Curiosity 55: Rockefeller Center Christmas tree

I can't say I've ever given much thought to the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree, having never seen it in person, but today a friend posted something on FB that I found intriguing, to wit: "Ever wonder what they do with the huge Christmas tree displayed in Rockefeller Center at the end of the holiday season? The lumber from each tree has been used by Habitat for Humanity to build a home for a family every year since 2007."

Impressive! And it got me googling.

So let's back up, to the very first Christmas tree to appear in Rockefeller Plaza. It was in 1931, when the complex was being built—and it was a gift from some of the construction workers, who, grateful to be employed in those hard times, pooled their money and bought a 20-foot balsam fir, which they decorated with paper garlands and strings of cranberries. Two years later, the Center started the tradition we know today, erecting a 50-foot tree, decorating it with some 700 lights, and holding a tree-lighting ceremony.

Over the years, the tree has continued to grow. This year's is 80 feet tall, and is draped with some 50,000 LED lights. That's about five miles of wire. Hundreds of workers, including some 20 electricians and a host of engineers, carpenters, gardeners, and others, are involved in erecting the tree, a process that itself takes two days—and only then can the adorning begin. The finishing touch is a 9-foot, 900-pound star made of 3 million tiny Swarovski crystals on 70 illuminated spikes, designed by architect Daniel Libeskind in 2017. (Read about the making of this star here.)

Although erection of the tree begins in mid-November (or, truly, years before—see the video below), the official lighting day waits until the first Wednesday after Thanksgiving, and it remains lit through Epiphany. (Thank goodness for decorum.) 

And then—what to do with a 12-ton tree? Beginning in 2007, the owner and operator of Rockefeller Center, Tishman Speyer, has donated the giant evergreen to Habitat for Humanity. It is then milled into 2-by-4 and 2-by-6 beams. As the Habitat website explains, "The wood of a Norway Spruce is more flexible and durable than lumber for load-bearing walls and therefore is ideal for blocking—the filling, spacing, joining or reinforcing of frames—as well as for flooring, furniture and cabinetry." It is a lovely example of sharing on, since the tree is always donated by the grower (though other costs, such as transportation, erection, and maintenance of course enter in). 

The first such gift was of a tree harvested in Shelton, CT, and used to build Habitat homes in Pascagoula, MS, though most final projects are in the greater New York area. Last year, the tree was from Queensbury, NY, and became lumber used in a house in Corinth, NY. This year's tree was from the home of Matt and Jackie McGinley in Vestal, NY (pictured here), hand-picked by the Rockefeller Center head gardener, Erik Pauze (as he has done for thirty years now). Where it will end up remains yet to be determined.

Here is a video about the 2020 tree, from selection to erection and illumination:

Here is a video, courtesy of Habitat for Humanity, celebrating the process from tree lighting to life in a brand-new home:

It's stories like this that give me faith in humanity. I could use more of them... Maybe that'll be a new theme for this blog.