Local Beauty Takes Highest Honor: Queensbury Norway Spruce Arrives At Rockefeller Center

The Rockefeller Christmas Tree that came from Main Street in Queensbury has arrived in New York City. The 82 foot tall Norway Spruce was donated by the Lebowitz family of Glens Falls. The tree arrived in front of 30 Rockefeller Center and was lifted into position on Saturday morning.  Scaffolding will be erected around the tree and it will be decorated with more than 50,000 multi color, energy-efficient LED lights. These lights will be strung over 5 miles of wire. Solar panels on the top of a nearby Rockefeller Center building will help power the lights through the season. 

The star which will sit on the top of the tree will be an amazing sight. This crystal star will be provided by Swarovski. Swarovski has been a family owned producer of glass since its founding in 1895 by Daniel Swarovski.  This three dimensional star is 9 feet tall, 4 inches in diameter and features 70 spikes covered in 3 million Swarovski crystals. The star weighs 900 pounds. This crystal star was designed by architect Daniel Libeskind. Libeskind is an international figure in architecture and urban design. His work has influenced the field of architecture, urban design and culture.

After the holidays the trunk of our famous tree will be milled down. It will be used as two by fours and two by sixes and donated to Habitat for Humanity. The wood of the Norway Spruce is flexible and durable. These factors make the wood versatile as a building material. Lumber from Rockefeller Christmas Trees have helped build homes from New York to Mississippi. Donating the wood has been a tradition since 2007. Homes that have been built with the wood have commemorative stamps on the exposed wood. 

Tree lighting will take place on Wednesday, November 30th. After November 30th, the tree will be lit daily from 6am-12am. On Christmas Day it will be lit for 24 hours, and on New Year’s Eve it is lit from 6am to 9pm. For more information visit rockefellercenter.com