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Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Installed in Midtown, Signaling Start of NYC Holiday Season

The 75-foot Norway spruce from East Greenbush will be illuminated on December 3 in a live broadcast hosted by Reba McEntire.

Overview

  • Crews used cranes to position the roughly 11-ton spruce at 30 Rockefeller Plaza overlooking the skating rink as crowds watched.
  • The tree was donated by Judy Russ and her family from East Greenbush, a suburb of Albany, where relatives say it was planted generations ago.
  • Decorators will add more than 50,000 multicolored, energy‑efficient LED lights and top the tree with a Swarovski star weighing about 900 pounds.
  • The display will remain through mid-January, after which the tree will be milled into lumber for Habitat for Humanity housing projects.
  • The spruce traveled about 150 miles to Manhattan this week and is now being stabilized and prepared for its seasonal decorations.