Santa's Candy Castle

Last updated September 16, 2024

Santa's Candy Castle, located in Santa Claus, Indiana, is a tourist attraction that uses the traditions and decorations from Christmas as its theme.

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.^[1] Designed by artist Emil Straus, 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.^[2] 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.

The Toy Village, added in 1936, featured over a half dozen miniature fairytale buildings, each uniquely designed and sponsored by a prominent national toy manufacturer. Inside, children could play with the popular toys of the day.^[3]

Santa's Workshop, which was also added in 1936, housed an actual wood shop where someone playing Santa Claus 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.

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, emblazoned with a Santa Claus Seal of Approval and postmarked at the town’s famous post office.

Santa Claus Town 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 today.^[4] Santa Claus Town would serve as a strong influence for other Santa Claus-themed attractions throughout the United States.

Restoration of Santa's Candy Castle was completed in 2006, and it was officially re-dedicated and re-opened to the public on July 26, 2006. Santa's Workshop is in the process of restoration.

In December of 2017, Santa's Candy Castle was featured on an episode of the Travel Channel's Man v. Food , hosted by Casey Webb.

Related Research Articles

Santa Claus is a town in Spencer County, Indiana, United States, in the southwestern part of the state. The population was 2,586 at the 2020 census. It is home to numerous Christmas themed attractions, including Holiday World & Splashin' Safari and Santa's Candy Castle.

An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central theme, often featuring multiple areas with different themes. Unlike temporary and mobile funfairs and carnivals, amusement parks are stationary and built for long-lasting operation. They are more elaborate than city parks and playgrounds, usually providing attractions that cater to a variety of age groups. While amusement parks often contain themed areas, theme parks place a heavier focus with more intricately-designed themes that revolve around a particular subject or group of subjects.

Santa Claus parades, also called Christmas parades, are parades held in some countries to celebrate the official opening of the Christmas season with the arrival of Santa Claus who always appears in the last float. The parades usually include themed floats, dancing or marching groups and bands playing Christmas songs. They are moving pageants that typically end near the centre of a city. Often sponsored by department stores, they may reinforce the store's brand recognition during the important Christmas shopping season.

Testor Corporation is an American manufacturer of tools and accessories for scale model kits. The business is based in Rockford, Illinois, and is part of RPM International. It was founded in 1929 and its products are made in the US and marketed to customers worldwide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mr. Bingle</span> Fictional character used for marketing purposes by retailers in New Orleans, Louisiana

Mr. Bingle is a fictional character marketed and sold by department store Dillard's during the holiday season. Originating as a mascot of the Maison Blanche department store in New Orleans, Louisiana, Mr. Bingle has become an important part of the popular culture of the Greater New Orleans area, and even across the United States.

Sonneberg in Thuringia, Germany, is the seat of the Sonneberg district. It is in the Franconian south of Thuringia, neighboring its Upper Franconian twin town Neustadt bei Coburg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Santa Claus, Arizona</span> Ghost town in Mohave County, Arizona

Santa Claus is an uninhabited desert place in Mohave County, Arizona, United States. Originating in 1937, Santa Claus lies approximately 14 miles (23 km) northwest of Kingman, Arizona, along U.S. Route 93 between mile markers 57 and 58, immediately north of Hermit Drive and just south of both Grasshopper Junction, Arizona, and the Junk Art of Chloride, a group of metal statues in Chloride, Arizona, that include a flamingo made out of a motorcycle gas tank. Characterized in 1988 as "a little roadside place on the west shoulder of U.S. Route 93," Santa Claus receives traffic from motorists driving between Phoenix, Arizona, and Las Vegas, Nevada, or Hoover Dam.

Holiday World & Splashin' Safari, formerly named Santa Claus Land, is a theme park and water park located in Santa Claus, Indiana, United States. The theme park opened in 1946 and features rides, live entertainment, and games that are divided into four sections that celebrate Christmas, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and the Fourth of July.

<i>Santa Claus: The Movie</i> 1985 film by Jeannot Szwarc

Santa Claus: The Movie is a 1985 British-American Christmas film starring Dudley Moore, John Lithgow, and David Huddleston. It depicts the origin of Santa Claus, and his modern-day adventure to save one of his elves (Moore) who has been manipulated by an unscrupulous toy company executive (Lithgow). It was directed by Jeannot Szwarc and was the last major fantasy film produced by the Paris-based father-and-son production team of Alexander and Ilya Salkind.

In Christmas folklore and legends, Santa's Workshop is the workshop where Santa Claus and his elves live and make the toys and presents given out at Christmas. The exact location of Santa's workshop varies depending upon local culture, however it is generally believed to be somewhere around or on the North Pole. There are at least eight claimed locations for his workshop. For example, people in Canada send letters to Santa's Workshop at his North Pole location in Canada, with the unique postal code of "H0H 0H0". People in the United States believe the workshop is a sprawling commune located at the North Pole. Some people in the United Kingdom and Finland believe that Father Christmas' Workshop is located in Finland in Korvatunturi, Lapland. In addition to housing the factory where toys are either manufactured or distributed by the elves, the complex also houses the residence of Santa, his wife, companions, and all of the reindeer.

