Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree

The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree photographed in December 1987. The tree that year was a 75 ft (23 m) high Norway Spruce, decorated with 18,000 lights.

The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree is an annual Christmas tree lighting that takes place in New York City's Rockefeller Center, in mid-town Manhattan. The tree is erected and lit in early December or late-November. In recent years, the lighting has been broadcast live nationwide on NBC's Christmas in Rockefeller Center show.^[1] The tree, usually a Norway spruce 69 to 100 ft (21 to 30 m) tall, has been put up, with the exception of 1932, every year since 1931 .^[2] In 2010, the tree was lit on November 30,^[3] and is scheduled to remain illuminated until the first week of January, 2011.^[1] The tallest Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center was a 100 ft (30 m) foot spruce erected on November 11, 1999 that was being cared for by Cathy and Jim Thomson.^[4]

Selection and decoration

Many Rockefeller trees were given to Rockefeller Center by donors. The late David Murbach,^[5] Mgr. of the Gardens Division of Rockefeller Center, scouted in a helicopter for the desired tree in areas including Connecticut, Vermont, Ohio, upstate New York, New Jersey, and even Ottawa, Canada.^[6] Once a suitable tree is located, a crane supports it while it is cut, and moves it to a custom telescoping trailer that can transport trees up to 125 ft (38 m) tall, although the width of New York City streets passing through Rockefeller Center limits the height of the trees to 110 ft (34 m).

Once at the Rockefeller Center, the tree is supported^[7] by four guy-wires attached at its midpoint, and by a steel spike at its base. Scaffolding is put up around the tree to assist workers in putting up 30,000 lights attached to 5 miles (8.0 km) of wiring.^[8]

The star that has topped the tree since 2004 is 9.5 ft (2.9 m) in diameter and weighs 550 pounds (250 kg). This "Swarovski Star" was created by German artist Michael Hammers, who in 2009 additionally designed his own star lighting production. ^[9][10]

History

Although the official Christmas tree tradition at Rockefeller Center began in 1933 (the year the 30 Rockefeller Plaza opened), the unofficial tradition began during the Depression-era construction of Rockefeller Center, when workers decorated a smaller 20 ft (6.1 m) balsam fir tree with "strings of cranberries, garlands of paper, and even a few tin cans" on Christmas Eve (December 24, 1931), as recounted by Daniel Okrent in his history of Rockefeller Center.^[11] Some accounts have the tree decorated with the tin foil ends of blasting caps. There was no Rockefeller Center Christmas tree in 1932.

The decorated Christmas tree remains lit at Rockefeller Center until the week after New Year's Day, when it is removed and recycled for a variety of uses. In 2007, the tree went "green," employing LED lights.^[12] After being taken down, the tree was used to furnish lumber for Habitat for Humanity house construction.^[13]

The first Tree at Rockefeller Center, erected by construction workers in 1931 shortly after the site was cleared

Known Tree origination:

Year	Original Location	Tree Type	Height
2010	Mahopac, NY [14]	Norway spruce	74 ft
2009	Easton, CT [15]	Norway spruce	76 ft
2008	Hamilton, NJ [16]	Norway spruce	72 ft
2007	Shelton, CT [17]	Norway spruce	84 ft
2006	Ridgefield, CT[18]	Norway spruce	88 ft
2005	Wayne, NJ[19]	Norway spruce	74 ft
2004	Suffern, NY[20]	Norway spruce	71 ft
2003	Manchester, CT[20]	Norway spruce	79 ft
2002	Bloomsbury, NJ[21]	Norway spruce	76 ft
1986	Nanuet, NY[22]	Norway spruce	68 ft
1957	Brighton, VT[23]	white spruce	67 ft

