Lynn Hultman calls herself the mayor, and says she is also in charge of planning and zoning. Lynn really enjoys Christmas time in the city, especially when that city happens to be in the basement of her Bettendorf home.
Lynn and her husband Steve have a nostalgic Christmas display. It consists of about 80 buildings and hundreds of trees, people, cars and other accessories. The series is Department 56 Christmas in the City.
The display models New York City, and Lynn zones it into various districts. There are small neighborhoods, a financial district, entertainment area, large park, a Christmas tree lot, and bus station. The layout is a 1940's-50's look, complete with Radio City Music Hall, the Ed Sullivan Theatre, and Yankee Stadium.
Steve Hultman is in charge of the electronics. Each building lights up, and Steve also skirts the entire display with white fabric.
The Hultmans think the display is nostalgic, a reminder, Lynn says, of the days when she would go to downtown Davenport as a child to look at the store windows and all the Christmas decorations. A simpler time, the Hultmans believe, when life seemed to move at a slower pace.
The Hultmans started collecting in the mind 90's when a friend gave them a couple of Department 56 buildings as a gift. It has grown from there. A city where there is a place for everything, and everything in its place.
