‘Larryville’ is Everett man’s Americana wonderland

Look, there’s Flick, the kid whose tongue gets stuck to the icy pole in the movie “A Christmas Story.”

There’s the Bedford Falls Trust and Savings Bank, where greedy old Mr. Potter bedevils George Bailey in “It’s a Wonderful Life.” And isn’t that the bridge where Jimmy Stewart as George nearly ends it all in the classic film?

Oh, and there in the Old Town neighborhood is O’Donnell’s Pub, a cheery looking place to escape the wintry streets.

Where are we, anyway? It’s like a mixed-up scene from a Christmas movie dream. There are no freeways or strip malls. No one carries a cellphone. Illuminated by twinkling lights, the past looks even sweeter than we remember it.

It’s “Larryville,” a holiday village display that fills a dining room and more at Larry O’Donnell’s 1905 home in Everett.

“The thing I really like about it, I’m in total control,” joked O’Donnell, 75, a retired Everett School District administrator. “I’m the mayor, the city planner and the police chief.”

Larryville has been a dozen years in the making. As his collection of pint-size buildings, cars, trees and characters has grown, the scene has evolved from a small town with nearby farms into a nearly 20-foot-long spectacle.

At one end is a carnival — with a carousel, bumper cars, a midway and a parking lot filled with vintage cars. None of the cars and trucks in Larryville are models newer than the 1950s. There are two trains, one a kiddie ride at the carnival and the larger railroad, the “North Pole Central,” serving the city. A sled and ski area is called “Lone Tree Mountain.”

O’Donnell’s brother, retired teacher and local historian Jack O’Donnell, and other members of the family have special places in Larryville.

“Jack and I are the worst mechanics. So I have Jack’s Auto Parts and Jack’s service station,” O’Donnell said.

Tim’s Christmas Tree Farm is named for Jack O’Donnell’s son, and Mike’s Boathouse is a nod to Larry O’Donnell’s son. A restaurant, Katie O’Donnell’s Cafe, is named for Larry’s granddaughter Caitlyn.

Larryville is an idealized reality — five theaters but no dental office. It looks magical, but creating it takes some doing.

Work begins right after Thanksgiving dinner, when O’Donnell escorts guests to the basement to bring up the boxes that house village pieces.

As a Christmas village collector, O’Donnell is no purist. “The Rolls-Royce of this stuff is made by Department 56. Those pieces are more intricate,” he said.

He began with about six pieces on his dining room table. “Then I started buying anything I could find,” he said.

That’s how he ended up with “It’s a Wonderful Life” figures from Walgreen’s and “A Christmas Story” pieces from Sears — including Ralphie’s house and the Chop Suey Palace where the movie family has their holiday dinner. On a road trip several years ago, Larry and Jack O’Donnell visited A Christmas Story House and Museum in Cleveland, the setting for the 1983 movie.

Larryville now takes up the dining room table, plus an adjoining ping-pong table, a card table, and the kitchen table O’Donnell’s parents had when he was a boy. It’s roughly 100 square feet of fun. He fashioned a table-to-floor skirt around it all to hide power strips and electrical cords.

“I have about 120 structures. I have no idea the total value,” he said. “I have spent as little as $5 and as much as $110.”

With rain pouring down Wednesday night, O’Donnell said he started Larryville to avoid the annual chore of climbing up on his roof, often in stormy weather, to put up Christmas lights. Now, the light is inside to enjoy.

Creating the display takes at least a week, and O’Donnell has drawn a map to help set up the Old Town area, the downtown, two schools, the carnival and all the rest. He hosted a neighborhood party recently, and Rotary Club friends. “The fun thing is just sharing it,” he said.

Larryville stays right where it is all the way through January.

“Every year, it’s hard to part with it,” O’Donnell said.

Julie Muhlstein: 425-339-3460, muhlstein@heraldnet.com.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

Everett mall renderings from Brixton Capital. (Photo provided by the City of Everett)
Topgolf at the Everett Mall? Mayor’s hint still unconfirmed

After Cassie Franklin’s annual address, rumors circled about what “top” entertainment tenant could be landing at Everett Mall.

Everett
Everett man sentenced to 3 years of probation for mutilating animals

In 2022, neighbors reported Blayne Perez, 35, was shooting and torturing wildlife in north Everett.

Dorothy Crossman rides up on her bike to turn in her ballot  on Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett leaders plan to ask voters for property tax increase

City officials will spend weeks hammering out details of a ballot measure, as Everett faces a $12.6 million deficit.

Starbucks employee Zach Gabelein outside of the Mill Creek location where he works on Friday, Feb. 23, 2024 in Mill Creek, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Mill Creek Starbucks votes 21-1 to form union

“We obviously are kind of on the high of that win,” store bargaining delegate Zach Gabelein said.

Lynnwood police respond to a collision on highway 99 at 176 street SW. (Photo provided by Lynnwood Police)
Police: Teen in stolen car flees cops, causes crash in Lynnwood

The crash blocked traffic for over an hour at 176th Street SW. The boy, 16, was arrested on felony warrants.

The view of Mountain Loop Mine out the window of a second floor classroom at Fairmount Elementary on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
County: Everett mining yard violated order to halt work next to school

At least 10 reports accused OMA Construction of violating a stop-work order next to Fairmount Elementary. A judge will hear the case.

Imagine Children's Museum's incoming CEO, Elizabeth "Elee" Wood. (Photo provided by Imagine Children's Museum)
Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett to welcome new CEO

Nancy Johnson, who has led Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett for 25 years, will retire in June.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.