This year’s Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree will be coming from the southern Berkshires.
WEST STOCKBRIDGE, Mass. (WWLP) – This year’s Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree will be coming from the southern Berkshires, a spokesperson said on Monday.
A Norway Spruce from West Stockbridge, a town located nearly 140 miles north of Manhattan, will be cut on November 7th. The tree is set to arrive at Rockefeller Center on Saturday, November 9th.
The tree, which is around 70 years old, was donated by the Albert family. It stands 74 feet tall, 43 feet wide, and weighs approximately 11 tons. The tree chosen usually has reached its maximum height and is too large for the property. It will be replaced with new trees or greenery on the donor’s property.
MAP: West Stockbridge, Massachusetts
The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree will be wrapped with more than 50,000 multi-colored, energy-efficient LED lights and crowned with a 900-pound Swarovski star. It will be lit during the live broadcast of “Christmas in Rockefeller Center” on Wednesday, December 4th on 22News.
The last Massachusetts tree on display at Rockefeller Center was 65 years ago, in 1959 from Podunk, a village of East Brookfield. It will be on display until mid-January. Afterward, it will be milled into lumber for Habitat for Humanity.
History of the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree
In 1931, construction workers building Rockefeller Center put up a Christmas tree.
Other milestones include, the first formal tree lighting was held in 1933, an outdoor ice skating pond was opened in 136, and the tree was lit for the first time on national television in 1951. Also of note, the largest tree in history, 100 feet tall, came from Killington, Conn. in 1999.
Local News Headlines
WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on WWLP.com.