Nela Park shows no sign of longtime holiday lighting display

More than 1 million LED lights lit up the night on Friday, December 6, 2024, as GE Lighting turned on the lights for NELA Parks 100th Year of Holiday Lights in East Cleveland. The display on Noble Road will be illuminated 24/7 through January 6.

EAST CLEVELAND, Ohio — The beloved holiday lights display at Nela Park, which celebrated its 100th anniversary last year, apparently will not make it to year 101.

Northeast Ohio residents are expressing dismay on social media after discovering just a lone Christmas tree and some snowflake decorations at the sprawling former headquarters site for GE Lighting in East Cleveland.

“So sad, look forward to seeing the lighting display every year,” one commenter wrote on social media.

“I was so disappointed when I passed by on Saturday as I always looked forward to seeing the beautiful Christmas display,” another commenter wrote. “Times change things so I guess this is one of the changes. We have our memories of the past years.”

A replica of the National Christmas Tree is front and center of the display. More than 1 million LED lights lit up the night on Friday, December 6, 2024, as GE Lighting turned on the lights for NELA Parks 100th Year of Holiday Lights in East Cleveland. The display on Noble Road will be illuminated 24/7 through January 6.

Cleveland native and olympic boxer Morelle McCane flips the switch. More than 1 million LED lights lit up the night on Friday, December 6, 2024, as GE Lighting turned on the lights for NELA Parks 100th Year of Holiday Lights in East Cleveland. The display on Noble Road will be illuminated 24/7 through January 6.

But the tradition continued on and marked 100 years last year with a massive display.

Guests look on as the ceremony starts. More than 1 million LED lights lit up the night on Friday, December 6, 2024, as GE Lighting turned on the lights for NELA Parks 100th Year of Holiday Lights in East Cleveland. The display on Noble Road will be illuminated 24/7 through January 6.

The first holiday display at the industrial park in 1924 lit up just one year after President Calvin Coolidge fired up the first electrical lights on a National Christmas tree. The Nela Park display – named for the National Electric Lamp Association – was a small collection of lights illuminating holiday cutouts and a few decorations. Its original goal was to test and showcase GE’s early lighting products.

Cleveland native and olympic boxer Morelle McCane (left) and Savant company President Kathy Sterio talk about the display before McCane flipped the switch. More than 1 million LED lights lit up the night on Friday, December 6, 2024, as GE Lighting turned on the lights for NELA Parks 100th Year of Holiday Lights in East Cleveland. The display on Noble Road will be illuminated 24/7 through January 6.

The display became so popular that residents often had to wait for an hour or more as a long line of cars made its way through the park. Visitors later were given the option to walk or drive through the display.

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