Peacock Lane Is Now Registered as a National Historic District

A little over a year after residents began their fight to gain historical recognition to keep to developers at bay , Peacock Lane, the Portland street famous for its annual Christmas lights extravaganza, has been officially added to The National Park Service's roster of historic districts.

The quest to obtain historic designation was sparked after a Portland developer bought the property at 522 Peacock Lane with hopes of splitting the lot to add a second home in a style that the current residents felt was unfit for the neighborhood's predominantly English Tudor-style architecture and could potentially damage the Christmas light display that visitors have come to expect.

The neighborhood's 33 original homes that span the four blocks of Peacock Lane were designed and build by developer R.F. Wassel in the 1920's to create his version of a " charming English Lane" and the neighborhood aesthetic has remained unchanged for almost a century.

Though the new historic designation won't necessarily stop developers from building new homes on properties they purchase, they will have to jump through more hoops before they can even think about starting construction – any new development will now have to be reviewed and approved by the Portland Historic Landmarks Commission.

Peacock Lane is one of three Portland neighborhoods to recently seek historical designation. Eastmoreland and Laurelhurst have yet to have their requests granted.