Hey, what's the bright idea?
Homeowner's early spectacle of 250,000 Christmas lights is turning off some neighbors
Some people have big houses. And some people like celebrating Christmas. And then there is Dominic Luberto.
A year ago, Luberto bought one of the largest single-family homes in Boston. It has 11 fireplaces, stone turrets, long red velvet drapes, and furniture imported from Italy. Set on a can't-miss spot on the Arborway, it is one of the jewels in Frederick Law Olmsted's Emerald Necklace of roads and parks surrounding Jamaica Pond.
Last month -- a full 72 days before Christmas -- Luberto began covering the exterior of the 8,500-square-foot house with Christmas lights. He says he has spent $10,000 on lights alone, a purchase that he hopes will cause people "throughout the city, throughout Massachusetts" to take note.
The reaction so far has been a few glasses of eggnog short of holiday cheer, as neighbors who live in the graceful residences surrounding Luberto's home take in the onslaught of Christmas wattage and illuminated plastic yuletide figurines.
"This is my castle," Luberto, 55, said.
The tens of thousands of lights he has put up so far -- eventually he hopes to have 250,000 -- switch on automatically at 4:30 p.m. and blaze until 1:30 a.m., and he plans to leave them on longer as Christmas approaches.
He says he wants to shock his sleepy neighborhood into sharing his love of the holiday, and he has put in a request at City Hall to have the mayor come by for a party in about two weeks, when all the lights are ablaze.
"We're losing the beauty of this life," Luberto exclaimed, saying he loves the smiles on children's faces -- particularly that of his 10-year-old daughter, Dominique -- when they gaze at the home. "We're going to show them something big for Christmas!"
Some neighbors in this tony section of Jamaica Plain, however, do not share Luberto's enthusiasm for the riot of lights.
"It's kind of annoying," said Rick Feeney , who lives behind the house and can cite the day the lights started going up: Oct. 14. "I don't mean to sound Scrooge-like, but there is a time and a place. Christmas isn't in October, in my point of view."
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But several neighbors are furious, saying the lights keep them awake at night.
"I'm living next to Las Vegas," said one neighbor, who asked that her name not be used because there have been several testy disputes with Luberto over his new swimming pool and security lights he installed in his backyard. "We're all at a loss of what we can do. But it's not fun."
Luberto concedes the point.
"People in the back, they don't like it," he shrugs. "Well, too bad. It's Christmas."
There are 250,000 lights, some already on the house and some packed into a storage shed in the back yard while he and a cousin scurry up ladders with drills and hammers, finding places to attach them. Electrical strips are spread throughout the yard, and Luberto has lost count of how many orange extension cords he has purchased this year.
On his roof right now is a reindeer and sleigh. Next to it is a 5-foot - tall plastic Santa, climbing into one of the house's five chimneys. He has made several tree-like structures using thousands of lights, and he also planted an evergreen Christmas tree with large colored bulbs. He has plans for more figurines in the yard. He hopes to cover every square inch of the home with twinkle lights.
In months where he has the lights on, Luberto says , his electricity bill is about $1,100 -- about 10 times his normal bill.
"The money, it doesn't matter," he said. "I love this stuff, I really do."
Italian by descent and Argentine by birth, Luberto describes himself as a musician who played with big-name bands, though he does not say which ones. He has a house full of instruments and recording equipment, but he says he and his wife, Isora , made most of their money in real estate.
He hopes the lights will serve as a reminder to some 47,000 people who drive by his home each day that Christmas should be celebrated in style.
"Don't you celebrate on your birthday?" he asks. "Well, this is Jesus' birthday. It should be the biggest celebration of all."
Luberto initially started pouring his energy into Christmas lights about five years ago, when his family was living near Centre Street in Jamaica Plain. He continued the practice last year when they moved to his new home on the Arborway .
The home was originally built in 1760 and was added onto in 1897. For years it was owned by the family of Republican politician Jack E. Robinson III, who lost to Senator Edward M. Kennedy in 2000, and to Representative Stephen F. Lynch earlier this month. The family sold the home in an auction in 2001 and Luberto purchased it last year for $1.65 million, according to the city's property records.
Each year, Luberto's lighting designs become more extravagant, and he starts his preparations just a little earlier.
At the end of the season, he rips the lights off his home and disposes of them. He starts anew each year, spending more money each Christmas season.
"Next year, just wait till you see it next year," he says. "It's going to be spectacular. This year, I didn't have time to prepare early enough."
Matt Viser can be reached at maviser@globe.com 