Toyland: How Santa Arrived on the American Road
Detroit, Michigan (PRWEB) December 22, 2010
Many mapmakers and civic planners have made merry with their name games. From Santa Claus, Indiana, to Mistletoe, Kentucky, Tannenbaum, Arkansas, and Silverbell, Arizona, holiday-themed towns and attractions turn winter into a wonderland. The Winter 2010 issue of American Road®, on national newsstands this week, unwraps that colorful package.
The nod to noël begins with “The Road to North Pole,” a 364-mile trip from Valdez to Fairbanks along Alaska’s Richardson Highway. Ace photographer Amy C. Elliott captures this icy landscape with an exquisite eye, focusing on the people, horizons, and free-roaming wildlife that cause so many to claim Alaska as one of the world’s last unspoiled gifts. Editor Robert Klara and Executive Editor Thomas Repp provide the literary ribbons and bows.
When and how did the first Santa-inspired roadside attraction come to be? The answer lies in 1915 San Francisco and Jillian Gurney’s feature “Toyland: How Santa Arrived on the American Road.” That story of Christmas past serves as a prelude to “American Road’s Holiday Compendium”—an extensive ensemble piece in which the magazine’s staff of stocking stuffers showcase twenty-five tinseled attractions across North America—from the California resort used to film Bing Crosby’s 1942 musical Holiday Inn to the candy cane Mecca that is Ohio’s Spangler Store & Museum. Readers find the World’s Tallest Santa Claus, the bridge that inspired Frank Capra’s classic It’s a Wonderful Life, and a Dickensian dark ride built in tribute to Scrooge’s “Humbugs.”
American Road® is the premier publication, print and digital, that highlights the joys and adventures of traveling North America’s back roads. In each edition, readers find road trips, maps, diners, motels, and roadside attractions that will help plan the ultimate journey.
The Winter 2010 issue will be specially featured on Barnes & Noble end caps for the entire month of January, 2011. American Road® is distributed internationally and is now available at Coles & Smithbooks mall store locations throughout Canada.
Americanroadmagazine.com provides tools for the visitor to find that roadside attraction, locate that vintage motel, discover that hidden landmark, and make new memories on the road less traveled. Readers will find sponsored downloadable trip itineraries that make travel planning a breeze, as well as the American Road® Forums—the ultimate road trip community. Join fans on Facebook or Twitter (AmericanRoadMag) for up-to-the-minute road trip tips and ideas.
American Road® is an award-winning periodical published quarterly by Mock Turtle Press and distributed internationally by Disticor. For more information, visit http://www.americanroadmagazine.com.
# # #
