North Pole, Alaska: Santa Claus House

According to Roadside America, the little town of Davis, Alaska, changed its name to North Pole in 1953. I suppose it was an attempt to pick up some tourism dollars. Someone quickly realized there was a marketing opportunity involved here, and opened the Santa Claus House.

Here's a giant statue of Santa that greets visitors. Be sure to notice the street name and the striped pole by the stop sign.

Some reindeer hang out in a pen by the store to welcome visitors, and the building has some good-sized murals. Inside, the Santa Claus House has all sorts of Christmas related items for sale. You can get a personalized letter from Santa, complete with the North Pole postmark. The post office here must be busy in December.

The star attraction of the place, naturally, is Santa Claus. I had the chance to pose for a picture with him, and we had this actual conversation.

Me: I've been good so far this year, Santa.
Santa: That's what you said last year.
Me: Yes, but I mean it this time.

We'll see how I do at Christmas.

By the way, kudos to the bus service that goes from Fairbanks to North Pole for a mere dollar each way or two dollars for the day. There's even an exit right in front of the Santa Claus House. For those who are without a car, or who just like to see what local residents are like, the bus system is often a great help.

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