The holiday season officially hit Midtown Manhattan on Saturday morning. A 100-foot-long trailer delivered the massive 11-ton Norway spruce to Center Plaza, where crews drove a spike into its trunk with a sledgehammer to secure it above the famous ice skating rink.
This year’s tree hails from West Edmeston, New York, and stands 76 feet tall. It will remain on display between 49th and 50th streets until January 9. Over 50,000 multicolored LED lights will illuminate the tree, which features a 900-pound Swarovski star, during a televised ceremony on December 2.
Donor Thought It Was a Prank
Rebecca Decker, the woman who donated the 75-year-old evergreen from her yard, admitted she initially doubted the request. Erik Pauze, the head gardener for Rockefeller Center, had been eyeing the tree since 2020. Decker told the TODAY show on Friday that she was surprised by the visit. “I thought that he was absolutely joking,” Decker said, according to the New York Post. “I was like, ‘I live in the middle of nowhere.’ I definitely thought it was fake at first.”
The tree was originally planted 75 years ago by Carl Camenga, the home’s original builder who passed away on Christmas Day ten years ago. Decker and her family moved into the property five years ago and even considered chopping it down due to safety fears before Pauze intervened. After viewing a text containing the address, Jackie and Matt McGinley, donors of the 2023 tree, actually recommended that Pauze inspect Decker’s property.
Tourists Catch the Magic
Fans of the tradition traveled from far and wide to witness the arrival. Mike and Tammy Valvano from Florida arrived on the last day of their trip just in time to see the tree. Mike, 56, told The Post that the experience was something they had heard about for years. “It’s a legend. It’s one of these things that, you see, you hear about, and you figure, you know, once in a lifetime, we’re already here, we might as well come and see it,” he marveled, according to the New York Post.
Tammy, 58, added that the city holds a special place in her heart during the holidays. “I’ve always wanted to come to the city for Christmas, because New York’s magical,” she said. She noted how cool it was to see the shops decked out in decorations before they had to head home. Emily Avedikian of Houston, Texas, brought her daughter Ava to see the tree before heading to the Radio City Christmas Spectacular. “We come for this and the Rockettes. This is my third time coming. It’s how we kick off the Christmas season. It’s one of my favorite traditions,” said Emily.
The tree will stand in its Midtown perch for two months before being milled into lumber for Habitat for Humanity. The big moment for the public comes on December 2, when the tree is lit for the first time on national television.
This is opinion and commentary from the RapForMayor team.
