In County of Allegheny v. Greater Pittsburgh ACLU, 492 U.S. 573, 109 S.Ct. 3086, 106 L.Ed.2d 472 (1989), the Court applied the endorsement test and found that a creche display did violate the Establishment Clause, while a Chanukah menorah display did not. The Allegheny creche display was located on the Grand Staircase of the Allegheny County Courthouse. The creche was surrounded by poinsettias and included an angel bearing a banner proclaiming "Gloria in Excelsis Deo! " The menorah display, on the other hand, was under an arch outside another public building, a short distance away from the County Courthouse and next to a forty-five-foot Christmas tree decorated with lights and ornaments. At the foot of the Christmas tree, a sign was placed bearing the mayor's name and the message "Salute to Liberty." Beneath this message, the sign read: During this holiday season, the city of Pittsburgh salutes liberty. Let these festive lights remind us that we are the keepers of the flame of liberty and our legacy of freedom. (Id. at 581-82, 109 S.Ct. at 3094-95.) (Blackmun, J., concurring). In Allegheny, the Supreme Court held that a creche in a courthouse in Pittsburgh was not permissible, but a menorah in front of a nearby government office building was. The reasoning that led to this apparently disparate result is instructive. Prior to Allegheny, as indicated above, the Court had decided Lynch v. Donnelly. In that case, the Court by a 5-4 vote had rejected the argument that the display of a publicly-financed creche, in a private park in a downtown shopping district in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, was an endorsement of the Christian religion and, therefore, a violation of the Establishment Clause. The creche was part of a larger display, which included, among other things, such traditional figures and decorations as "a Santa Claus house, reindeer pulling Santa's sleigh, candy-striped poles, a Christmas tree and carolers." Lynch, 465 U.S. at 671, 104 S.Ct. at 1358. The Court's majority opinion by Chief Justice Burger relied heavily on the context of the display as part of the Christmas holiday season. Id. at 679, 104 S.Ct. at 1362. In Allegheny County, the creche display included a plaque stating that the display had been donated by the Holy Name Society. 109 S.Ct. at 3095. Because the creche, which was located inside the County Courthouse, was so overwhelmingly surrounded by the presence of government, the sign could not dispel the perception of the government's endorsement of the creche. Id. at 3105. Nevertheless, "while no sign can disclaim an overwhelming message of endorsement, ... an 'explanatory plaque' may confirm that in particular contexts the government's association with a religious symbol does not represent the government's sponsorship of religious beliefs." Id. at 3114-15.