This weekend, a few of my friends and myself ventured to NYC to see the famous Christmas Tree at Rockefeller Center.It seems that every year the tree that stands in the plaza has a story behind it. This year the tree was 77 years old and from New Jersey. The mother of the family that owned the tree always told her children that some year that tree would be used in Rockefeller Center.
The first tree that went up at this site was a little known event. It was erected in 1931 by the construction workers in who were building the plaza. It was during the great depression and to celebrate being paid on Christmas Eve (many workers went unpaid at the time) the men put up a tree and decorated it with tin cans and scrap paper.
The first "official" Rockefeller tree was put up in 1933. In 1942 there were 3 trees, dedicated to the war effort. The trees were decorated in red, white and blue. In 1944 the tree had no lights on it because of the wartime blackout regulation.
As you could see in the photos below, the tree has come a long way since the very first one in 1931 (Notice the man sitting at the wooden crate. He was there to pay the workers.)
1 comment:
Rick! I have ALWAYS wanted to visit Rockefeller Center at Christmas time! Thankyou! I LOVED this post! I hope you have a fantastic Christmas, and a happy new year. Thank you for all the great posts through the year, and for visiting my little hole in the web. Again, Merry Christmas my friend.
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