Housing
The Neighborhoods Where Christmas Lights Are Serious Business
When it comes to holiday decorations, these communities do not hold back.
Alameda, a California city just south of Oakland, doesn’t usually see a lot of foot traffic. Eleven months out of the year, Thompson Avenue, an evergreen-lined street just off Alameda’s main drag, is quiet. Residents pilot their cars in and out of the neighborhood with ease.
But during December, “it turns into Disneyland,” says Steve Geahry, a ten-year resident of Thompson Avenue and the current organizer of its annual holiday lights extravaganza, Christmas Tree Lane.