PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Around 7:30 p.m. on a 55-degree Saturday after Thanksgiving, Alex Du could finally catch his breath.
He had been planning for this night for about two months.
Standing on the corner of South 13th and Tasker streets with a half-consumed bottle of Corona in one hand and red packing tape in the other, the 45-year-old real estate investor looked southward down his block and soaked in the scene.
“I see a bundle of Christmas holiday joy,” he exhaled.
And for the last two decades, with Du acting as the de facto organizer, that’s exactly what the 1600 block of South 13th Street has transformed into this time of year: An incredibly electric — and eclectic — immersion of the holiday senses.
Lights were everywhere — outlining windows and full three-story rowhomes, running along roof lines, suspended in air from one side of the street to the other, wrapped around trees and lampposts.
Santa Claus rumbled down the block in a vintage red Chevrolet pickup truck.
A four-car miniature train choo-choo’d kids and their families back and forth.
People came out in droves to attend the annual Miracle on South 13th Street block party, which each year marks the start of one of Philadelphia’s signature holiday spectacles.
“We're proud of what we do,” said Du, who lives in the same house he and his family moved into when he was in seventh grade. “To see all these people come out is amazing.”
How did the Miracle on South 13th Street, which, according to Du, got its name from an article in the Metro Philadelphia newspaper, take off? Why is the tradition so important to neighbors on the block?
From residents old and new, here is a collection of stories behind the decorations.
Alex, the point person for the Miracle on South 13th Street, is a 45-year-old real estate investor. How seriously does he take the tradition? He has four different sets of displays for his house that he rotates every four years.
“We use this as a time to give back. Every week we try to donate to charities like Philadundance, Toys for Tots, PAWS - we do our best to pay it forward. The residents in the surrounding neighborhoods come and participate and it’s great because we do whatever we can to do our part.
“I think it just shows how an eclectic collection of people on the street can unite and people can come together. And it's not just Christmas — no matter what holiday, people come together. It shows you that from every walk of life, you can share and participate in giving the world a little bit of happiness, a little bit of joy one light bulb at a time.”
Theresa, 85, and Tony, 91, live in the middle of the 1600 block of South 13th Street. They’ve been on the street longer than anyone else.
“We’ve been here 58 years, and we’ve been decorating since we moved in," said Theresa.
"My husband used to go out there with the younger guys and put up all those lights that hang across the streets, even decorating the trees and everything. Then of course he got too old, but we’ve always done it. When we first started it was just tree lights around the house and maybe a Santa. Then Alex brought the idea of the Miracle on South 13th Street and made it as big as it is today, and we also grew with it.”
One of Theresa and Tony’s five children, also named Tony, stands in front of his childhood home, and one of the family’s signature holiday display items, the light up Santa Claus.
“The Santa Claus decoration is always there. This is the first year we’re having the penguins sliding down there and the blinking lights. It makes everything pretty. I see all of these people just go and stop and say, ‘Look at the penguins,’ or they’ll look at other houses and point out Santa Claus, Mickey and Minnie Mouse, and the choo-choo train. It just shows you can’t do this better anywhere else.”
Natalia moved onto the 1600 block of South 13th Street five years ago from Boston.
“I didn't really know what I was getting into. The realtor I talked to said, ‘You know what block you're moving to, right? The Miracle on South 13th Street block.’ I thought I remembered the New York movie and I was like, ‘That's weird. Philly's weird. Why not?’
“It's actually a very tight-knit block. As soon as I moved in, everyone was like, ‘If you don't have Christmas decorations, we will give you Christmas decorations,’ and had advice on how to put things up. Now I have what I like to call ‘kitschy niceness.’ It's like Marshalls [the department store] vomited on my house. But my family is Hispanic, so this year - in a very Italian neighborhood that is getting more Hispanic influence - I wanted to have a sign saying ‘Feliz Navidad.’”
Sean and his wife curate one of the Miracle on South 13th Street’s signature displays - the “Grinch” house. A few years ago, they wanted to add some South Philly flavor to their setup, so they put cutouts of the Phillie Phanatic and Gritty in their third-floor windows.
“I grew up in the same hometown [in Massachusetts] that Dr. Seuss did so when we moved here, we decided to make the Grinch our theme.
“There was also a block around where I grew up I would drive by and it had cutouts. I just got excited about seeing that every year. I kind of like the idea of, as you grew up, you see the same houses over and over. You remember seeing them and I just feel that potentially giving that to kids is like, I can't explain how excited I am for that."
Dennis, his wife, and kindergartner have fully embraced the Miracle on South 13th Street tradition.
“I’ve been here about 11 years, but when we came here we frankly didn’t know much about its history. The first Christmas we were here, we closed down the block, like we do today, and there were a lot of potluck dinners. It was much more for the block back then. Over the years, it’s really expanded and become something for the neighborhood, and for the city as a whole. A lot of the folks who’ve been moving in within the last 10 years move here specifically because this is the ‘Christmas block.’ Everyone who moves in is ready to play and ready to participate, which makes all of us try to step up our games. But it’s really amazing how much this has grown over the past decade that I’ve been here.”
Tim and Christina are two transplants who purchased their home on the 1600 block of South 13th Street in January.
“We’ve lived here for eight months now, and we were told this was a very interesting block to live on. Our realtor gave us a warning and said it was ‘a little bit busy’ during the Christmas season. We were so down for it," said Tim.
"It’s amazing to see the amount of effort some people put into the block. Not only is every single house lit up, but there are some houses that really go above and beyond. As I say that I’m looking across the street at this like a winter wonderland, with a polar bear, penguins, and icicles. It's just very eye-catching. This is all about showing love for your neighborhood. It’s just a love for everybody, and showing the kids and people that don’t necessarily experience [the holidays] what it represents. We look forward to welcoming everybody in the neighborhood.”
Cynthia and Tracy (left) bought one of the six houses sold on the 1600 block of South 13th Street within the past year. The night of the Miracle on South 13th Street block party, they invited the home’s previous owners, Rosanne and Ed, who had lived there for 30 years, to check out renovations to the house and join in the annual festivities.
“We lived in South Philly for a while, so this is a [block] that we love coming to during Christmas time, to walk the street and check out the lights and pick out our favorite houses," said Cynthia.
"We really wanted the opportunity to be able to live here, but we didn't really think it was going to be possible. When it did this past May, it was sort of like a dream come true. So for us to now get to be here and participate in this long tradition that brings so much joy to so many people, we're incredibly grateful and feel very lucky and blessed to have the baton passed to us and participate in this really tight-knit community.”
Ashley, pictured with her daughter, was born, raised, and now lives on the 1600 block of South 13th Street. Her mom, Gloria, was one of the most enthusiastic and active participants in the Miracle on South 13th Street tradition. Gloria passed away in September 2021.
“I’ve lived in this same house my whole life. Seeing this over the years, every year everybody looks forward to it. We’re the ‘miracle.’ Who wouldn’t want to come see this? We’re friendly with everybody, we welcome everybody into our neighborhood and we share our tradition. This is the second year my mom’s not here. She used to get all the donations to put the lights up in the middle of the street, so this is my second year following in her footsteps. I want to keep it going, I want to keep it alive for her.”