<i>Mrs. Santa Claus</i> 1996 American TV series or program

Mrs. Santa Claus is a 1996 American made-for-television musical fantasy comedy film directed by Terry Hughes, with a score by Jerry Herman, starring Angela Lansbury in the title role.

Pinocchio's Daring Journey is a dark ride at Disneyland in California, Tokyo Disneyland, and Disneyland Park in Paris. Located in the Fantasyland section of each park, this ride is based on Disney's 1940 animated film version of the classic story, which was the studio's second animated feature film. The attraction tells an abbreviated version of the film, with Pinocchio escaping from Stromboli's puppet show and visiting Pleasure Island, ignoring Jiminy Cricket's advice. Monstro the whale makes an appearance, and Pinocchio is finally reunited with Geppetto and turned into a real boy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Santa Claus in film</span>

Motion pictures featuring Santa Claus constitute their own subgenre of the Christmas film genre. Early films of Santa revolve around similar simple plots of Santa's Christmas Eve visit to children. In 1897, in a short film called Santa Claus Filling Stockings, Santa Claus is simply filling stockings from his pack of toys. Another film called Santa Claus and the Children was made in 1898. A year later, a film directed by George Albert Smith titled Santa Claus was created. In this picture, Santa Claus enters the room from the fireplace and proceeds to trim the tree. He then fills the stockings that were previously hung on the mantle by the children. After walking backward and surveying his work, he suddenly darts at the fireplace and disappears up the chimney.

The Indiana Transportation Museum was a railroad museum that was formerly located in the Forest Park neighborhood of Noblesville, Indiana, United States. It owned a variety of preserved railroad equipment, some of which still operate today. ITM ceased operations in 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">6abc Dunkin' Donuts Thanksgiving Day Parade</span> Annual Thanksgiving Day parade in Philadelphia, USA

The 6abc Dunkin' Thanksgiving Day Parade is an annual Thanksgiving Day parade held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is currently sponsored and broadcast by ABC owned-and-operated television station WPVI-TV, through a co-sponsorship agreement with restaurant chain Dunkin'. It is currently the oldest Thanksgiving parade in the United States, having been held through the Great Depression and World War II, and was created by Gimbels department store in 1920. The Gimbels Thanksgiving Day Parade was held until the department store closed operations in 1986.

In English-speaking cultures, a Christmas elf is a diminutive elf that lives with Santa Claus at the North Pole and acts as his helper. Christmas elves are usually depicted as green- or red-clad, with large, pointy ears and wearing pointy hats. They are most often depicted as humanoids, but sometimes as furry mammals with tails. Santa's elves are often said to make the toys in Santa's workshop and take care of his reindeer, among other tasks.

SantaPark is a Christmas theme park and visitor attraction in Rovaniemi in the Lapland region of Finland. SantaPark was opened 28 November 1998.

Arto Monaco 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 Louis B. Monaco, an Italian immigrant; restaurant owner and entrepreneur. In 1941, he married Glad Burrell of Au Sable Forks, New York.

Santa Claus Museum & Village is an attraction being developed near the community of Santa Claus, Indiana. In 2005, a local development company purchased Santa's Candy Castle and other buildings that comprised Santa Claus Town and announced plans to restore and re-open them to the public. Santa's Candy Castle was the first building of the original Santa Claus Town to be re-opened to the public, when its doors opened on July 1, 2006. The 40-ton, 22-foot concrete Santa Claus statue was restored in 2011. In 2012, a local historic church and the town's original post office were moved to the site next to the large Santa Claus statue.

Bushrod is an unincorporated community in Greene County, Indiana, in the United States.

References

↑ Marimen, Mark; Willis, James A.; Taylor; Troy (2008). TWeird Indiana: Your Travel Guide to Indiana's Local Legends and Best Kept Secrets. Sterling Publishing Company p. 66. ISBN 978-1-4027-5452-4.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
↑ Ksander, Yael (December 10, 2007). "Too Many Santas". WFIU . Retrieved January 5, 2009.
↑ Stayner, Wyatt (December 22, 2015). "80-year-old Candy Castle still popular with kids". Dubois County Herald. Retrieved January 5, 2009.
↑ Koch, Pat; Thompson, Emily (2013). Santa Claus. Arcadia Publishing p. 55. ISBN 978-1-4671-1086-0.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

External links

Official Site - Contains a history of the attraction, information about events, and their online store.

38°06′40.9″N86°54′26.3″W / 38.111361°N 86.907306°W / 38.111361; -86.907306

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[Marimen,_Willis_&_Taylor-1] Marimen, Mark; Willis, James A.; Taylor; Troy (2008). TWeird Indiana: Your Travel Guide to Indiana's Local Legends and Best Kept Secrets. Sterling Publishing Company p. 66. ISBN 978-1-4027-5452-4.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

[Santas-2] Ksander, Yael (December 10, 2007). "Too Many Santas". WFIU . Retrieved January 5, 2009.

[popular-3] Stayner, Wyatt (December 22, 2015). "80-year-old Candy Castle still popular with kids". Dubois County Herald. Retrieved January 5, 2009.

[Koch_&_Thompson-4] Koch, Pat; Thompson, Emily (2013). Santa Claus. Arcadia Publishing p. 55. ISBN 978-1-4671-1086-0.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]