DECATUR, Ill. (WAND)-What a perfect time to reveal the transformation of Decatur's beloved Transfer House! The once unusable space turned into Santa's workshop just in time for the holidays.
"When the city talked to me about possibly taking over the transfer house and working on it. I was a little nervous. But with all of the people the partners who have come together to help make this dream come true. It's turning out to be awesome," said Teri Hammel, Executive Director for the Convention of Visitors Bureau.
Now, the place is occupied by none other than Santa Claus.
"We've been working on making this like the best place for Santa to be and for the community to come in and appreciate the icon of the city of Decatur," Hammel said.
As a permanent fixture artist Shani Goss designed a Decatur mural inside.
Those icons are the transfer house itself, The fly swatter which was invented in Decatur, corn and more. One local historian, Dan Hardy, says this was a historic day for central Illinois.
This will probably be put in the put in the books someday...just like when they moved here in 1962," Hardy said. The transfer house has been a part of his family for years.
I used to go to the old transfer houses in Lincoln Square...I've got photos of him down there back in 1915 when he was a child. And it just always meant a lot to me. he's always wanted to see it restored, and his wish came true. The space took 18 months to renovate and is complete with heat, AC, and a working bathroom.
This coming month should bring a lot of traffic with kids making their way to Santa to tell him what they want for Christmas.
Santa will be in his new home every Saturday from 11 to 5 p.m. and you can drop of any letters into his box as well.
