A Well Attended Disappointment

In this transient metropolis, some traditions won’t die gracefully. Through hearsay and unaccountable publicity in local holiday event guides, the 37th St. Christmas light display has been eking out a pale half-life for almost a decade since the Austin Chronicle reported its impending death in 2006. For the last five years, we have watched over the street’s bewildered—and increasingly petulant—holiday crowds as they search for some electric cheer, but mostly discover a narrow, dim lane consistently blocked by SUVs, trolling slowly with headlights off. But wondrous and bizarre things still do happen…

Rachel Stuckey is a multimedia artist and current MFA student in Transmedia at the University of Texas. She is also a programmer for Experimental Response Cinema and a third-generation Austinite who fondly recalls the blazing (and somewhat inappropriate) glory of the 37th St. lights during their heyday. Andrew Gansky is an Austin transplant who likes to remember “the good old days” (circa 2010) before the city was ruined by other transplants. He was drawn to Texas by the great magnet UT, where he still pursues graduate work in American Studies. Together, they have been writing and drawing University Heights since 2012. All of it is true.