Louisville, Kentucky -
Santa's Rocket Sleigh - Gone

I'm wondering if anyone out there knows what happened to Santa's Rocket Sleigh, an old streamlined city bus converted at no small expense to a red rocket ship, complete with fins. The windows were replaced with portholes, and the interior was generously upholstered with red and white vinyl on the walls and ceiling, eerily accented with twinkling Christmas lights. Among its far flung galactic journeys, it made landings throughout the 1960s at Dixie Manor Shopping Center in Louisville.

Instead of lining up to sit on Santa's lap, kids boarded the rocket and slowly orbited the parking lot. We were made to sit on the freezing white plastic seats listening to Christmas carols while Santa (assisted by a smartly dressed stewardess) walked down the aisle, thrusting a microphone in the kids' faces so the whole rocket got to hear what they wanted. [Scott Santoro, 10/04/1997]