Many people (including me!) have enjoyed the photos I’ve posted recently (HERE and HERE) showing the huge metal Christmas trees that used to decorate Hollywood Blvd during the holiday season. Those photos beg the question of where those trees were kept during the 11 months of the year when they weren’t needed? The question came recently when a friend of mine, Martin Pal, sent me this aerial photo from 1953 of what was then the brand-new NBC television studios in Burbank, which opened in 1952. And look at the top left corner—it’s all those Christmas trees neatly lined up in rows, patiently awaiting Santa’s return.

Glen N. says: “For years, the giant sleigh that Santa rode at the end of the Santa Claus Lane Parade was stored not too far away on the West side of Barham, just South of Forest Lawn Boulevard. It was easily recognizable from Barham. I’m guessing that the sleigh was actually on Universal City property.”

Here is an satellite image showing us what that site looked like on March 19, 2021. The studio has expanded a lot, and the Hollywood freeway now runs through the neighborhood, but those trees are long gone.