Decorations grow in scale each season at Stephenson event center

View larger image Two of the more than 75 Christmas trees that are on display at the Historic Jordan Springs mansion feature a purple theme in the room called the chapel. Dennis Grundman/Daily View larger image The foyer of Historic Jordan Springs is decorated in white and silver. View larger image Craftsmen at Historic Jordan Springs made wooden toys that are on display in the room where Santa Claus will preside on Sunday.

By Jessica Wiant -- jwiant@nvdaily.com

STEPHENSON -- Gaining some notoriety in recent months as a hot spot for paranormal tours and activity, Historic Jordan Springs is now conjuring the holiday spirit in its storied halls and parlors.

The cultural and event center, site of a hotel that dates back to 1832, has undergone many makeovers since its beginnings as the White Sulphur Resort Hotel -- being built and rebuilt and housing everything from a monastery to a rehab center for youth -- according to a brochure.

Ever since current owners Tonie Wallace-Aitken and her husband, Greig Aitken, bought the massive brick building for their court reporting business back in 2001, however, Wallace-Aitken has made Christmas redecorating an annual, ever-growing tradition on a scale befitting the historic property that hosted even the president in its heyday.

Now, each year the decorations are enjoyed by groups who come in on bus tours or for the event center's special events for the public like lunch with Santa and an annual holiday concert, and for private events like weddings and office Christmas parties, according to event planner Colt Nutter.

Ironically, Wallace-Aitken was doing the decorating as soon as she and her husband bought the building and relocated their business there, even before Historic Jordan Springs opened to the public as a cultural center several years later.

In fact, she was doing Christmas decorating on a grander scale than most even at home.
"It was in my house," she said. "It was just like this growing up."

"My office always was like this," she added. "I just have more room to play in now."

Historic Jordan Springs, as it's known today, is a whopping 48,000 square feet, including parts of the original building and carriage house in what is now a downstairs pub and event room, according to Nutter. The rest of the brick structure was the third hotel building built on the property (a wood structure burned around 1920), according to the brochure.

The building has 81 rooms, Nutter said, and nine areas are decorated for the holidays.
With more than 75 Christmas trees, beads, bulbs, blooms and even custom-built wooden toys made by craftsmen employed by Jordan Springs, each year the decor changes, according to Nutter. This year, in particular, is unique because they have featured more new variations and color schemes than ever before.

Entering through the double doors, the foyer features white and silver trees with clear beads dangling from the branches. Going through the door on the right takes you into the "chapel" featuring Historic Jordan Springs' first-ever purple theme including 1,500 feet of satin eggplant fabric, large gilded frames hanging askew on the walls and a central 14-foot Christmas tree. Beyond the chapel, the library is Jordan Springs' first exclusively light-gold decorated room, featuring more than 450 poinsettia blooms.

Then there is an office that has been transformed into "Santa's Toy Room," where the custom-built wagon, rocking horses and other toys are on display along with other teddy bears and packages. Santa himself will visit this room on Sunday for a Santa Lunch & Tour.

Wallace-Aitken and Nutter painstakingly design each theme in each area anew every year, they explained, at the end of it all carefully packing all the supplies away by shape, size and color for a different use in the future.

There's no stowing away a fully decorated tree and toting it back out next Christmas.
"We literally take every thing off every tree," Nutter said.

In the ballroom a near-life-size horse is painted a different color for the holidays each year, according to Nutter.

Custom woodworks, ribbons, candy canes, beads, garlands and much more get added to each season, typically to the tune of $4,000 to $5,000 worth of new materials, according to Nutter.

"This has accumulated over my lifetime," Wallace-Aitken said.

For Nutter, the decorations that draw visitors from all over the country serve Historic Jordan Springs' goal of reacclimating the public to the history of the former resort, again making it "a place of celebration and gathering," he said.

For Wallace-Aitken, a woman who admits to once bringing in a huge birthday cake to her office to celebrate Jesus' birth, it's a matter of simply believing.

"It's just a magical time of year," she said. "It's a great birthday party."

christmas events at historic jordan springs
• Sunday, noon-3 p.m. -- Santa Lunch & Tour featuring photos with Santa by Joyce Ott. Tickets required. $25 adults, $15 children. Photo packages available.
• Wednesday, noon-2 p.m. -- Christmas Tea & Tour, $25 adults, $15 children.
• Friday, 7 p.m. -- Christmas Dinner & Show featuring five-course meal by guest chef Daniel Hayes and entertainment by acclaimed Neil Diamond impersonator Brian LaBlanc. Tickets required. $50 adults, $35 children.
• Dec. 12-13, 19, 5-8 p.m. -- Christmas Charity Tours and pub party. $10 adults, $5 children to benefit local charities.
• For tickets or more information, call 667-7744 or go online to www.historicjordansprings.com.