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See also

• National Christmas Tree
• Rockefeller Center

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b} Lambert, Bruce (December 5, 2008). "A Christmas Tree That Manhattan's Can Look Up To". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/07/nyregion/long-island/07treeli.html?scp=1&sq. Retrieved December 14, 2008. 
2. ^ Tree Facts, 2007 (pdf), The Christmas Tree at Rockefeller Center^{[dead link]}
3. ^ Past tree lighting times at Rockefeller Center
4. ^ Biggest Yule Tree Ever Giant Spruce Headed To Rockefeller Center
5. ^ Rockefeller Center Christmas tree hunter David Murbach dies just before Christmas
6. ^ "Rockefeller Center's tree". about.com. http://manhattan.about.com/od/historyandlandmarks/a/rockefellercent_5m.htm. Retrieved 2007-12-01. 
7. ^ Youtube - In New York, a Big Tree Takes Its Place
8. ^ http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57323542/christmas-tree-is-hoisted-at-rockefeller-center/?tag=cbsnewsSectionContent.1
9. ^ Berger, Paul (2005-12-04). "A Star Is Reborn". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/04/nyregion/thecity/04star.html?_r=1&fta=y&pagewanted=all&oref=slogin. Retrieved 2008-05-29. 
10. ^ Barron, James (2009-11-18). "A Star Makeover". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0DE2DA173AF93BA25752C1A96F9C8B63. Retrieved 2009-12-11. 
11. ^ Daniel Okrent, Great Fortune: The Epic of Rockefeller Center. New York: Viking Press, 2003 (p. 188) (ISBN 0-670-03169-0)
12. ^ "The tree at Rockefeller Center". Rockefeller Center. 2007. http://www.thetreenyc.org/smartTree.php. Retrieved 2007-12-01. 
13. ^ "LEDs will light up Rockefeller Christmas tree". CNN. 2007. Archived from the original on November 23, 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20071123161112/http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/science/11/21/green.christmas.ap/index.html. Retrieved 2007-12-01. 
14. ^ "Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree donated by family of Ground Zero FDNY veteran". New York Daily News. 2010-11-11. http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2010/11/11/2010-11-11_rockefeller_center_christmas_tree_donated_by_family_of_ground_zero_fdny_veteran.html. Retrieved 2010-11-11. 
15. ^ "Christmas tree going up in NY's Rockefeller Center". Associated Press. 2009-11-12. http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ivE9G8JKwGM3qANq3oAQlcRa65zAD9BTV1901. Retrieved 2009-11-12. ^{[dead link]}
16. ^ "Hamilton tree headed for Rockefeller Center called 'miracle'". NJ.com. 2008-11-13. http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2008/11/hamilton_tree_fheaded_or_rocke.html. Retrieved 2009-11-12. 
17. ^ "H2007 Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree From Shelton, Connecticut". About.com. 2007-11-09. http://forestry.about.com/b/2007/11/09/rockefeller-center-christmas-tree-from-ridgefield-connecticut.htm. Retrieved 2009-11-12. 
18. ^ "Connecticut Tree Spruces Up Rockefeller Plaza". Fox News. 2006-11-10. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,177278,00.html. Retrieved 2009-11-12. 
19. ^ "Katrina, Rita Kids Light Rockefeller Tree". Fox News. 2005-12-01. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,177278,00.html. Retrieved 2009-11-12. 
20. ^ ^{a b} "NYC — Rockefeller Christmas and Tree — New York City". http://www.newyorkled.com/moreNYseasonal_christmas_Rockefeller-Tree.htm. Retrieved 2009-11-12. 
21. ^ "76-foot spruce arrives in Rockefeller Center for holidays". http://www.boston.com/news/daily/13/christmas_tree.htm. 
22. ^ "It’s No Simple Matter Before a Tree Joins Rockefeller Center History". http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/30/nyregion/30trees.html. Retrieved 2009-11-12. 
23. ^ Hunt, Pat (December 2008). Vermont's Northland Journal 7 (9): 6. 

References

• The Christmas Tree at Rockefeller Center ISBN 0-9650308-7-3
• "Christmas Tech". Modern Marvels. 2006-12-20.

Further reading

• Moseman, Andrew. "How Riggers Raise the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree: Live on Scene", Popular Mechanics, November 14, 2008, accessed December 21, 2008.

External links

• 2006 Rockefeller Center Tree Lighting Image Gallery
• Christmas at Rockefeller Center, NBC.com
• Insider Guide to Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Lighting, nycinsiderguide.com
• Happy Holidays from NBC ('08-'09)
• Happy Holidays from NBC ('09-'10)
• Tree Lighting Times at Rockefeller Center, NYSGO.com
• The Swarovski Star
• A Rockefeller Christmas, The Rockefeller Archive Center

Coordinates: 40°45′31″N 73°58′42″W / 40.75861°N 73.97833°W / 40.75861; -73.97833