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When the Lakewood Colonial Center was built by Norton Clapp in 1937, it was a pretty big deal. It was the first suburban “mall” west of the Mississippi.
It is rumored that Clapp’s first wife Mary Cordelia Davis’s favorite color was blue. Hence, the decorating of the Colonial Center with blue lights during the Christmas season began. Mrs. Clapp inspired owners of nearby shopping centers and along Gravelly Lake Drive to follow the color scheme, and in the late 1930s blue bulbs symbolized the holiday spirit of community businesses.
For decades, people would drive from all over the South Sound to see the city luminous with sparkling blue lights ~ and it became a destination for holiday shoppers. Sadly, business complexes were bought and sold, often to those who have no local ties. The blue lights aged, and by the 1970s were all but a warm memory to locals.
However, they took on new meaning after November 29, 2009, when our four Lakewood police officers were gunned down at a Parkland coffee shop. In the weeks after the tragedy, blue lights blazed throughout the region in memory of Sgt. Mark Renninger and Officers Tina Griswold, Greg Richards, and Ronald Owens. The Lakewood City Council voted blue as the official Christmas color of lights for Lakewood.
Blue lights are now scarcely used by the business community ~ and the goal is to reawaken this tradition of the blue lights as they were for past decades beginning this December.
Will you help bring back the magic of the holiday season and “go blue?” Together, we can make the season bright!
Our goal is to reawaken the tradition of blue lights as they were for past decades during the month of December, as well as feature neighborhoods that really “deck out” their halls for the holiday season for all to enjoy.
So, how about it, Lakewood? Put yourself on the map and make it the biggest Blue Lights Christmas for 2022!
The Lakewood Chamber of Commerce is developing a map to share with the best locations and neighborhoods to drive through and enjoy. So, if you’d like to share your Ho-Ho-Holiday decorations by showing off your Christmas and Hannukah Spirit, fill out the form below and we’ll put you on the map!
We won’t post your name or exact street address. General street locations and cross streets will show where folks can view your and other Blue Lights Christmas.