Annual tradition continued by residents of Van Ness

With Christmas season rolling in, residents on Christmas Tree Lane annually decorate their houses for the thousands of people who walk down their street each year.

This might seem a big responsibility to those who live along N. Van Ness Blvd, as it takes many hands and hours of effort to put up a successful and dazzling house. However, most people fail to understand how much work goes into making Christmas Tree Lane a success.

Homeowner and 30-year resident on Christmas Tree Lane, Flint Anderson participates each year with a renewed passion for decorating his house. As a resident of the lane, Anderson retains a love for certain things on the lane that reappears each year.  

“I love the kids,” Anderson said. “I love seeing them get excited about the lights and the lane. It can get a little bit wearing at times but the people living on the lane expect it. Everybody still gets excited, but we as residents on the lane don’t enjoy the traffic of people as much as we used to.”

Living on Christmas Tree Lane requires some sacrifices that residents must pay each December in order to amaze the community each year.

“The hardest part of living on Christmas Tree Lane is getting in and out of my house for 30 days,” Anderson said. “We have to get in line to get into our house and we have to get in line to get out of our house. People think we are crowding so they have a hard time letting us get to our house. This is for my family the hardest part so that says a lot. We survive the difficulty of getting to our house so the rest is not that bad.”

I have lived here since 1995. However, I have been coming here since I was born because this house used to belong to my grandparents. They built the house in 1940 and I was born in the ’50s, so I have coming to Christmas Tree Lane since the 50s. I bought the house in 1995 and have been doing the decorating ever since then. — Bill Pipes

Despite having to sacrifice certain things to live on Christmas Tree Lane, many great memories are forged and an abundance of relationships with friends and the neighboring community is birthed.

“One of my favorite memories living on Christmas Tree Lane is one year my friend and I decided to put up a noel sign with 12-foot high letters made out of wood,” Anderson said. “We decided to put it on the roof, so we put the letters on the roof and we had to frame it backward so we could push it up and secure it to the roof with big lights going on it.

“We hammered it and framed it and pushed it up and when we looked back and it said ‘leon’,” Anderson continued. “We had spelled ‘noel’ backward and hammered it to the frame wrong. So we were thinking about leaving it there so when people drove by they would think ‘who is leon’, but we didn’t. We fixed it and put it back up.”

Bill Pipes, Christmas Tree Lane resident, is a longtime participant in Christmas Tree Lane decorating and family tradition.

“I have lived here since 1995,” Pipes said, “However, I have been coming here since I was born because this house used to belong to my grandparents. They built the house in 1940 and I was born in the ’50s, so I have coming to Christmas Tree Lane since the 50s. I bought the house in 1995 and have been doing the decorating ever since then.”

Residents on Christmas Tree Lane love something about living there which propel them onto the next year. While some love the kids, like Anderson, others such as Pipes love the traditions Christmas Tree Lane brings. Others, such as the over 100,000 walkers, love the lights and beautiful decorations adorning all of the houses along the lane.

“My favorite part of Christmas Tree Lane is the tradition that it presents to me and my family,” Pipes said. “I really like Christmas; I like the music and I like the lights. My kids are grown now, but when they were little it was fun for them to live on the lane and to partake in all the festivities. We used to have parties on the walking nights and they would invite all their school friends.”

Along with the festivities of living on the street, sacrifices are needed to live there. Pipes finds putting up the lights is the hardest part of living on Christmas Tree Lane.

“I don’t have trouble with getting to my house,” Pipes said. “Like most of the other residents, I have a carport on the side of my house the connects to a side street. I have heard other neighbors talk about the difficulty of living in the middle of a block. Since I don’t have trouble with getting to my house, the next hardest thing for me would be putting up the lights. I want to be creative each year, so I rearrange them for a different scene. But putting up the lights is really only difficult because of the labor put into it. Even that I don’t find that difficult.”

For many students, Christmas Tree Lane is an annual tradition they attend with their family and friends. Addie Richardson, ’21, enjoys the Christmas spirit at the lane.

“My favorite part of Christmas Tree Lane is driving through and looking at all of the lights because they are always so pretty and fun,” Richardson said. “I like having fun with my family while we drink hot chocolate and look at all of the houses. I love lights and all things Christmas.”

Hannah Garcia, ’20, prefers walking down Christmas Tree Lane instead of driving as it gives her time to take in the sights.

“I like the Christmas spirit there, it gets me excited for Christmas,” Garcia said. “We usually go to a Christmas party beforehand and then finish off the night by going to the lane. I like walking down the lane because you can take your time and enjoy each house. When you drive, it goes by to fast and you don’t appreciate it.”

New to Christmas Tree Lane and putting up lights for their second year in a row, Bill and Mandy Silveira are excited to be joining this Christmas tradition for their second time.

“This is only our second year on Christmas Tree Lane,” Silveira said. “We feel welcomed and invited into this community. We love when walk nights or even the driving nights come around because we get to see the people get really happy.”

For their second year in a row, the Silveiras family is setting up on Christmas Tree Lane and they have gotten to know the tricks of the trade of living on this street.

Christmas Tree Lane started in 1920. That year, a tree was decorated in front of the house of a child that previously passed away. The lane celebrates its 95th anniversary this year and has only been dark two years since WWII, due to energy shortage.

Students and teachers looking for a fun and interesting, are presented with a great opportunity this December. Christmas Tree Lane shows off its beautiful light display Dec. 2 – 25. Curious people may view these lights from 6 – 11 p.m., Fri. and Sat., while the lane is open the rest of the week, 6 – 10 p.m. This year the two walking only days are Dec. 2 and 12. 

For more articles, read: A look into the Fresno City nursing program. For more on last year’s article about the Christmas Tree Lane and other Christmas neighborhoods, read: Christmas cheer lights up central Valley.

The slideshow below contains images of Christmas Tree Lane:

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This author can be reached via email: Andrew Rieker.