Archives Overview

Our current archival holdings are without doubt the most complete historical documentation of the Dundee Santa’s Village. The archives include certified copies of the original corporate charter of Santa’s Village Corporation (California) of 1954, the 1956 addition of the Scotts Valley Santa’s Village, Santa’s Village Corporation business plan, the original 1958 lease for the 38 acres of the Dundee park, the amendments of the Polar Dome Project, the sale of the park to Everding Management, the sale to the Medina Investors, and the sale to North Pole Corporation. Documentations from the attempted purchase by North Pole Village, L.L.C., the auction of 2006 and the complete list of buyers who bought the assets. Other holdings include the Park’s original blue prints; the foreman’s working blue prints, the Polar Dome prints, Snowball ride prints (Arrow Development), the Antique Cars prints (Arrow Development), the 1966 redevelop prints for the Polar Dome, and each sequential addition prints. Listing of key management, contractors and employees. (Note: Information on any management, contractor or employee of Santa’s Village is used in the historical context only.)

Our visual archives include over 12,000 individual images of Santa’s Village from the ground breaking of September 1958 to current photographs taken in May of 2007, complete sets of the 1959, 1963, and 1972 post card series (plus the inter-negatives that produced them), film footage from 1958 through 2006 including 1958’s ground breaking, Santa’s make-up test shots, opening day activities, the inflating of the Polar Dome, opening of the Dome activities, 1963-1966 ice shows, park commercials from 1963, 1966, 1968, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1975, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2005. Public relations footage filmed for various promotions (group sales, picnic videos, etc), newspaper articles dating from 1958 to 2007, over 5,000 slides, park presentations, complete sets of brochures 1959 – 2003, park fun guides 1985 – 2003, aerial photo mapping pictures 1959, 1963, 1969, 1972, 1978, 1983, 1989, and 1994. Complete public relations archives including, image negatives, press photos, promotional partners, press releases, media kits, media coverage, interviews, stationary, business cards and artworks. Other visuals include numerous park photographs of the Sky Forest, California Park and the Scotts Valley, California Park,  a 1963 feature film “Santa’s Village” that was filmed at the Scotts Valley, California Park and three K. Gordon Murray featuretts that were filmed at the Dundee Park in 1964 and 1965.  Audio archives include radio spots from 1966 – 2005.

The preceding list is only a small portion of our archives. Our total holdings and other documentations for Santa’s Village include the Polar Dome Ice Arena and Racing Rapids Action Park. At this time a complete list of the archive is being cataloged. The archives are privately and physically held in central Illinois by the Santa’s Village Project and are not available to the public. Absolutely at no time is any part of the archives for sale.