The Rockefeller Center Christmas tree was put on display Saturday, marking the beginning of the holiday season in New York City.
This year’s tree comes from East Greenbush, a suburb of Albany, the capital of New York state.
The 75-foot-tall (23 m) Norway Spruce made the nearly 240-kilometre (150 mi) journey south on a flatbed truck, attracting curious visitors along the way.
The tree was donated by homeowner Judy Russ and her family. She said it was planted by her husband’s great-grandfathers in the 1920s.
“For it to now be the center of a New York City Christmas is incredible,” Russ told 1010 WINS radio station.
Tree planted on iconic Rockefeller Center skating rink
The giant, 11-ton (9,9980 kg) tree was hoisted using a crane onto the famous ice skating rink at 30 Rockefeller Plaza while a crowd watched.
The tree will soon be decorated with more than 50,000 multicolored, energy-efficient LED lights and a Swarovski star weighing 900 pounds (408 kg).
The lighting of the Christmas tree will take place on December 3 in a ceremony hosted by country music star Reba McEntire that will be broadcast live on television.
The tree will remain on display until mid-January.
Once it is removed from the skating rink, the tree will be milled into lumber for use by the affordable housing nonprofit Habitat for Humanity.
Edited by: Carl Sexton