6 fun facts about the Rockefeller Center tree
Posted by staff / November 30, 2011
Planning on attending tonight’s tree lighting at Rockefeller Center but worried how to strike up a conversation with a good looking stranger who shares the holiday spirit? Mental_floss has collected six tidbits of information that should get the ball rolling or at least creep people out enough to give you some much-needed elbow room.
1. The first time New Yorkers put up a Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center in 1931, it was like something out of Dickens. The Depression-era workmen building the center were so grateful to have jobs that they decorated a spruce tree with strings of cranberries, paper garlands, and a few tin cans. On December 24, they lined up beneath the tree and received a small Christmas miracle: paychecks. The first official Rockefeller Center Christmas tree went up in 1933.
2. The biggest rock outside 30 Rock is sitting right on top of the tree. The 550-pound Swarovski star is made of 25,000 crystals, 720 LED bulbs, 44 circuit boards, and 3,000 feet of wire. The crowning jewel is estimated to be worth $1.5 million.
3. To find the perfect, seven-story spruce each year, Rockefeller Center conducts aerial searches by helicopter. The tree needs to be dense enough to accommodate all the ornaments and short enough to fit under bridges as it’s shipped to the city. To avoid traffic, Rockefeller Center always sneaks the tree in at night, when the streets are the most quiet.
Full story at mental_floss.
Photo credit: Fotolia
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