Plugs Pulled on Glendale ‘Santa’s’ Year-Round Lights
Glendale city scrooges are putting an end to the residential yule wonderland built by Robert George, the presidential Santa Claus whose home is a joy to some and a gaudy eyesore to others.
George, 63, signed an agreement with the city attorney’s office today that effectively bans the holiday decor adorning his modest, three-bedroom home.
“But I don’t like it. I’ve been pushed into it,” he said, breaking into tears. “If I don’t sign . . . they will come in here and take me to jail.”
His year-round yule display of 50,000 lights, 14-foot-tall reindeer, phony snow and 10,000 ornaments must be removed from the red-and-white candy-cane colored home by Jan. 1. “It looks like the last season for me,” George said.
For the last five years, George’s home on Alameda Street has beckoned about 15,000 visitors annually.
He celebrated Christmas in the White House for 26 years as the official presidential Santa.
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