Santa could become town resident

Local News

August 18, 2010

By Joe Olenick Lockport Union-Sun & Journal The Lockport Union-Sun %26 Journal Wed Aug 18, 2010, 11:35 PM EDT

TOWN OF LOCKPORT — Santa Claus could be coming to town. Seriously.

Christopher Parada, the Palace Theatre executive director, made a presentation to the Lockport Town Board on Wednesday about bringing a Santa House to Day Road Park. Such a house would be open during the holiday season and give kids a chance to meet Santa and drop off a letter for the well-known Christmas figure.

The house would be staffed by Parada — who is a veteran Santa player — friends and volunteers. Costs for maintenance and utilities, as well as insurance, would be covered by Parada, himself. The house is a 16-foot-square structure with the appearance of an old schoolhouse.

“All I want to do is provide this for the kids and keep the history going,” Parada said.

The Santa House will also serve as a museum for pieces from the Charles W. Howard Santa Claus School, which was founded in Albion in 1937. Charles Howard played Santa in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and a number of department stores. The house will also showcase Santa suits, photographs, postcards and other memorabilia from the school that’s been collected over time.

Originally the Santa House was to be built in Altro Park in the city. But Parada said he ran into difficulties, so even though the foundation was down, he decided to move the house to the town.

Mayor Michael Tucker said he didn’t know anything about Parada’s move to the town. Wednesday was the first he had heard of it, but Tucker said he did speak with city building inspector Jason Dool. Dool said there weren’t any building issues with the house.

“I have not talked to Chris since the night the council voted on it,” Tucker said.

The house was approved by the city Common Council at an Aug. 4 meeting.

Parada said he grew up in Medina, where there is a similar house, a “North Pole,” where Santa keeps regular hours during the Christmas season.

Town Attorney Daniel Seaman will take a look into the project before anything official takes place, Supervisor Marc R. Smith said. But town officials seemed supportive of the Santa House.

“I think you’re going to find many folks who may want to share pictures, memorabilia and their time and maybe come over and assist you,” said Councilwoman Cheryl A. Antkowiak. “It’s going to touch a lot of peoples’ lives.”

Parada said the house is already built and is being stored. Students from the Orleans/Niagara Board of Cooperative Educational Services needed a summer project, Parada said, so he bought the supplies for the kids and let them build it.

For more information about Santa Claus House, people can visit www.lockportsanta.com. The house would feature Santa during the holiday season and wouldn’t be decorated during the rest of the year, unless the town wanted to do something Christmas-related with the house, Parada said.

Smith also announced the L. Nelson Hopkins Apartments complex would have a ribbon-cutting/grand opening at 1 p.m. Sept. 30. Owned by the Olmsted Center for Sight in Buffalo, the $4 million, two-story, 24-unit apartment complex will offer housing for those with visual impairments or physical disabilities. The complex is located at 5562 Davison Road in the Ulrich Business Park, south of Lincoln Avenue in the Town of Lockport.

Contact reporter Joe Olenick at 439-9222, ext. 6241.

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