo; live reindeer; and shops that included a bakery, candy kitchen, and toy shop. It was a place where Santa Claus was equally at ease hanging out with the Easter Bunny, or a Hollywood celebrity like Alan Ladd (right). At one time, David Nelson, son of Ozzie and Harriet Nelson, who had a popular television show in the 1950s, produced Santa’s Village commercials.

   A management staff has been hired, and crews are preparing Santa’s Village with fiber optics and cash registers. There is also work being done to bring some of the original 18 1950s-era structures into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. As the work at the park is getting done, some nearby Santa’s are also preparing for what could be in store. Leaders at Rim of the World High School are looking forward to working with park officials.

skypark-map

   The environmental document for the entire project could not be completed and approved in time for the Christmas season, so the focus shifted to opening just the Santa’s Village portion. The mountain biking, fly fishing, campgrounds, and other additions that will make Skypark a year-around destination will be pursued as part of the environmental review process and become operational next year.

sv4   San Bernardino County has no estimate on when an environmental report might be completed to allow for the entire Skypark project to move forward. A phased approach to opening Skypark is partially the result of requests from both the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Lahontan Water Quality Control Board. Both want more specific information about development remedies in the county’s preparation of an environmental document.

   In the meantime, the Holidays will have a new Southern California outlet, which is great news, indeed!

Until next time>                               “never forget”

This entry was posted on Monday, October 17th, 2016 at 5:43 pm and is filed under Blog by Manny Pacheco. You can follow any comments to this post through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.


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