San Francisco Christmas lights display seen nationwide

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- If you've ever climbed a ladder to string your Christmas lights, you appreciate the effort that Tom Taylor and Jerry Goldstein go to. For more than 30 years, they've turned their home on a hill above San Francisco's Castro District into a full blown Christmas display. It started when they moved into the neighborhood, with a small tree in tow.

"Tom threw it in the ground and somehow it found the sewer. And grew and grew and now it's like 60 feet high," laughs Goldstein.

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The display has drawn visitors from as far away as Germany. And a few years ago, Tom & Jerry as they're known, got a call from the Producers of ABC's, "The Great Christmas Light Fight," which profiles the biggest home displays from around the country. They finally agreed to participate but with a San Francisco caveat.

"We aren't in any light fight, this is our gift to the community to the world, where we've come from and where we are now," says Goldstein.

The Light Fight crew photographed the display last December as it was going up. Tom & Jerry say it's a creative struggle every year deciding what to keep and what to update.

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"So we're always remaking things and coming up with new ideas, working on trains, because things just wear out," says Taylor.

It takes about six weeks to put the display up every year. And they're still waiting to see how their labor of love fares on the show. But win or lose, they want it to represent the values of San Francisco says Goldstein.

"This tree represents what America should be. This tree represents immigrants, African Americans, Us."