Christmas Light Installation in Herculaneum

Old town below, new houses above

Herculaneum sits on the bluffs above the Mississippi, an old river and smelter town with a compact original core and newer residential building spreading onto the higher ground behind it. The two halves want different things.

Down in the old town the housing is modest and close-set, and warm white on a level run with the porch traced is exactly right. Up on the bluff the newer houses have gables and grade, so the elevation gets lit as a whole and reads from a long way across the valley.

What works here

• One warm-white run, evenly spaced — with nothing competing, restraint reads best
• The porch line picked out — most houses here have one worth showing
• A wrapped tree at the front — doubles the display without touching the house
• Wreaths and garland at the door — the finishing touch, not the whole plan
• Timers and mid-season checks — so it is lit every evening without you thinking about it

Herculaneum, Pevely and Festus are grouped into one southbound run. One number covers install, season-long service, takedown and storage.