Day: December 21, 2020

photo caption: Santa visiting sign at white lights home on Reynard St. Dec 17-23. 5:30-7pm (no pix with Santa)

Holiday Lights and Cocoa Drives Map 2020 edition features 250+ decorated residential homes with Christmas light displays in Gloucester. Massachusetts. The map was viewed more than 30,000 times within 7 days of going live this year.

MAP

Gloucester is tough to match for winter lights charm and show stopping homes. From Beach Court to Stage Fort; West Gloucester to East; Magnolia to Annisquam; and Portuguese Hill to Plum Cove- Gloucester is illuminated. Many neighborhoods join in together glittering, and have for years. With each passing new day more join in.

Concentrated streets include:

• Essex Avenue is beautiful and long– and it’s good driving from both directions. I split it up into Essex Ave stretch between Causeway Restaurant and Richdale and
• Essex Avenue stretch (between Richdale and Rt.128 and then to Farnham’s)
• Elizabeth Road neighborhood block
• Reynard Street neighborhood block and Spruce Street expansive, elaborate displays
• Hartz street charming sweet little block
• Finch Lane delightful little block
• Annisquam for an old timey route, mostly white & gold lights with multi colored trees at turns on the road.

Mad Merry Highlights Tour

as in deck the halls, doors, windows, roofs and yards with boughs of holly-holidays! These 20 or so Gloucester homes are LIT! Bedecked, top twinkling in 2020 (alphabetized by road):

• 6 Abbott Road
• Centennial Road – Hope 2x
• 12 Concord St (next to West Parish-near Essex Ave.)
• 4 Elizabeth Road (entire block, multiple homes)
• 326 Essex Ave (all of Essex Ave is great/multiple homes)
• 2 *Goose Cove Lane (end of block) & Holly Street
• Grove (and Maplewood)
• 6 Harbor Road at Bass Ave
• Hesperus Ave (all trees- next to Hammond Castle)
• 29 High Popples
• 9 Lowe Drive
• 22 Magnolia Ave and 124 Magnolia Ave
• Luzitania Ave (off Friend St.)
• 79 *Perkins Street
• Reynard St. whole block (#22 white lights; #42 blue house)
• 8 Spruce Road
• 15R Stanwood Ave
• 160 Washington Street

*animation Santas

Along with the map, winter lights house photographs were featured by neighborhood on GMG as follows:

• “OG” original 2020 post 11/30/2020 – Elizabeth, Reynard, more
• Update 1- Essex Ave stretch from Causeway to Richdale
• Update 2- Portuguese Hill and Essex Ave 2nd stretch from Richdale to Farnham’s
• Update 3- East Gloucester
• Update 4- Annisquam and detours en route Lanesville updated! (photos added below)
• Update 5 post 12/7/2020 – Magnolia, downtown, additions to E. and W. Glouc.

This year’s trends include peace signs, illuminated words, melting multis, and a particular blue-green light (outlining windows in photo below).

Clear, mild nights make it easier to park, walk and linger. Snow and rain make for lovely routes, too.

photos below: Lanesville added, and homes missing from prior neighborhood batches

and pretty by day

Also **NEW** for 2020 — Gloucester with Manchester, Essex and Rockport (the Four Communities of Cape Ann) have collaborated to share beautiful Winter Lights on Cape Ann – 150+ businesses and organizations are merry and bright into January