Broadview residents know when it comes to Halloween, nobody does it better. A select group of residents in the 100 and 200 blocks of Broadview have been keeping that tradition alive year after year and despite this year's 31st falling on a Monday, showed no signs of dwindling or scaling back.
In fact, upon closer inspection, many of the homes displaying Halloween decor have improved and added to their yearly performances. The Monster Carnival, the two 'pirates ships', the new animated witch's caldron and spider on the projector are just a few of the new additions to Halloween Street.
As with most recent years, Broadview was once again closed off at Douglas, First and Second streets to allow an easier flow for the crowds of trick-or-treaters and parents. The streets hadn't always been blocked off. Years ago cars could still pass through among the crowd, but in recent years it was felt closing the street would be safer for everyone. Also as usual, off-duty police officers directed traffic and pedestrians at Douglas, First and Second Streets.
The weather was also favorable this year with just a bit of wind later on in the evening.
A growing trend in recent years has homeowners on Broadview adding Caution Tape to keep people off of lawns either to protect their landscape or to keep decorations from getting trampled. While it may preserve the grass from feet it might be worth mentioning that winter would have a far greater impact. Some downsides to the caution tape is the bottle neck between homes for trick-or-treaters
The best course of action when lines start to grow and there is no room to move is to just wait or get out of the way. Since the street is blocked from car traffic, and if you need to get some place in a hurry, skipping the sidewalk altogether and using the street would be easiest. Remember to slow down and watch for kids, after all that's what this holiday is really for.
If you've never been to Halloween Street here are some of the attractions to see. Names have been given to organize them.
Halloween Street Attractions
ON THE 200 BLOCK:
 
"The Pumpkin Patch and Reaper", at the corner of 2nd and Broadview. Here you'll find the biggest jack o' lantern display with cutouts ranging from from Frankenstein to Mario. There's also a walking Reaper that stands about twelve feet tall.
 
"The Wizard of Oz", complete with the Wicked Witch, Dorothy, house, twister, hot air balloon and the Great and Powerful Oz up in the second-story window.
 
"The Cemetery", with pop up scarecrows, creepy sound effects and a giant scare crow that extends over the sidewalk. This one really gets crowded.
  "Pirate Ship with Miniature Row Boat". This one is really neat. I spent about twenty minutes taking pictures and admiring the work that went into it. The miniature boat is fantastic and is animated. Job well done!
 
The "Zip-Line Ghost and Haunted House" but with a few new tidbits. The witch and caldron gave a spectacular effect and the flashing eyes in the tree. This is one of the creepier setups but very well done.
ON THE 100 BLOCK:
  "Tombstones", with The Mummy, Creature from the Black Lagoon etc. on the corner of 1st and Broadview.
  "Scare Crow and Ghosts". There was a ghost in back of the driveway which we managed to capture on camera. Also photos of the scare crow and tombstones.
 
The Animated Witch stirring her caldron with giant spiders and projector". Managed to capture the spider from projector, he was moving a little fast for the night shutter speed. There's also images of the witch and giant ground spiders.
  "Harry Potter" had big improvements with many new decorations.
"Candy Land." Sorry, no photos available.
 
The second "Pirate Ship", this one has the owners giving out candy inside the ship in full pirate costume, great for the kids.
   
The "Monster Carnival", an insidiously-creepy clown, Howling Dart Game, Witch's Brew and Ticket Master await you here.
There may be a few missing, it's hard to keep them all straight. Maybe we need to assign official names to these.
In summary, it was a very entertaining night and as usual trick-or-treaters came from all over to see the sights and get candy. It's a good sign that Halloween Street will continue to be a huge success and the tradition will live on for many years.
We have some select photos available below. You can watch the slide show or click image to enlarge then click the link to open in new window, then use click on image again to zoom. You can watch them in a larger window this way.
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