“The Tree at Rockefeller Center” is an annual tree lighting that takes place in New York City’s Rockefeller Center. The tree is erected and lit in early December. The Norway spruce is traditionally between 75 to 90 feet tall, and has been put up every year since 1931.
The tree is supported 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 adorning it with 30,000 lights attached to 5 miles of wiring.
The star at the top of the tree, each year since 2004, is 9.5 feet in diameter and weights 550 pounds. This “Swarovski Star” was created by German artist Michael Hammers.
The tradition began during the Depression-era construction of Rockefeller Center, when workers decorated a small balsam fir tree with strings of cranberries, garlands of paper, and even a few tin cans on Christmas Eve, December 24, 1931.
Happy Holidays from all of us at Bitten and Bound!
View our gallery of Rockefeller Center trees and other artifacts that are part of the yearly display below.