Fifth Avenue Lit Up with Giant Holiday Toys

Every year, Fifth Avenue is transformed into a festive holiday thoroughfare with elaborate department store window displays and a much sought after view of the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree. This year, another holiday attraction is coming to the iconic New York City Street. Make It Bright will bring ten larger than life light sculptures of classic Christmas toys to the bustling holiday scene.

Photograph by Liz Lingon

A bright red truck with a Christmas tree in tow, a giant Teddy bear, a dreidel, an airplane, and a classic yellow taxi with a trunk full of presents are a few of the sculptures you will see placed along Fifth Avenue between 50th and 55th streets. These nostalgic toys wouldn’t fit under a Christmas tree, they each measure five to eight feet tall! At every sculpture, viewers will find a QR code. When scanned with a smartphone, the code pulls up a magical story about the toy. “These toy displays will provide a sense of joy and nostalgia for visitors of the Avenue, whether they are here holiday shopping, grabbing a bite outdoors, or simply taking in the iconic storefront windows,” said Jerome Barth, president of the Fifth Avenue Association.

Photograph by Liz Lingon

To create the massive light sculptures, the Fifth Avenue Association partnered with Blachere Illumination, an innovative lighting company that has worked on massive light displays in cities all over the world. Blachere Illumination has illuminated places like the Champs Élysées and the Eiffel Tower.

The toy sculptures are lit daily from 4:00pm until 10:00pm. You can also see decorations and lights at the Pulitzer Fountain on 59^th street. Check out a full list of the Make It Bright light sculptures and their locations here! The sculptures will be on display through January 8th, 2021.

Photograph by Liz Lingon