New light posts went up downtown last week.
Last night, the Main Street holiday decorations — snowflakes, garlands, red and gold bows — were installed, and turned on.
The result — a vast improvement over last year’s lame zip line — was a collaborative effort. The Downtown Merchants Association ponied up the funds, while the DMA, town officials and Beautification Committee helped it all come together.
The Beautification Committee plans to decorate the baskets on the old cobra-style lights too. Those poles will remain up until after New Year’s. Removing them now would disrupt holiday shopping — and leave gaping holes in the sidewalk, until they’re bricked over.
Downtown once again looks quite festive. Take that, Fairfield!
I saw them lit up last night and am so delighted that a seasonally festive atmosphere is back in Westport. I have shopped in this town for many years but only moved to Westport two years ago and bemoaned the loss of downtown character. While LED lighting and chain stores aren’t quite Dickensian, it’s still a positive. Merry Christmas and Happy Chanukah, 06880!
Love it. Have been waiting years to see more of a Christmas spirit on Main St. Let the season begin!
I take the occasion of Dan’s acknowledgement of this year’s new and lovely look downtown to compliment Steve Edwards and all those who did the work on the new sidewalks and lights. The work was well done and includes many nice touches, e.g. the diagonal placement of most of the brickwork. This is one of the first steps in our Downtown Plan Implementation Committee effort, spearheaded by Co-Chairs Dewey Loselle and Melissa Kane and receiving the strong support and engagement of our First Selectman, Jim Marpe. Good things are happening.
Don Bergmann
Really wish Westport had something similar to Greenwich or New Canaan’s holiday strolls.
Am I just imagining it, or is that what the street lighting looked like in the 1960s? Or is it more likely just warm, glowing memories of one particularly beautiful snowy pre-Christmas evening walking downtown doing holiday shopping … ah, I remember it well.
I saw the lights last night and they are very festive. Fran, I have pictures I took of downtown on Christmas day in 1975 and there do not appear to be decorative street light displays of any kind similar to what has just been put up (but there was snow on the ground from a snowfall just before Xmas).
Fred, please share those photos! I don’t remember light displays, but I certainly remember the snow that year!
It looks very nice, thanks to all who made it happen!