The now-retired North Pole village introduced its first lighted buildings in 1990, with Santa’s Workshop, the Reindeer Barn, and the Elves’ Bunkhouse. After this pilot year, 122 more lighted buildings were added to the collection, with some retiring after only a few months, and some remaining on the scene for as many as ten years. The “original” North Pole village has a distinct look, characterized by their very architectural designs, small, elegant writing, and subdued, understated colors.
Each building comes with a light bulb to insert in the back with attached cord, and comes packaged in its own foam box with a labeled slipcover.
Retiring the North Pole Series
Like many companies with in-demand products, Department 56 chose to retire some of their pieces to encourage sales. If a potential consumer believes that a particular piece may retire soon, never to be available again, he will hasten to purchase the piece in order to complete his collection. Retired collectibles increase in value as time goes on, because they become more special and hard to come by. Therefore, retired pieces gain much more prestige.
The North Pole series has undergone a few major changes in appearance since its introduction in 1990. The first buildings were darker in color, had more angular and varied architecture, and displayed title plaques in small, stylish script. Beginning in December, 1996 with “Christmas Bread Bakers,” some of the ensuing pieces started appearing with more brash colors, less defined architecture, and large lettering on the fronts.
The next year, 1997, five more buildings were added to the collection, three of which appeared in the older style of darker and more unpretentious. These include Elsie’s Gingerbread House, the Glacier Gazette, and Glass Ornament Works. The other two appeared more “bubbly” and colorful, like the Bread Bakers.
Before the introduction of a more motley and overbold style of the North Pole, 27 lighted buildings were part of the collection, and a total of 31 pieces of the 125 retired North Pole buildings can be considered the “older” original style.
The retired North Pole pieces are still available through theDepartment 56 website.
The Architecture of the Original North Pole Lighted Buildings
The first lighted buildings in the North Pole village are easily recognized by their varying architecture. Although each piece is different, they are united by the following characteristics.
- Angular rooftops, often in the shape of a “saltbox” or with many peaks on one roof
- Many turrets and peaks, chimney openings
- Many windows made up of small squares that alternate opaque and open for light to shine through
- Title plaque on each building to signify its purpose, written in small black capital letters, or small black script
- “Snow” on every roof made from white ceramic, and an overlay of glitter
- Lots of draped garland and wreaths on every building
- Details such as doorknobs, benches, roof tiles, brick or stone siding, snow
- Holiday-themed yet subdued coloring: light-colored buildings with dark red, dark green, or dark blue rooftops; lots of Christmas decorations on each building to maintain the North Pole theme.
Original Accessories to the Department 56 North Pole Village
A village would not be a village without people, or in the North Pole’s case, the elves! Elves can be bought singularly or in sets, and all have funny expressions and are in the process of doing something. Some elves are sledding, some are working on their crafts, some are stringing lights, some are hanging wreaths, some are harnessing reindeer, and so many more are doing so many things that keep the North Pole up and running all year round. Mr. and Mrs. Claus are also available, and so are the sleigh and eight tiny reindeer.
Often, each building in the collection has accompanying elves available for purchase, too. For instance, the “Baker Elves” are a perfect accompaniment to “Rimpy’s Bakery” (which is the “R” building in the N-O-R-T-H P-O-L-E” line-up). Most of the original elfin accessories are retired, too.
Also, snow (in the form of white fluffy rolls of cotton) is available to line the surface where the village will reside, and trees (small cone-shaped green decorations) can be placed around the edges and in between buildings. A mirror can serve as a skating rink. Some avid collectors choose to sprinkle some large-flaked glitter over the whole scene, to catch the light and give the appearance of freshly fallen snow.
Wendy Picard - Wendy holds a degree in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, and is enthusiastic about the biological sciences. She is currently in school to ...
