MYNORTHWEST NEWS

‘Tis the season for Christmas crane wars along the Seattle skyline

Dec 6, 2013, 9:29 AM | Updated: May 16, 2016, 9:48 am

Christmas cranes...

High above the welders and framers, the crane stands as the identity of the job site, and at Christmas time, it's not about who has the biggest crane or the tallest crane. It's about who has the best decorations. (KIRO Radio Photo/Chris Sullivan)

(KIRO Radio Photo/Chris Sullivan)

There’s always that one guy in the neighborhood, maybe it’s you, that has to out-do everybody else with his Christmas lights. You probably call him “Clark Griswold” behind his back.

But this Christmas competition isn’t just for homes or neighborhoods. The companies running those giant construction cranes take their decorations seriously, too.

High above the welders and framers, the crane stands as the identity of the job site, and at Christmastime, it’s not about who has the biggest crane or the tallest crane. It’s about who has the best decorations.

“With the Christmas lights, those are our swords,” said John Schimke, superintendent for GLY construction. His two cranes above South Lake Union feature blue-lit supports and red-lit arms. Each have giant green Christmas trees on top. Schimke said they’ve been planning the decorations for months.

Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey , the world’s leading questionnaire tool.

“This year, we added a little extra flavor with the snowman, the 12th Man and the wreath, and there was some planning involved,” he said. “That stuff needs to be fabricated and put together in a safe and appropriate fashion.”

A few blocks away, James Buehler, the superintendent of JTM Construction, began his preparations in July. He wanted the Seahawks logo in lights, but a copyright got in the way. He decided to put nearly 4,000 lights into a giant 12th Man display.

“We throw some ideas out there and some of them stick,” Buehler said. “Obviously, the 12th Man, everybody got really excited about it on the job and wanted to be part of it.”

Buehler said he does keep an eye on what the other job sites are doing.

“Seattle’s a small town,” he said. “We all have friends at other companies that have cranes up. There’s a little competition, of course. You want to have the brightest and best crane out there.”

He believes his Seahawk blue and green crane is the best. So I asked Schimke for his reaction.

“Timing is everything,” Schimke said. “Ours was up first. Ours was up complete, and I’ve noticed as theirs has come up after ours, it resembles closely to what we had up originally.”

Reading between the lines, I believe that means Buehler should have put his lights up first, and Schimke thinks his cranes are better.

You can judge for yourself.

If you’re afraid of heights, stringing these lights is probably not a good career choice either.

To get the lights out to the ends of the arms, workers have to climb out about 300 feet while several hundred feet above the ground.

MyNorthwest News

Image: Brightly colored eggs are set on a table on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington,...

Ted Buehner

Expect good Easter weekend weather for egg hunts, chilly evening Mariners games

Both Saturday and Sunday of Easter weekend will feature temperatures warming to around 60 degrees across much of Western Washington.

10 hours ago

Taylor Swift performs onstage during the Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour at Lumen Field on July 22, 20...

Micki Gamez, KIRO Newsradio and Bill Kaczaraba, MyNorthwest

Seattle tourism dollars break records following All-Star Week, Taylor Swift

It was a record-setting year for dollars flowing into Seattle from tourists.

11 hours ago

Image: A bridge in Carnation....

Julia Dallas

Carnation frustrated with Seattle again after 8th false emergency alarm induces widespread panic

Carnation citizens have faced a series of panic-inducing alarms after SPU's system for the Tolt Dam falsely sounded eight times.

12 hours ago

Grocery store shopper...

Bill Kaczaraba

Ways to deal with Seattle grocery store sticker shock

Seattle grocery store sticker shock continues to play havoc on locals, but there are ways to counter high prices.

12 hours ago

belltown hellcat social media...

Frank Sumrall

Infamous ‘Belltown Hellcat’ social media influencer charged with reckless driving

The social media influencer has been accused of driving 107 miles per hour through Belltown in a Dodge Hellcat.

13 hours ago

KIRO Newsradio gracie awards...

MyNorthwest Staff

KIRO Newsradio anchors receive Gracie Awards for outstanding work

Heather Bosch and Lisa Brooks, anchors at KIRO Newsradio, have been honored by the Alliance for Women in Media with prestigious Gracie Awards.

16 hours ago

‘Tis the season for Christmas crane wars along the Seattle skyline