Photos of the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree from 1931 to Now

CHRISTMAS IN ROCKEFELLER CENTER -- 2023 -- Pictured: Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree — The Rockefeller Center Christmas tree is on display in New York City in 2023. Photo:
Scott Gries/NBC via Getty

The very first Rockefeller Center Christmas tree went up in Midtown Manhattan on Dec. 24, 1931, and the annual tradition has continued to bring cheer in the decades since its inaugural unveiling.

The 92nd Rockefeller Center Tree Lighting Ceremony will commence on Dec. 4, with Kelly Clarkson returning as host. According to the Rockefeller Center website, the evergreen comes from West Stockbridge, Mass., and will be illuminated during the Christmas at Rockefeller Center special that airs live at 8 p.m. Eastern time on NBC and Peacock. On display through mid-January 2025, the Christmas tree will remain lit daily and for 24 hours on Christmas Eve.

Erik Pauze, Rockefeller Center's head gardener — who has selected the cherished Christmas centerpiece for over 30 years — shared how he decided on the tree used in the 2024 lighting ceremony.

"What I look for is a tree you would want in your living room but on a grander scale. It's got that nice, perfect shape all around," Pauze told The Center Magazine. "And most of all, it's gotta look good for those kids who turn the corner at 30 Rock; it needs to instantly put a huge smile on their faces. It needs to evoke that feeling of happiness."

Here, look back on the history of the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree through the years.

01 of 19

1931

ROCKEFELLER CHRISTMAS TREE, NEW YORK, USA — The Christmas tree outside the Rockefeller Center in 1931 in N.Y.C. AP/REX/Shutterstock

Construction workers purchased and decorated a 20-foot tree in the Rockefeller Center construction site on Christmas Eve 1931 as the Great Depression persisted. According to Thrillist, they added just a few decorations: cranberries, paper garland and tin cans.

02 of 19

1934

Rockefeller Center Inc. 20 Rockefeller Plaza. Christmas tree at night, 1. — The Christmas tree outside the Rockefeller Center in N.Y.C. MCNY/Gottscho-Schleisner/Getty

The year 1933 marked the first official tree lighting ceremony, organized by a publicist for Rockefeller Center, according to TIME. The years that followed brought slightly bigger — and much brighter — trees.

03 of 19

1936

1938 — The Christmas tree outside the Rockefeller Center in N.Y.C. in the 1930s.

In 1936, two trees were erected to celebrate the opening of the now-famous Rockefeller Center ice skating rink.

04 of 19

1950

Rockefeller Plaza Christmas Tree — The Christmas tree outside the Rockefeller Center in N.Y.C., circa the 1950s. Frederic Lewis/Getty

Rockefeller Center played a big role in the TV boom of the 1950s, translating to even more opulent trees. The tree made its first TV appearance on The Howdy Doody Show, and decorations went from cranberries and popcorn to red garland, white plastic globes, icicle lights and wiry white angel trumpeters.

05 of 19

1955

Rockefeller Christmas Tree — The Christmas tree outside the Rockefeller Center in December 1955 in N.Y.C. Morse Collection/Gado/Getty

Per the Rockefeller Center website, in the 1950s, "workers began using scaffolding to aid in decorating the trees. Before the decade was over, the process called for 20 men and a period of nine days."

06 of 19

1962

Rockefeller Center, New York, USA — The Christmas tree outside the Rockefeller Center in 1962 in N.Y.C. AP/REX/Shutterstock

Trees — which are generally donated, not purchased, and scouted by the Rockefeller Center gardening team — continued to get bigger and better throughout the 1960s. In 1963, another historic first: The tree's wood was recycled and donated to a Boy Scouts troop.

07 of 19

1970

Rockefeller Christmas — The Christmas tree outside the Rockefeller Center in N.Y.C., circa 1970.
David Herman/Archive Photos/Getty Images

As the evergreens grew larger, the means of getting them from their "homes" to New York City grew more creative — like the time a tree was floated down the Hudson River on a barge or when the world's largest transport plane, an Anatov 124, flew a tree in from Ohio (via the Rockefeller Center website).

08 of 19

1973

Christmas Tree at Rockefeller Center — The Christmas tree outside the Rockefeller Center in 1973 in N.Y.C. Bettmann Archive/Getty

According to Thrillist, this isn't like your at-home Christmas tree: Cold outdoor temperatures keep it fresh, so it doesn't require water.

09 of 19

1982

By the 1980s, the tree reached another milestone: most lights used. The year 1986 boasted a then-record 20,000 lights, as detailed on the Rockefeller Center website.

10 of 19

1996

Christmas Tree - Rockefeller — The Christmas tree stands outside the Rockefeller Center in 1996 in N.Y.C. John Stillwell/PA/Getty

The 1996 tree was pretty grand, but what came in 1999 was even greater: the largest Rockefeller Center tree ever, hailing from Killingworth, Conn., and standing 100 feet tall.

