The Chicago Christmas Tree is the city of Chicago's official Christmas tree. It is located in Millennium Park. Historically, the tree was located in Grant Park and Daley Plaza.
The Chicago Christmas Tree is the city of Chicago's official Christmas tree. It is located in Millennium Park. Historically, the tree was located in Grant Park and Daley Plaza.
The first official Christmas tree in the city of Chicago was installed in 1913 in Grant Park and lit on Christmas Eve by then-mayor Carter Harrison. [1] This first tree was a 35-foot (11 m) tall spruce tree. [1] In December 1956 the official tree, though still installed in Grant Park (at Michigan Avenue and Congress Parkway), was not an individual tree. The tree was a combination of many smaller trees, stood 70 feet (21 m) tall, and was decorated with over 4000 lights and 2000 ornaments. Beginning with Christmas 1966 the official Chicago Christmas tree was placed in Civic Center Plaza, now known as Daley Plaza. With the exception of 1982, the tree was installed in Daley Plaza each year until 2015. [1] [2]
The city continued to use multiple trees to constitute the official Chicago Christmas Tree through Christmas 2008, that year the tree was constructed from 113 individual trees and stood 85 feet (26 m). [3] Following a report from CBS 2 in Chicago which revealed the erection of the frame and construction of the tree cost the city $300,000, the city decided to do away with the multiple trees and erect an individual tree in Daley Plaza. [3] This was billed as a way to save the city money during the economic recession. [4]
The 2009 Daley Plaza Christmas tree was an individual tree donated by a family in Palos Heights, Illinois. [5] The 2009 tree cost was reduced by more than half of the $300,000 the 2008 tree cost to erect, decorate and maintain. [6] Because the 2009 tree was just one tree, as opposed to multiple smaller trees, it could not support the weight of the many ornaments that usually adorn the Daley Plaza tree and thus it was decorated only with lights. [6]
In 2010, for the first time, the Daley Plaza Christmas tree was chosen through a contest. [7] The contest began in July 2010 but the deadline was extended after none of the original submissions met the height requirement. [4] The contest winner was decided based on the results of an online poll. [8] Chosen from three finalists, the winning tree, donated by a McHenry, Illinois family, received 2,678 votes out of 5,182. [7]
For 2015, the Chicago Christmas Tree was moved to a new location in Millennium Park. [9]
The official Chicago Christmas tree has varied in height from the 35-foot (11 m) spruce used in 1913 to the 85-foot (26 m) tree used in 2008. [1] [3] The contest rules in 2010 laid out a number of prerequisites that were required of the winning tree. The winning tree had to be at least 55 feet (17 m) tall, the tree chosen measured 70 feet (21 m), and had to be a spruce or fir tree as pine trees were deemed not sturdy enough. [4] In addition the tree had to be found within 100 miles (160 km) of the Chicago Loop and in a location that it could safely be removed from. [7] The tree used in 2010 was decorated with 7000 LED lights and the tree topper was a lighted star. [7] The 70-foot (21 m) fir used in 2010 weighed in at 11,900 pounds (5,400 kg). [7]
Grant Park is a large urban park in the Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois. Located within the city's central business district, the 319-acre (1.29 km2) park's features include Millennium Park, Buckingham Fountain, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Museum Campus.
The Richard J. Daley Center, also known by its open courtyard Daley Plaza and named after longtime mayor Richard J. Daley, is the premier civic center of the City of Chicago in Illinois. The Center's modernist skyscraper primarily houses offices and courtrooms for the Cook County Circuit Courts, Cook County State's Attorney and additional office space for the City and the County. It is adjacent to the neoclassical City Hall-County Building, also on the plaza. The open granite-paved plaza used for gatherings, protests, and events is also the site of the Chicago Picasso, a gift to the city from the artist.
Christmas lights are lights often used for decoration in celebration of Christmas, often on display throughout the Christmas season including Advent and Christmastide. The custom goes back to when Christmas trees were decorated with candles, which symbolized Christ being the light of the world. The Christmas trees were brought by Christians into their homes in early modern Germany.
Millennium Park is a public park located in the Loop community area of Chicago, operated by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs. The park, opened in 2004 and intended to celebrate the third millennium, is a prominent civic center near the city's Lake Michigan shoreline that covers a 24.5-acre (9.9 ha) section of northwestern Grant Park. Featuring a variety of public art, outdoor spaces and venues, the park is bounded by Michigan Avenue, Randolph Street, Columbus Drive and East Monroe Drive. In 2017, Millennium Park was the top tourist destination in Chicago and in the Midwest, and placed among the top ten in the United States with 25 million annual visitors.
The Rich's Great Tree, now the Macy's Great Tree, was a large 70–90-foot (21–27 m) tall cut pine Christmas tree that had been an Atlanta tradition since 1948. As of 2013, the tree has been replaced by a much smaller artificial one in the parking lot, which was then moved back to the roof for 2014. Before ending the tradition in December 2023.
Crown Center is a shopping center and neighborhood located near Downtown Kansas City, Missouri between Gillham Road and Main Street to the east and west, and between OK/E 22nd St and E 27th St to the north and south. The shopping center is anchored by Halls, a department store which is owned and operated by Hallmark Cards. The neighborhood contains numerous residences, retail establishments, entertainment venues, and restaurants including the American Restaurant, the only Forbes Travel Guide four-star restaurant in Missouri. It is home to Hallmark Cards, and the headquarters of Shook, Hardy & Bacon and Lathrop GPM, two of Kansas City's largest law firms.
