North Pole, Alaska

North Pole is a city located in Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska. As of 2004,the population of the city is 1,675. The name "North Pole" is often applied to the entire area bounded by Fort Wainwright, Two Rivers, Alaska, and the Chena River Flood Control Project.

Related Topics:
City - Fairbanks North Star Borough - Alaska - 2004 - Population - Fort Wainwright - Two Rivers, Alaska - Chena River Flood Control Project

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Despite the name, the city is about 1,700 miles south of Earth's geographic North Pole.

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The city is a summertime attraction for tourists visiting nearby Fairbanks, and traveling to and from the Alaska Highway and Valdez. Its biggest attraction is a gift shop named Santa Claus House with a giant fiberglass statue of Santa Claus outside. Prior to Christmas each year, the USPS post office in North Pole receives hundreds of letters to Santa Claus, and thousands more from people wanting the town's postmark on their holiday greeting cards to their families. It advertises the ZIP code 99705 as the zip code of Santa.

Related Topics:
Summer - Attraction - Tourist - Fairbanks - Alaska Highway - Valdez - Santa Claus House - Christmas - Year - USPS - Post office - Letter - Santa Claus - Postmark - Greeting card - Families - ZIP code

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Holiday-themed streets in North Pole include Santa Claus Lane, St. Nicholas Drive, Snowman Lane, and Kris Kringle Drive. Street lights in the city are decorated in a candy cane motif, and many local businesses have similar decorations.

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Contrary to what some children might think, Santa Claus is not the mayor, nor are the resident elves. The current (early 2004) mayor is Jeff Jacobson, who recently sent a letter (and a lump of coal) to U.S. Senator John McCain about a comment he made regarding why the city's "elves" needed money for a pork barrel project. http://www.juneauempire.com/stories/020504/sta_elves.shtml

Related Topics:
Children - Mayor - Resident - Elves - 2004 - Jeff Jacobson - Coal - U.S. Senator - John McCain - Money - Pork barrel

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