37th Street is a street in
Austin, Texas
Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...
, known for its many houses that are decorated with
Christmas lights.
[ Note: This story was first published on December 12, 1999, and has been reprinted annually since then.] The tradition attracts tens of thousands of visitors each year, though neighbor participation has decreased the past few years due to the original residents having moved away and more students renting homes in the neighborhood.
History
In the mid-1980s, a couple of neighbors began bridging the street with Christmas lights left by other neighbors and found at fraternity and sorority houses near the University of Texas
The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...
. Soon, other neighbors followed suit. Early participant Bob Godbout recalled, "It didn't start out as Christmas lights. It started out as a wild art form and stayed that way."[
In 1993, city workers removed lights strung from city poles due to fire hazard concerns. In response, street residents turned off all lights, resulting in numerous complaints directed at the city from visitors expecting light displays. City workers returned the following day to reinstall the lights.][
]
See also
* Christmas decoration
* Christmas lighting technology
* Christmas market
A Christmas market is a street market associated with the celebration of Christmas during the four weeks of Advent. These markets originated in Germany, but are now held in many countries. Some in the U.S. have Phono-semantic matching, adapted ...
References
External links
Texas Less Traveled: Light Up Your Life... The Miracle of 37th Street
Video: "37th Street Lights Shining Bright"
( KTBC)
Fans of 'Stranger Things' have to check out 37th Street in Austin
KVUE
Christmas in Texas
Culture of Austin, Texas
Streets in Texas
Winter traditions
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