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Christmas Finally Ends At Fountains Of Wayne

April 19, 2009

The dark rumors have, unfortunately, proven true: Fountains of Wayne in Wayne, New Jersey, has closed. All of its exhibits will be sold at auction on April 25.

The reason for the store’s demise is unclear, although the Bergen Record cited reports of “a difficult Christmas season.”

Those unfamiliar with Fountains of Wayne might wonder why Christmas would matter to a fountain store. But the Winters family, which owned Fountains of Wayne for over 40 years, loved Christmas. The large store overflowed with Christmas decorations in the chilly months, and its second floor was a separate, a walk-thru attraction filled with elaborate animated Santa displays, placing St. Nick in unusual places such as a pizzeria, astride a Harley, or hobnobbing with caped superheroes.

A glance through the online auction catalog turns up many of the store’s unforgettable displays, such as the disturbing Santa in Hawaii, the tableau of Santa being menaced by sharks, and even the huge Santa Claus that once stood outside of the store.

If you’ve always wanted a strange diorama of gambling dolls, now is the time to put in a bid.

Sections: Attraction News, Closing 4 Comments »

4 Responses to “Christmas Finally Ends At Fountains Of Wayne”

1. Robot Greg Says:
   April 19th, 2009 at 6:58 pm

   That’s a darn shame. First the Museum of Menstruation and now this. Terrible.

2. Chris Z Says:
   May 4th, 2009 at 10:22 pm

   Yeah, I have to tell you as a kid in the 70’s, going to Fountains of Wayne for Christmas ranked way up there with Mario’s pizza and Times Square for T-Day. It was always night, always lit to the nines, and always a place of real serious magic.

   Yes, to a 40 year old it may look like kitsch, but to a 6 year old? It was magic.

   And I always wondered why they sold statues…

   CZ

3. Leiza Garrido Antonczak Says:
   May 14th, 2009 at 7:04 am

   It is a shame they had to close. I bought a beautiful fountain there. I was wondering what happens to any kind of warranty? I suppose they are dissolved. My fountain is functioning well but, I wanted to contact Jerry about some of pill or liquid I could put in the still water of the fountain to prevent the mosquitoes from laying eggs. I don’t know who to go to with this question – and since I bought my fountain there and he had always been sooo helpful I thought he would know. This is sad. Is there a way to contact them or does anyone know a referral to help me?

4. Edwardo Leggo Says:
   June 2nd, 2009 at 8:37 am

   I suggest calling your state Fish and Wildlife office for the answer to the mosquito question. There might also be a mosquito control office of some sort. My understanding is that they don’t lay eggs in running water, but I don’t know if a fountain constitutes running water so don’t bank on that factoid being true…

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