KING 5 says tower holiday lights will return in 2025
Dec 5, 2024, 12:26 PM
The KING 5 tower atop Seattle's Queen Anne Hill has been decorated with holiday lights nearly every year since the 1950s; this year, the tower is dark as far as decorations are concerned. (Photo: Feliks Banel, KIRO Newsradio)
(Photo: Feliks Banel, KIRO Newsradio)
The broadcast tower for Seattle’s KING 5 on Queen Anne Hill has been decorated with festive lights for the holiday season nearly every year since the 1950s. This year, the 680-foot tall tower is dark, as far as holiday decorations are concerned, for the perhaps the first time since the energy crisis of 1973.
Though that corner of Queen Anne – as well as that part of the horizon – will remain dark for December 2024, the holiday-lighting news coming from Seattle’s oldest TV station isn’t all bad.
KING 5 President and General Manager Christy Moreno confirmed for KIRO Newsradio Thursday morning that the lights will not be illuminated this year. Moreno says the long strings of colored bulbs are inadvertently AWOL because of a months-long painting and maintenance project for the tower that wrapped up later than expected.
“We actually just finished a massive painting and refurbishing project on the tower,” Moreno explained. “So, obviously, not very exciting, but we ended up having to pass on the lights this year.”
That’s the bad news. The good news?
“Never fear,” Moreno continued, “the lights will return next year.”
With the outcry on social media (and from at least one radio historian), does Moreno regret not letting the public know in advance that the lights would not be glowing atop Queen Anne Hill this year?
“We talked about it internally,” Moreno said. “But it wasn’t something that I put out to the public, and I have just been answering the messages as they come in.”
And, Moreno adds, getting those worried calls and emails had what might be called a silver lining.
“It’s been nice to connect with people,” Moreno said. Calls and emails came “mostly from Queen Anne residents, but we haven’t had a lot outside of that area. It’s a really cool tradition, and we do love it very much, so I absolutely get it why people are talking about it.”
“I was happy to answer them and let them know what was going on and that they were coming back next year, and not to worry,” Moreno said, and also pointed out that the tower is not likely to need similar maintenance and painting for as long as few decades from now.
“I’m happy that people care about it like we do, and that it’s an important part of their holiday tradition,” Moreno continued. “I think that’s reassuring in this day and age to know that people hold the same traditions that we do special.”
Editors’ note: This story was first published on Wednesday, Dec. 4. It has been updated and republished multiple times since then.
You can hear Feliks Banel every Wednesday and Friday morning on Seattle’s Morning News with Dave Ross and Colleen O’Brien. Read more from Feliks here and subscribe to The Resident Historian Podcast here. If you have a story idea or a question about Northwest history, please email Feliks. You can also follow Feliks on X.
