Archives for December 2011

Peacock Lane officially lights up for the 2011 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 a little crazy 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 from a couple years ago: Oooooh. Aaaaaah.

The first two nights, Thursday and Friday, December 15 and 16, are 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). 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.