Santa's Candy Castle

Santa's Candy Castle, located in Santa Claus, Indiana, was the first attraction in Santa Claus Town, which is purported to be the first and oldest themed attraction in the United States.

Dedicated on December 22, 1935, the castle was originally sponsored by the Curtiss Candy Company of Chicago, creators of the Baby Ruth and Butterfinger candy bars. Designed by artist Emil Straus to look as though it were lifted from the pages of a fairytale, the red-brick building has all the elements of a castle including a crenellated tower, a turret, and a rotunda.

Santa Claus Town was the vision of Vincennes entrepreneur Milton Harris, who saw the potential of Santa Claus, Indiana’s unique name after its post office had been featured in Robert Ripley’s famous Believe It or Not cartoon. Harris leased almost all of the land in and around the town and secured sponsorships from leading national toy manufacturers. Santa Claus Town was officially launched with the dedication of Santa’s Candy Castle in 1935, and would quickly be expanded with the addition of the Toy Village and Santa’s Workshop.

The Toy Village, added in 1936, was one of the most popular children's attractions in Santa Claus Town. The Toy Village featured over a half dozen miniature fairytale buildings, each uniquely designed and sponsored by a prominent national toy manufacturer. Inside, children could play with all the popular toys of the day including Lionel trains, Buddy L trucks, Daisy air rifles and Strombecker's Playthings.

Santa's Workshop, which was also added in 1936, was another magical place for children. The unique building with turrets on either end housed an actual wood shop where Santa Claus himself could be seen making wooden toys by hand. A wooden sleigh complete with Santa and reindeers was among the popular wooden toys originally produced in the workshop. The building also displayed the popular toys of the day from leading national toy manufacturers.

The toy manufacturer’s toys were not for sale at Santa Claus Town, however. Santa Claus Town established agreements with retailers to sell the manufacturers’ toys through a special mail order service. Retail giant Marshall Field's, among others, would arrange for toys purchased at their Chicago store to be shipped from Santa Claus Town, donned with a Santa Claus Seal of Approval and postmarked at the town’s famous post office.

Santa Claus Town brought national media attention and thousands of tourists to the tiny town of Santa Claus, Indiana which had fewer than 100 people at the time. It directly led to the creation of the town’s Chamber of Commerce as well as the town's first newspaper. Santa Claus Town also caught the attention of rival entrepreneur Carl Barrett, leading him to build the town's famous Santa Claus statue, which still stands on the highest hill in the town today. Santa Claus Town would serve as a strong influence for other Santa Claus-themed attractions that would later appear throughout the United States from New York to California.

Santa Claus Town has been undergoing an extensive restoration effort. Restoration of the Candy Castle began in 2005 and was completed in 2006. Santa's Candy Castle was officially re-dedicated and re-opened to the public on July 26, 2006. Restoraton of Santa's Workshop has begun, but a re-opening date for that property has not yet been set.

Santa's Candy Castle claims to have the world's largest selection of gourmet candy canes, and also offers 25 flavors of gourmet hot chocolate, frozen hot chocolate, and gourmet confections.

External links

* [http://www.santascandycastle.com/ Official Site] - Contains a history of the attraction, information about events, and their online store.