Rockefeller Center in New York has already installed its gigantic Christmas tree.
An 85-year-old, 24-meter tall Norwegian fir tree was donated by a Maryland family and brought to the base of the famous skyscraper in the Big Apple. It will be adorned with more than 50,000 lights that will be turned on on December 1.
New Yorkers welcomed the long-awaited Rockefeller Center tree this Saturday, after a two-day journey from the state of Maryland and whose lighting on December 1 will mark the beginning of Christmas in the city of skyscrapers.
The Norway spruce, 79 feet tall (24,079 meters), 46 feet wide (14 meters), and 12 tons, was donated from the Price family yard and is the first time it has come from Maryland.
The famous tree was cut down last Thursday and brought on a flatbed truck and to be transported to New York required permission from the states of Maryland, Delaware, and New Jersey due to its large size, Maureen Mandich told ABC channel 7, president of the New York Truck Escorts and Permits that transported him.
“You have to have special permits, special escorts, police escorts, obviously for security reasons and just to get here safely,” Mandich said.
The tree was felled and towed onto a truck on the Price property. He is about 85 years old and stands next to the house. Devon and Julie Price told NBC they feared it might hit their home during a storm. “We love that he’s going to New York,” said Devon Price.
Rockefeller Center head gardener Erik Pauze found the tree in March when he went to a New Jersey nursery to buy plants and decided to take a drive around the area; he told the Baltimore Sun.
The iconic Christmas tree, a 90-year-old tradition, will be adorned with more than 50,000 lights and a 900-pound Swarovski crystal star for the lighting ceremony.
“The best job of the year. Bringing smiles to everyone who sees us go by,” said New York Truck Escorts and Permits on its Facebook account, which documented with photos the departure of the tree from Maryland and its arrival this Saturday at Rockefeller Center.
The tree can be visited until January 16, 2022.
The lighting ceremony occurs at Rockefeller Plaza, between 48th and 51st streets and 5th and 6th avenues. The tree is lit from 6 a.m. to midnight. Last year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the ignition was done in the presence of a few people.
