{"id":850,"date":"2024-11-18T17:00:53","date_gmt":"2024-11-18T17:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newyorktour1.com\/blog\/?p=850"},"modified":"2024-11-19T02:45:02","modified_gmt":"2024-11-19T02:45:02","slug":"untold-nyc-history-rockefeller-center-christmas-tree","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.exp1.com\/blog\/untold-nyc-history-rockefeller-center-christmas-tree\/","title":{"rendered":"How To See the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree in NYC"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Christmas in New York City is like no other \u2014 and the centerpiece is the Rockefeller Christmas tree. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lighting the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center has been a tradition for almost 100 years. Before you make your holiday trip to the Big Apple, you\u2019ll want to know what to see, where to go, and how to make the most of your visit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a New Yorker who\u2019s been to Rockefeller Center plenty of times, holidays included, that\u2019s exactly what I\u2019m here to tell you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But first, let\u2019s start with a little history. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The history of Rockefeller Center<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Before the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree, there was John D. Rockefeller, Jr. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a financier and philanthropist, Rockefeller was quite successful. After graduating college, he joined his father\u2019s oil business in 1897. It was at this time that he decided to make NYC his home office. Despite some controversies and a blow from the stock market crash in 1929, John D. held strong. He set his sights on a particular plot of land in uptown Manhattan to bring New York further into the 20th century.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Originally conceived as a space for a new Metropolitan Opera House, Rockefeller Center has become so much more. Due to his partners backing out after the stock market crash, John D. Rockefeller was forced to finance the entire project on his own. The plaza then became home to up to 14 different buildings including Radio City Music Hall, offices for Rockefeller\u2019s rivals Sinclair Oil and Royal Dutch Shell, and even a home base for British intelligence<\/a> during World War II.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, it wasn\u2019t long after the initial construction that the first Rockefeller Center Christmas tree would make its appearance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree started<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Rockefeller<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The first tree was put up and decorated on Dec. 24, 1931. It was done so by construction workers who were there to build the Rockefeller Center itself. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That year, decorations were as simple as cranberries, paper, and tin cans. In 1933, the lighting of the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree became an annual tradition, and it has grown more and more extravagant as the years go on. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fun fact: <\/strong>The tree of choice for over 40 years has been the Norway spruce. In 1999, the largest tree so far was used, standing at a whopping 100 feet!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When will the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree be lit for 2024?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Christmas<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Rockefeller Center hasn\u2019t yet released the details on this year\u2019s tree, so we don\u2019t yet know where it\u2019s coming from or when it will arrive in the city, but we know the tree usually arrives a couple weeks ahead of the big lighting ceremony so the team has time to get it set up and lit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

It usually comes from New York or a neighboring state, and you\u2019ll sometimes see some fun videos that fans capture along the route as it makes its journey to Manhattan! The 2024 tree, measuring 74 feet tall<\/a>, came from Massachusetts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s a fun TikTok<\/a> of the 2023 Christmas tree being hauled into Rockefeller Center in the early morning hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A big lighting ceremony is then held after Thanksgiving (usually the Wednesday after). It\u2019s an extremely popular event. Not only do millions of people come from all over the world to see it; the ceremony is streamed on TV<\/a> and various social media outlets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s a peek at what it looked like last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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