The Rhode Island State House, the capitol of the state of Rhode Island, is located at 900 Smith Street just below the crest of Smith Hill, on the border of downtown in Providence. It is a neoclassical building designed by McKim, Mead & White which features the fourth largest structural-stone dome in the world, topped by a gilded statue of "The Independent Man", representing freedom and independence. The building houses the Rhode Island General Assembly – the state House of Representatives is located in the west wing, and the Senate in the east – and the offices of the governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, and general treasurer of Rhode Island. Other state offices are located in separate buildings on a campus just north of the State House.
The Indiana State Soldiers and Sailors Monument is a 284 ft 6 in (86.72 m) tall neoclassical monument built on Monument Circle, a circular, brick-paved street that intersects Meridian and Market streets in the center of downtown Indianapolis, Indiana. In the years since its public dedication on May 15, 1902, the monument has become an iconic symbol of Indianapolis, the state capital of Indiana. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on February 13, 1973, and was included in an expansion of the Indiana World War Memorial Plaza National Historic Landmark District in December 2016. It is located in the Washington Street-Monument Circle Historic District. It is also the largest outdoor memorial and the largest of its kind in Indiana.
The Magnificent Mile Lights Festival is an annual event celebrated in Chicago on the Saturday before Thanksgiving. An estimated one million lights on 200 trees brighten the city's Michigan Avenue, also known as the Magnificent Mile. The festival is hosted by The Magnificent Mile Association, formerly the Greater North Michigan Avenue Association, and is the third largest parade in the country, according to the chair of the festival.
The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree is a large Christmas tree placed annually in Rockefeller Center, in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, United States. The tree is put in place in mid November and lit in a public ceremony on the Wednesday evening following Thanksgiving. Since 1997, the lighting has been broadcast live, to hundreds of millions, on NBC's Christmas in Rockefeller Center telecast. The tree lighting ceremony is aired at the end of every broadcast, following live entertainment and the tree is lit by the current Mayor of New York City, the CEO and president of Tishman Speyer and special guests. An estimated 125 million people visit the attraction each year.
The Milwaukee City Christmas Tree, also known as Milwaukee City Holiday Tree (1995–2006) is a pine tree that is placed at city hall and decorated by the city council of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, during the Christmas holiday season. The tradition began in 1913 and continues to this day.
The National Christmas Tree is a large evergreen tree located in the northeast quadrant of the Ellipse near the White House in Washington, D.C. Each year since 1923, the tree has been decorated as a Christmas tree. Every year, early in December, the tree is traditionally lit by the President and First Lady of the United States. Every president since Franklin D. Roosevelt has also made formal remarks during the tree lighting ceremony.
The Trafalgar Square Christmas tree is a Christmas tree given to the people of London by the city of Oslo each year since 1947. The tree is prominently displayed in Trafalgar Square from the beginning of December until 6 January.
The Peace Candle is a tower-like structure erected every Christmas season in Easton, Pennsylvania. The approximately 106-foot (32 m) tall structure, which resembles a giant candle, is assembled each year over the Soldiers' & Sailors' Monument, a Civil War memorial located in the city's Centre Square. It is typically assembled in mid November and lighted over Thanksgiving weekend and disassembled in early February each year.
The Zilker Holiday Tree is a 155 foot Christmas tree made from lights draped from a moonlight tower located in Zilker Park. During the Christmas season the tree is lit by over 3000 colored lights. The lighting of the tree has been an annual tradition in Austin since 1967. On December 26, 2010, a five-kilometer run named after the tree took place.
Christmas in the Park is a winter event that takes place each year in downtown San Jose, California, roughly from the last week of November to January 1. During this time, more than five hundred Christmas trees decorated by local schools and other groups are displayed in Plaza de César Chávez Park, usually with more than 50 Christmas-related musical and animated exhibits, a 55-foot high Community Giving Tree, and souvenir and treats shops.
The Anthem Christmas tree is a Christmas tree erected annually at the Outlets North Phoenix, an outlet mall in Anthem, Arizona, approximately 30 mi (48 km) north of downtown Phoenix. The mall's tree is the tallest Christmas tree in the state of Arizona every year, and is often listed as the tallest Christmas tree in the United States.
The 2002 Winter Olympics cauldron held the Olympic flame during the 2002 Winter Olympics held in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States.
The Norwegian Christmas Tree in Washington, D.C., is an annual gift from the people of Norway to the United States that is displayed in Washington Union Station. The tradition began in 1997 after the idea by Ambassador Tom Vraalsen to note the number of Norwegian Americans compared to the population of Norway. The tree in Union Station is one of several that Norway donates to various countries as a show of gratitude for assistance in World War II.
In Portland, Oregon, Christmas trees have been installed at Pioneer Courthouse Square annually since the public space opened in 1984. The trees have been donated by Stimson Lumber Company since 2002, and are delivered the week of Veterans Day. With some exceptions, the trees are 75-foot-tall Douglas firs, decorated with thousands of multi-colored LED lights.
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