Expand / Collapse search
☰

Dayton's Christmas show memories kept alive in St. Paul neighborhood

By
Published  December 9, 2024 10:02pm CST
Holidays
FOX 9

St. Paul Dayton’s display cherished for characters

For many Minnesotans the Christmas shows at Dayton’s department store were a staple of their holiday season. Now, a homeowner in St. Paul's Highland Park neighborhood is breathing new life into some classic characters. FOX 9’s Maury Glover takes us live around the display.

The Brief

    • A home in St. Paul is using nine animatronic characters from the old Christmas shows in the 8th floor auditorium at the Dayton's Department store in downtown Minneapolis as part of its holiday display.
    • This year its owner closed his front porch to create six different vignettes with 30 figurines, each depicting a day in the life of an elf from Dayton's last Christmas show.
    • The display will be lit from 5 to 9 p.m. through Christmas Day at 1887 Saunders Avenue.

ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - John Pihaly's porch on Saunders Avenue in St Paul is a throwback to another era.

Christmas spirit

"It's fantastic. We've had a lot of visitors, young and old, like to come out here to visit with them and hear their stories and share their memories. It's been a lot of fun this year," said Pihaly.

FOX 9 first met Pihaly three years ago, when he built a Santa's Village using nine animatronic characters from the old Christmas shows in the 8th floor auditorium at the Dayton's Department store in downtown Minneapolis.

The figurines had been forgotten in an old storage room when the store closed back in 2017, until he stumbled across them at a store fixture business in Minneapolis.

"Great opportunity to get people in the holiday spirit, relive the memories of Dayton’s and share in the Christmas spirit," said Pihaly.

New holiday, new displays

This year, Pihaly closed his front porch to create six different vignettes with 30 figurines, each depicting a day in the life of an elf from Dayton's last Christmas show.

Pihaly refurbished all the characters himself, using new technology to restore the broken hands and feet from the pieces from the past.

"We were able to find a way to 3D scan a good hand and then make a mirror image of it, and then 3D print an exact replica painted to match the exact way that it was edited," said Pihaly.

Pihaly's expanded holiday display has drawn a larger number of visitors feeling nostalgic about Christmases gone by.

"I think it’s entertaining. I could stand there for a long time if it was a little warmer," said Pihaly.

He hopes keeping the legacy of the Dayton's elves alive will become a holiday tradition of its own.

"It's just been a fantastic experience. Really fun. Very rewarding," said Pihaly.

The display will be lit from 5 to 9 p.m. through Christmas Day at 1887 Saunders Avenue in St Paul.

HolidaysSt. PaulPeople