How South Philly’s full-block light displays work

The twinkling of colorful lights can make everything feel more vibrant — like the Miracle on South 13th Street display during Christmas.

For some South Philadelphia blocks, however, holiday lights are not enough: They light up the night all year round.

Wondering about the blocks with iconic lights strung across the street, a reader asked Curious Philly, The Inquirer’s forum for questions about the city: “How does one get the decorative street lights and who looks after them?”

For many residents, the lights had inhabited the streets before they even moved in, so the answer is not straightforward. But it seems to fall on block captains and rely on the neighbors agreeing and paying the bill.

Anthony Scola III, 66, remembers when the decorative lights were set up on his block, the 1600 block of South 13th Street. He was 6 years old and his father, Anthony Scola II, was part of the neighborhood group that organized putting them up, he said.

At first, Scola said, neighbors wanted the holiday lights only on the trees, then around their homes, and soon the light show continued to grow.

He doesn’t remember the organizing process, or how the adults got the lights, and with his 94-year-old father recently dying, that part of neighborhood history remains untold.

But, as he pointed to the tree outside, Scola showed how the lights connect through a window to an outlet inside his home. Most of the lights are on year-round, he said, but Christmas lights are not lit until the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

If the lights are affecting his electric bill, he said, he hasn’t noticed it.

At the end of the block, Julia Morrison and her husband, Michael Edmonds, are settling into the neighborhood. The couple moved in over the summer, after having lived around the corner for six years.

“We always thought the lights were owned by the city, but the neighbors told us that everyone has to pay for the cost,” Edmonds said.

According to Peco, how the string light displays are paid for depends on the specific installation and location.

Some connections go directly into homes, and the cost comes out directly in each homeowner or resident’s electric bill. Other displays, however, can be paid for through a separate account specifically for the lights. Then that account gets billed instead of each individual neighbor with lights connected to their home.

The couple is not sure how much the bill will be for the year-round lights. They are hoping to find out more after Thanksgiving, when everyone in the block comes out to set up the Christmas lights.

Whatever the cost, they said, it is worth it for the effect on the block.

“It brings the people together, and it’s just cheer,” Morrison said. “It brings the community street together, makes people feel closer.”

On the 1200 block of Wolf Street, tiny blue, yellow, and red light bulbs dance in the wind on a zigzag above the street.

They have been there for as long as Maryann Mooney, 69, remembers.

“When I was a kid, it was magical to see the lights,” Mooney said.

Over the years, she said, the tradition shrank to only putting big lighting displays out for Christmas, but small light fixtures remain all year round.

She has moved away from the block but works at a hair salon in the area, and the lights continue to make her feel like “the block is alive,” she said.

Karen Farrell, the salon owner, said the block captain comes to collect the money for the light bill, usually in December. He also is in charge of replacing any broken bulbs throughout the year, she said.

“Last year they asked for $35,” Farrell said. “I like it. I think it is pretty. It makes it festive.”

On the 2700 block of South Smedley Street, blue, red, and white lights hang from every house. They put up Christmas lights, too, but these ones are up all year long.

Ryan Schubert, 31, moved to the block in 2022. The house, he said, belonged to his wife’s grandmother, so the lights hanging from his front porch preceded their ownership.

Schubert does not know when exactly the lights arrived, but he keeps a postcard from 1991 that already features the lights across the home’s porch.

“Right now, they are red, white, and blue for the Fourth of July, but the light bulb colors are changed depending on the occasion,” Schubert said.

As far as Schubert knows, the block captain is in charge of changing the bulbs and asking neighbors for collaboration to pay the bill.

“We chip in once a year. It’s not a requirement, and it’s a pretty cool time,” Schubert said.

The most he has contributed is $100, but he has also given $20, he said.

According to Peco, neighbors looking to set up an additional account for this type of lights can contact customer service for information through an online form or by calling 1-800-494-4000.

“The Christmas display can be a little annoying because lots of people come, but I love it and it’s worth it because everyone seems happy,” Schubert said. “The all-year lights feel unique to our street, but to be honest I’m so used to big displays that I don’t even pay much attention or register the little ones.”