Peacock Lane officially lights up for the 2010 holiday season on December 15 at 6pm.
Peacock Lane is a narrow residential street one block east of Cesar E. Chavez Boulevard (née 39th Ave) between SE Stark and Belmont. Since the 1920s the residents of this stretch of mostly Tudor style houses have gone hog wild with the Christmas lights. To the extent that the collective display has become a Portland tradition, prompting gawker pilgrimages from throughout the area (if you’ve ever hit stop and go traffic on SE Stark at 9pm on a Tuesday night near the holidays, now you know why).
For a glimpse at what to expect read Heather‘s account of our visit last year: Oooooh. Aaaaaah.
Opening night, December 15 is pedestrian only! Every night from then until New Years Eve the lights are on from 6pm to 11pm (and until midnight on December 24th and 31st). It’s free! And the display is best seen on foot (since the conveyor track idea was rejected).
Peacock Lane is only a few hundred yards long. Bundle up, grab a hot cocoa (last year residents offered hot drinks at a reasonable price from a small kiosk in a family’s yard ), and take a leisurely stroll. I highly recommend stopping in post-stroll at the Horse Brass Pub, just up Belmont a few blocks, or Hall of Records, a few blocks down Belmont, for a festive warming beverage in cozy environs. Another excellent option is to stop in at the EuroTrash FoodCart up on 43rd and Belmont. They’ll be handing out $1 off coupons on Peacock Lane on Wednesday, December 15.
Monsters have gone the past two years and are planning on going again! We go with a friend who lives a few streets over. I just with that there weren’t so many cars. Pollution and noise aside (and those are big problems in my opinion) it is so much more magical from the sidewalk!