11 of 19

2004

ROCKEFELLER CENTER TREE, NEW YORK, USA — The band, Chicago, plays onstage during the lighting ceremony of the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree in 2004 in N.Y.C. JULIE JACOBSON/AP/REX/Shutterstock

The 2001 tree had special significance, honoring the lives lost during the terror attack on Sept. 11 of that year. The decorations were in red, white and blue; however, by 2004, it was multicolored again and featured a star made of Swarovski crystals — a tradition that continues today.

12 of 19

2016

84th Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Lighting — The Christmas tree is seen outside the Rockefeller Center on Nov. 30, 2016, in N.Y.C. Noam Galai/WireImage

As Curbed NY reported, the second-largest tree to ever grace Rockefeller Center was 2016's centerpiece at 94 feet tall and weighing 14 tons. Angie and Graig Eichler of Oneonta, N.Y., donated the Norway Spruce, which made its way into Manhattan over the George Washington Bridge.

13 of 19

2017

85th Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony — The Christmas tree outside the Rockefeller Center on Nov. 29, 2017, in N.Y.C. Michael Loccisano/Getty

Weighing 12 tons and measuring 75 feet tall, per NBC News, 2017's Norway spruce came from Jason Perrin of State College, Penn.

14 of 19

2018

86th Annual Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony — Kellie Pickler performs during the 86th annual Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony on Nov. 28, 2018, in N.Y.C. Nicholas Hunt/WireImage

The 75-year-old Norway spruce, standing 72 feet tall, "grew up" 70 miles outside Manhattan in upstate Wallkill, N.Y. According to the Rockefeller Center website, the tree lived on the property of N.Y.C. transplants and recent retirees Shirley Figueroa and Lissette Gutierrez. Pauze visited five years prior.

15 of 19

2019

The Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center shines brightly in the glow of lights on Dec. 4, 2019, in N.Y.C. Benno Schwinghammer/picture alliance/Getty

Carol Schultz of Florida, N.Y., planted her tree 60 years prior, hoping it would someday be the Rockefeller Center tree.

"I would talk to it now and then since it's been small," she told The New York Times in 2019.

The message: "Someday you're going to be there."

Schultz called the 77-foot Norway spruce her "80th birthday present to the world."

16 of 19

2020

"See? Girlfriend just needed better lighting and a few extensions," TODAY's Savannah Guthrie joked on Instagram after the lighting of the 2020 tree, which sparked some discussion after appearing quite sparse upon its arrival in N.Y.C.

The 75-foot spruce was found at Daddy Al's General Store in Oneonta, N.Y. After it went up, the tree had the internet abuzz, thanks to some bare patches and less-than-perky branches.

"Wow, you all must look great right after a two-day drive, huh?" the Rockefeller Center Instagram account responded to commenters, adding, "Just wait until I get my lights on!"

Crews added some branches to the tree — along with the signature sparkly décor — before the big lighting on Dec. 2.

17 of 19

2021

89th Rockefeller Tree Lighting in NYC — A view of the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree during the 89th annual lighting ceremony in N.Y.C. on Dec. 1, 2021. Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty

This 79-foot Norway spruce was scouted from Elkton, Md., making it the first tree from the Old Line State.

It was donated from the yard of the Price family, who was present in N.Y.C. for the 80-year-old tree's arrival in the Big Apple in mid-November.

"We never thought a tree on our property would be selected for Rockefeller Center. Nope, not in a million years," Devon Price said during an appearance on TODAY on Nov. 12, 2021. "As a family, we've gone from 'No, we can't let this tree go' to now, we worry about it. We worry about how it survived a storm or a heavy rain or heavy wind. So, we're very excited to have it go to New York City."

18 of 19

2022

The 2022 tree was lit the night of Nov. 30, illuminated by 50,000 LED bulbs and a shining Swarovski star on top.

According to TODAY, the Norway spruce towered at 82 feet tall, 50 feet wide and topped out at 14 tons. The 85-year-old evergreen came from Queensbury, N.Y., a small town about three-and-a-half hours north of N.Y.C. The Rockefeller Center shared a video on Instagram of the early stages of the tree's journey to Manhattan.

The stunning topper was covered in 3 million crystals and weighed almost 900 lbs., per TODAY.

19 of 19

2023

For its 91st lighting ceremony, the center presented an 80-foot Norwegian spruce ornamented with 50,000 lights — the equivalent of 5 miles of wire, according to NBC News.

Shipped in from Vestal, N.Y., the 43-foot-wide beauty had its 70 spikes decorated with 3 million crystals and was topped with a 900-lb. 3D Swarovski star twinkling with 30 million crystals.

Rockefeller Center head gardener Pauze happened upon the tree — reportedly between 80 and 85 years old and weighed 12 tons — in the yard of Matt and Jackie McGinley while scouting Broome County.

"Not too long before I knocked on the door, someone told them, 'That looks like a Rockefeller Center Christmas tree,' " he recalled to The Center Magazine in 2023.

"I knew when I saw it that it was going to work," he said. "I just had to trim the branches up to 5 or 6 feet. It's a nice shaped tree, and it looks beautiful. When you stand in the street and look at it against the blue sky, it really looks awesome."