It’s aliiiive! Halloween tradition celebrates 54 years

Nancy Power, a Riverdalian who works for Riverdale Neighborhood House, is one of the many who can look back at her youth through the glare of a windowpane.

“I painted the world. The earth. In different areas, I painted different ethnicities for different parts of the world,” said Ms. Power, who decorated a UNICEF-themed window on 231st Street as part of the 1963 Halloween Window Painting Contest.

“I was messy. You know, a lot of paint, a lot of fun,” she added.

Generations of artistic Riverdalians have participated in the annual Halloween contest launched in 1957 by the Kiwanis Club. That first year, more than 45 children painted storefront windows around Riverdale. The first winner, a boy named John Carey, was awarded $25 for a cemetery scene he painted on the window of Alexander’s Cleaners.

“It’s a tradition. It’s like motherhood and apple pie,” said Robert Rubinstein, who’s been organizing the event for over 35 years.

In the Oct. 31, 1957 edition of The Riverdale Press, the paper reported that the contest was conducted on a “limited and experimental basis,” but wrote a short editorial titled “Kiwanis Scores a Hit!” and said the club deserved a pat on the back for “launching a venture that helps to build a good community spirit.”

“The contest was a success far beyond our expectations,” Howard Rosan, chairman and Nat Dworkin, member, of the Kiwanis committee told The Press for the 1957 article, titled “Spooks and Sputniks Favored in Window Paintings.”

The Soviet Union had launched Sputnik weeks earlier on Oct. 4 1957.

“We know that next year we can do much more with this idea,” the pair added.

The idea caught on. Every Halloween Riverdale’s windows are adorned with works of spooky art from neighborhood children. Many of the paintings have depicted major world events or cultural trends, from Sputnik to the World Series.

In 1964, The Riverdale Press dropped the apostrophe in Hallowe’en, and started calling it Halloween. Times have changed and so has the art. And as the paper’s staff embraces the nostalgia gleaned from its own 60th anniversary this year, it seemed fitting to review how this one Halloween treat has transformed:

Peace in Vietnam became a theme among many paintings during the Vietnam War.

In the late 60s, many of the windows depicted Halloween scenes mimicking pop art.

In 1988, a copy of E.T. the ExtraTerrestrial was given to the grand prize winner, courtesy of the now extinct Video Unlimited on Johnson Avenue.

In 1991, first place also received a free dinner from Pudgie’s Famous Chicken on Johnson Avenue, where Hunan Balcony is now located.

In 2001, many of the window paintings featured American flags and patriotic Halloween scenes following the 9/11 attacks.

The contest usually takes place during the World Series, so on years the Yankees, and even the Mets, made it to the Fall Classic, many of the windows were baseball-themed.

The prize money has doubled since the first year. The winner now receives $50.

There have been different categories for winners over the years, but this year’s contest, being held on Saturday, Oct. 23, will have five: overall, Halloween theme, originality, artistic and humor.

For more information, call Robert Rubinstein at 718-543-2600.