Thomas Edison, the father of electricity, was also inventor and trendsetter of Christmas lights.
After mastering the art of electricity, Edison wanted a way to showcase his incandescent light bulbs, so he strung them all around his Menlo Park laboratory compound to give passerbyers a different kind of Christmas miracle.
Now Christmas lights are a ubiquitous signal of the holiday season that transform outdoor spaces into a gathering place. Quaint neighborhoods and parks become aglow bringing families, friends and the community together to marvel at their familiar city in a whole new light.
Gainesville is home to many spectacular—and free—light displays throughout the city that spread holiday cheer.
1. The North Florida Regional Medical Center uses 80,000 lights to illuminate the pond creating a dazzling mirror effect. Take a seat by the pond and unwind in the crisp cool of Gainesville’s winter.
2. Just when you thought downtown couldn’t get anymore charming. Additional christmas lights have been strung across trees, between buildings and on railings. The perfect spot to have a leisurely stroll while sipping some of Gainesville’s best brews from Maude’s.
3. The Haile Village Center, which is just about a 15 minute drive from the University of Florida campus, is lined with lights and interspersed with holiday decorations making it the perfect atmosphere to unwind and de-stress before finals. It also happens to have some of the best restaurants from Village Bistro, which serves a delicious Italian food, to South Garden Restaurant, which serves some of the best Chinese cuisine around.
Via: The Village Journal
4. If you feel like taking to the roads of Gainesville to search out some exceptional home light displays, click here to view a map that provides addresses along with some photos from the home’s Christmas light decorations from previous years.
You can enjoy this less-than-winter weather this year in Gainesville by adventuring through the city into spaces that have been refined just for the season.
