Star Light, Star Bright, See Fifth Avenue's Giant Snowflake Star At Night

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It just isn't a crowded, frustrating and hectic holiday shopping season along Fifth Avenue without that giant lit-up star/snowflake hybrid that is suspended over the intersection of 57th Street and 5th Avenue from Black Friday through the end of January. And with Black Friday having just passed, the crystal monster is back and better than ever.

Click here to see how it looked last year, from this same vantage point with the Louis Vuitton flagship in the background. The giant snowflake was first introduced in 1984, and you can imagine how janky it looked back then.

In 2002, it became associated with UNICEF, and was known as the "UNICEF snowflake." In 2005, they upgraded to a Baccarat crystal one designed by Ingo Maurer (pics here), and this year marks its fourth Christmas. It's even got a twin hanging above Rodeo Drive In Beverly Hills.

Although you can see the enormous ornament hanging in the daytime, the many supporting wires are a distraction and thus we recommend dropping by once night has fallen. It's then that the 6,000+ plus lights burn their brightest and illuminate the center of the mass luxury retail vortex.
· UNICEF Snowflake [Official Site]
· UNICEF Snowflake in 2005 [MocoLoco]
· In The Window: A Holiday Stroll Down Fifth Avenue [Racked]