Santa's Workshop (amusement park)
Encyclopedia
Wilmington, New York
Wilmington is a town in Essex County, New York, United States. The population was 1,131 at the 2000 census. The town is named after Wilmington, Delaware.The Town of Wilmington is on the county's north border and is southwest of Plattsburgh...
at the "North Pole" is an amusement park
Amusement park
thumb|Cinderella Castle in [[Magic Kingdom]], [[Disney World]]Amusement and theme parks are terms for a group of entertainment attractions and rides and other events in a location for the enjoyment of large numbers of people...
that has been in operation since 1949. It was one of the first theme parks in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
(Santa Claus Town
Santa's Candy Castle
Santa's Candy Castle, located in Santa Claus, Indiana, is a tourist attraction that uses the traditions and decorations from Christmas as its 'theme'....
, (1935) and Santa Claus Land
Holiday World & Splashin' Safari
Holiday World & Splashin' Safari is a family owned and operated combination theme park and water park, located near Interstate 64 and U.S. 231 in Santa Claus, Indiana, USA. The theme park is divided into four sections that celebrate Christmas, Halloween, Thanksgiving and the Fourth of July with...
(1946), both in Santa Claus, Indiana
Santa Claus, Indiana
Santa Claus is a town in Carter, Clay and Harrison townships, Spencer County in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Indiana, between Interstate 64 and the Ohio River. The population was 2,041 at the 2000 census.Santa Claus was established in 1854...
preceded it). On December 16, 1953, the U.S. Postal Service awarded North Pole, New York
North Pole, New York
North Pole is a small hamlet located in the town of Wilmington, Essex County, New York in the Adirondack Mountains.- Geography :This tiny hamlet is situated in Adirondack Park at the northern edge of Essex County near Whiteface Mountain, 12 miles from Lake Placid, New York and approximately 30...
"Rural Postal Station" status.
The idea for the village originated in a story that Lake Placid
Lake Placid, New York
Lake Placid is a village in the Adirondack Mountains in Essex County, New York, United States. As of the 2000 census, the village had a population of 2,638....
businessman Julian Reiss told his daughter about a baby bear who visits Santa Claus
Santa Claus
Santa Claus is a folklore figure in various cultures who distributes gifts to children, normally on Christmas Eve. Each name is a variation of Saint Nicholas, but refers to Santa Claus...
at the North Pole. The design of the park was done by artist Arto Monaco
Arto Monaco
Arto Monaco was born November 15, 1913 in Elizabethtown, New York. He died November 21, 2003 in Upper Jay, New York. He was an artist, theme park designer, toy designer, and cartoonist. Arto is buried in Mountain View Cemetery located in Upper Jay. His mother was Ida Martin. He is the son of...
, of Upper Jay, and built by Harold Fortune, of Lake Placid, who also owned the site, and helped promote the park.
The park drew immediate media interest, with attendance peaking at 14,000 on September 2, 1951.
Reiss later started "Santa's Operation Toylift" using his own plane with which he delivered toys and gifts to underprivileged children in northern New York and Vermont. This grew with the provision of a C-46, the "Silver Sleigh", by Standard Oil of New Jersey, to cover 13 States, the District of Columbia and two Provinces of Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
delivering ten tons of presents to orphaned children.