CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The Fourth of July weekend may be a good time to take the family downtown and enjoy the lights of Chaparral Street. It's part of the ongoing plan to make downtown a premier destination in Corpus Christi.
If you've been to Chaparral Street during the holidays, you've likely seen the lights already. But now, they'll be up year round.
The plan is to have about 100 trees along six blocks of Chaparral Street from Twigg Street to Lomax Street lit up permanently.
It's intended to beautify the area and also amplify the downtown experience for those who visit.
We spoke with Alyssa Barrera, the Executive Director of the Downtown Management District. She told us the lights will also add an element of safety for families who visit.
"We've been making a lot of improvements," Barrera said. "There's a lot of businesses that have been opening, so I think adding this lighting is definitely going to elevate safety and perceptions of safety in our downtown area."
The initiative is being sponsored by the Corpus Christi Medical Center as a part of their role as the newest member of the downtown advisory council.
We also had a chance to speak with one of the people who live in the Cosmopolitan apartment building. It's one of the places where we saw workers stringing lights on Thursday.
David Munoz is the CEO of United Home Care and he said that he is thankful for this and other changes that are happening to a place he loves.
"It gives it a nice, larger city feel and it makes people who go downtown really appreciate what Corpus has to offer," Munoz said. "And it makes Corpus look good. I definitely see the effort and appreciate it."
The lighting ceremony is happening Friday, July 2, at 6:45 p.m. at the corner of Lomax and Chaparral. It's going to be part of the July Art Walk.
There's a lot of history down there. In fact, Chaparral was the city's original main street, and those behind this effort hope that they can help it to shine once again.
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