Dec 12, 2021 -

A tradition 99 years in the making122`

The time is short on Van Ness Blvd. to convert the historic Fresno Street into a full Christmas spectacle. This street is known as Christmas Tree Lane, and it is over two miles of pure holiday greatness.

There are over 140 homes that are each decorated differently in the spirit of the Christmas Season.

Shawn Caglia is one of the many workers who is responsible for handling the essential electronic wires and sound equipment needed to keep Christmas Tree Lane up and running, along with having the honor of decorating the large trees that spread across the lane.

“It’s a lot,” Caglia says. “There’s 300 giant trees that we decorate, and four miles of powerlines that we put in, two miles of sound wires. It’s fun. I’ve been doing it for 30 something years now.”

Each light strand has an estimated 100 bulbs and with 300 hundred trees that is an incredible amount of light bulbs.

Dean Alexander leads the effort that is needed to decorate Christmas Tree Lane. Alexander is a lifelong resident and is also the king of decorated homes on Christmas Tree Lane.

“It’s something that’s very special that Fresno only has,” Alexander said. “We’re the longest lane in the world. We have almost two miles of lights, and they have other Christmas Tree Lanes but nothing compares to Fresno.”

Dean Alexander says all of the time and effort put into decorating his home is worth it as he knows his home brightens people’s holiday.

Two younger residents say living on the most famous street in Fresno is a thrill.

“I can say I’m proud,” Logan Martinez said. “My mom, I asked her the same question not too long ago, and she said it was actually her dream to live here.”

Logan’s friend Luca Marshall agrees. “It’s fun because you get to see everyone on the lane at night time walking by having a good time.”

“The oohs and aahs, it’s just something that you know. Christmas is the joy of family and that’s something you know when you’re at Christmas Tree Lane. You got families and to bring joy to them for the holidays is something that’s special. Everyone gets together for the holidays and Christmas is very special and coming down Christmas Tree Lane. It just makes it for everybody a special event, and I want to make sure they have memories,” said Alexander.

It is these memories that keep the residents of Van Ness Blvd. honored and motivated to continue the tradition for many years to come.

Dean Alexander’s home takes an incredible amount of setup time as he begins decorating in September.
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