Motorist rolling down the 101 near Oxnard might see 20 feet of Holiday joy saluting you from off the highway.
Located next to a trailer park, and certainly out of place in the California sunshine, this giant St. Nick is the last remanent from the legendary CA strip of land named Santa Claus Lane. And he's quite a sight to see: plastic goodness at its best, protected by a very festive (or constraining?) iron fence.
That's right, this town thinks so highly of Mr. Claus that he's protected by a reindeer inspired iron gate.
With his faithful soldiers in tow, Santa owns the area and towers over a surf board, nutcracker and a rather shifty looking snowman. Together they form some type of xmas themed super gang— the kind you don't want to see in a dark ally at night— and are certainly not to be fucked with.
As for Claus himself— His arms are spread out, in a twisted motion that seems like he's going in for a wave (or could be the beginnings of a loving hug?) but comes off more like he's saving face before murdering you. Heartwarming, but kinda creepy in that Silent Night, Deadly Night kinda way.
Fully embraced by the town, this Santa now serves as the starting point for Ventura County's 'Santa To The Sea Half Marathon' race, a tradition that still stands to this day.
HOW THE HELL DID THIS HAPPEN?
Patrick McKeon was a simple lima bean farmer in 1948 when he decided to purchase a plot of land in Carpinteria, CA. There he opened up a juice stand, and opted to name the land "Santa Claus" due to the overwhelmingly popular usage of the name "Santa" (Santa Barbara, Santa Monica, etc) around the area.
Apparently, McKeon was a trendsetter and more Santa clause-related stuff started popping up around him, thus giving birth to Santa Claus Lane. Amongst his simple juice stand, there were train rides, toy stores and xmas themed restaurants for all to enjoy. The festive area would stay put with Holiday cheer for a solid 50+ years.
However, Santa Claus Lane hit some turbulence in the early 2000s. "Naughty" Real Estate Developers (of the evil variety, I assume) wanted a New England Style fishing village to take over the area, which didn't help Santa's chances of sticking around. And to make matters worse, the property owner got into the mix, claiming that SC Lane had "lost its novelty." For shame! Could this be end of jolly ol' St Nick in Carpinteria?
Well, the "nice" townspeople of the area would eventually save the statue from being bulldozed with the rest of SC Lane in March of 2002. The statue was then moved to its current location of Oxnard in 2003, and given the donations needed for a face lift and fresh coat of paint.
He now stands tall and proud as the last remaining relic of the area.
NOTE: Though the stretch of land named Santa Claus Lane might be gone, a beach nearby still retains the name Santa Claus beach.
