Where the Magic Began: The Origins of Santa Claus Lane

Harry Blaine, president of the Hollywood Boulevard Association, suggested the idea of a Christmas attraction that would equal the city's reputation for the spectacular. In 1928, his committee kicked off the first Santa Claus Lane campaign. Hollywood Boulevard became a storybook street for the month of December. Storefronts were bedecked in thematic window displays and glittering decorations. A canopy of lights, featuring hundreds of thousands of bulbs, arched over the boulevard. Even the streetlamps were equipped with loudspeakers that broadcast Christmas music, creating the first coordinated outdoor sound system in the city of Los Angeles.

But the highlight of Santa Claus Lane was, of course, its namesake: nightly appearances by Santa Claus himself. Riding down the boulevard in a sleigh, he greeted both children and passersby. The nightly rides were such a hit that organizers started planning a single, larger procession (which would become the first Santa Claus Lane Parade). Santa's nightly appearances soon became an annual event, and Hollywood Boulevard, temporarily renamed Santa Claus Lane, became one of the city's most endearing seasonal traditions.

As the power of Hollywood's motion picture industry extended during the 1930s, Santa Claus Lane, which had started as a promotion by merchants, became a citywide event. Studios sent floats with their most glamorous stars, and department stores opened late to cater to the holiday shoppers. The yearly parade drew thousands of visitors, and the boulevard became the center of Hollywood civic and commercial life.

Yet Santa Claus Lane was more than just decoration; it represented an early attempt to turn Hollywood Boulevard into a destination—years before the Walk of Fame or big-budget premieres. It captured the optimism of a young Hollywood determined to declare itself not just the movie capital of the world, but a community with heart, charm, and imagination.

By the end of the 1940s, as the festivities expanded and became a nationally televised event, Santa Claus Lane became part of the tradition of the Hollywood Christmas Parade. But the essence of Santa Claus Lane – twinkling lights, the sounds of carolers wafting across the boulevard, and Santa Claus waving from his sleigh – remains at the heart of the parade tradition today. 

Almost a century later, Santa Claus Lane is a cherished part of Hollywood history, a reminder of the ingenuity that played a role in transforming a small commercial street into the most famous boulevard in the world.