Greetings! The first reference I found to your question criteria was
the Westward Look Resort in Arizona where artist Haddon H. Sundblom
painted the familiar Coca-Cola Santa Claus. A room in the resort is
still dedicated to his artwork. However, it is located near
Interstate 10.
From a news story:
"TUCSON, AZ - Santa grew up surrounded by saguaros, not snow! The
jovial red-suited Santa Claus we know and love may reside at the North
Pole - but he came to life on the warm sunny balcony of the Westward
Look Resort overlooking the saguaro-studded desert in Tucson.
"In early 1930s, artist Haddon H. Sundblom, who wintered at the
historic Westward Look Resort, was commissioned by The Coca-Cola
Company to create a Santa that would be more appealing to children
than the tall, thin somewhat stern Kris Kringle of European legends.
"Sundblom created a jolly Santa with rosy cheeks, twinkling eyes and
fur-trimmed red suit that lifted the spirits of Americans during the
Depression and quickly became the definitive image of Santa Claus
around the world. Between 1931 and 1966, Sundblom brought this new
North Pole Santa to life in 40 paintings for Coca-Cola - and created
many of them while basking in the warm Arizona sunshine on the balcony
of his room at Westward Look Resort.
"Today Sundblom's Santa still appears on holiday Coke cans and
collectors seek out Sundblom's Santa creations - particularly those
that feature two adorable bright-eyed youngsters. Those children were
Lani and Sancy Nason, daughters of the owners of Westward Look Resort.
The models for Santa were Lew Prentiss, a retired car salesman in
Chicago, and "Hap" Arnold, a Tucson radio and television personality.
In later years, Sundblom used his own face for Santa.
"A 1953 article in Refresher magazine, published by Coca-Cola, shows
Sundblom with "Santa" Arnold and the Nason girls gathered around his
easel at Westward Look Resort. The girls' mother, who still lives in
sunny Tucson, recalls that she had to search for a place to special
order the thick, warm pajamas that the children wore in popular "Pause
That Refreshes" advertisements.
"Today the original Sundblom collection is housed at Coca-Cola's
"World of Coke" museum in Atlanta and Sundblom's old room at the
resort is now a desert gallery - which includes a display about Santa,
the Nason girls and the artist who painted these enduring holiday
images."
Then I found a reference to Santa Claus, Arizona, as a 1937 tourist
attraction that is now closed:
"I drove south on Highway 93, over Hoover Dam, past Santa Claus,
Arizona (a circa-1937 tourist attraction that's now closed) and back
into Kingman."
That mentions highway 93. Searching for the location of Kingman,I
found "Kingman is located in northwestern Arizona at the inter-section
of Interstate 40 and US 93" - this confirmed the location you
mentioned as did another in the same search: "Santa Claus, Arizona,
United States [Place] is in Mohave County; location is 35°20'12"N
114°12'56"W" Then I found a blurb that mentioned an article about the
place but no link with further information:
"'Santa Claus for Sale' an article from the May 1983 Yule Log was
chosen for reprinting by the editor. The article written by Ken
Mackenzie told about the development of Santa Claus, Arizona, first
established in 1937. The town was for sale in 1983 for $149,000." [If
you visit the text for this, be ready for loud music on the site]
I also searched for back issues of Yule Log and it referred the site
where the above is mentioned [loud music again]. I couldn't locate
the Yule Log article on the web but found a back issue source:
"The Yule Log is the bimonthly publication of the Christmas Philatelic
Club. It is currently edited and distributed to the membership by
Karen Trillich of Chandler, Indiana.
For a Sample Issue of the Yule Log... Send $3.00 to
Karen Trillich
Yule Log Editor
799 Russel Rd
Chandler, IN 47610 U.S.A."
You might contact her for a reprint of the article for your story
research.
I also found an old postcard from the Christmas Tree Inn at Santa
Claus, Arizona, which may help you set the mood for your story (see
link below). I hope this information proves of assistance in your
quest.
SEARCH TERMS and LINKS:
arizona santa claus desert retreat [Google search]
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=arizona+santa+claus+desert+retreat
Media News: Santa in the Desert Westward Look Resort
http://www.westwardlook.com/media_news/santa.html
"santa claus arizona" [Google search]
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=%22santa+claus+arizona%22
Day 71
http://www.brettnews.com/amod/day71.html
Santa Claus
http://www.placesnamed.com/s/a/santa_claus.asp
HWCN: Christmas Philatelic Club {LOUD MUSIC]
http://www.hwcn.org/link/cpc/cpc_janfeb.html
Santa claus arizona postcard [Google search]
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=santa+claus+postcard+arizona
Vintage Postcards
http://www.vintagepostcards.com/miva/4.12/00000001/catalog/ADVELI.html
Santa Claus, Arizona postcard - Christmas Tree Inn
http://www.vintagepostcards.com/miva/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=VPC&Product_Code=ADVELI-P6998
"Yule Log" back issues [Google search]
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=%22Yule+Log%22+back+issues&btnG=Google+Search
Yule Log back issues - HWCN: Christmas Philatelic Club {LOUD MUSIC]
http://www.hwcn.org/link/cpc/cpc_yulelog.html |
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