Homewood Christmas Star

The Star on a cloudy day in 2007.

The Homewood Christmas Star is a large, 5-pointed star edged with gold tinsel and Christmas lights that is hung over 18th Street at the top of the hill of the Homewood Central Business District, just north of Oxmoor Road, each year during the December holiday season.

The 200-pound star was made by Douglass McConnell at his McConnell Sales and Engineering Corporation shop for Homewood's Christmas celebration sometime before 1951. The city's fleet maintenance department refurbished the star in the 1990s and since then the city has planned for an annual cleaning, repainting and redecorating. The star is decorated with a two-tone gold foil garland, 1,200 larger bulbs and ten strands of small twinkling lights.

The star was featured as the 2005 ornament in the Homewood historic Christmas ornament series. While usually hung without fanfare, on November 28, 2011, a rededication ceremony for the star was held which was attended by McConnell's son and grandson. Beginning in 2012 an annual "Lighting of the Star" event, sponsored by local businesses. O'Henry's Coffee roasted a special "Homewood Star Blend" for the 2012 ceremony.

References

• Spencer, Thomas (December 16, 2010) "Star over Homewood, A few of my favorite things, IV" The Birmingham News - accessed December 17, 2010
• Singleton, William C. III (November 28, 2011) "Homewood Christmas star to get fanfare today" The Birmingham News
• Rodriguez, Ana (November 26, 2012) "Homewood sets up for annual 'Lighting of the Star'." The Birmingham News

External links

• The Star of Homewood in 2010 at Birmingham, Alabama Daily Photo
• 2012 Homewood star photos by Birmingham News photographer Mark Almond