The Christmas Lights of Dyker Heights have been called:
- Con Ed’s warmest heartthrob
- The undisputed capital of Christmas pageantry
- King of the Christmas lights
Rockefeller Center? FUHGETTABOUDIT!
Take a peek at what makes this area of Brooklyn, also known as “Dyker Lights”, so special during the holiday season.
Lucy Spata’s House
Lucy Spata is a legend. She started the Christmas Lights tradition in Dyker Heights when she moved there in the 1980s. She continued the tradition that her mother started . In fact, all the angel decorations are there to honor her mom’s memory.
Lucy’s neighbors weren’t always fans of her elaborate displays. Like any true Brooklynite, she told them that if they didn’t like it then they could move. It seems her neighbors embraced the holiday spirit because Dyker Heights is now one of the most famous Christmas neighborhoods in the world!
“When I moved to this house, it was a quiet block. It makes you feel good when people come to see the lights.”
The Polizzottos Home
The Toyland display at The Polizzotto home is something else. It consists of mechanized horses, a two-story tall Santa and two 25 foot-tall toy soldiers on either side of the doorway marching in place. The display was commissioned by the late Alfred Polizzotto who hired Lou Nasti, a Brooklynite known for creating moving characters for store windows all over the world and who some people call “Geppetto”, to create it for him. Al commissioned the piece during his fight with cancer. His hope was to bring joy to the neighborhood and he sure did. He meant a lot of the community. When he died all the lights in Dyker Heights went black for one night.
Blue House
One of the most memorable houses on the Christmas Lights Tour is the “Blue House”! It’s not in Dyker Heights, but we’ll still take you there to see it! It’s decorated in all blue lights to honor the multi religious household. They say if you go inside half is decorated for Christmas and half for Hanukkah.
The Blue House has an upside down Christmas tree in the window. Sound strange? Well check this out:
By the 12th century it became a custom, especially in Europe, to hang Fir trees upside down from the ceilings to symbolize the Holy Trinity. The upside down Christmas tree was also considered to be the symbol of Christianity. The trend of hanging a Christmas tree eventually changed with the thought being that the tip of the Christmas Tree should point towards Heaven.
The houses of Robert DeLauro and his family
Robert Delauro takes his house, and his family’s house next door, and creates one of the most amazing light displays in all of Brooklyn. Robert even created the window frames by hand. Then, through a computer program, Robert is able to program those lights so that they all move in unison to festive Christmas music from Mariah Carey, Frank Sinatra and more! How do you hear the music you might ask? Simple: Robert has his own radio frequency! So cars pull up to the house, tune their car radio to that frequency and, from the comfort of their heated car, they can watch the lights move in unison to the music coming out of their car radio!
Hope you get a feel for the incredibly beautiful and zany Christmas decorations you’ll see in Brooklyn. We can show you more on our Christmas Lights Tour of Dyker Heights! You’ll love the multi media presentation on the warm tour bus as we show you millions of lights, moving figures and decorations that will get you in the Holiday spirit! You might even get a chance to meet some of the home owners when we get off the bus. The tour starts on December 1 (less than a month away) and ends on January 4th. It’s fun for the whole family and yes, it always sells out.
So book your tour now and create beautiful memories with family and friends!
