Rockefeller Center Christmas tree cut down in Stockbridge, Massachusetts

STOCKBRIDGE, Mass. (NEWS10) - The Rockefeller Center tree has been a centerpiece of New York City’s holiday festivities since the 1930s. The tree is often picked out in Upstate New York, but this year it was cut down from West Stockbridge, Massachusetts.

The 67 year old Norway Spruce tree is 74 feet tall, 43 feet wide and weighs 11 tons. It was cut down at 8 a.m. on Thursday. The tree was the first since 1959 to be selected from Massachusetts. This tree, like all others used in the tradition, was donated by the owners, and not paid for.

Erik Pauze, the head gardener at Rockefeller Center, has picked out New York City’s Christmas tree for about 30 years, but he said it never gets old.

"Oh, it’s a great job. It’s a great place to work," Pauze said. "A lot of wonderful things happen there when I get to work on the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree.”

Pauze said this year's Christmas tree was found by a complete accident. 

“In July of 2020, I’ve gotten a source that led me to a tree up here," Pauze said. "I went to see that tree, and then driving around the next day, I found this tree and knocked on the door. They were very honored; they were very excited and willing to donate it.”

Shawn and Michael Albert said they are just two owners of the tree.

“My uncle and my father planted it," Michael Albert said. There was two trees originally, and only one of them survived and my oldest cousin in his mid sixties.

They believe it was total fate that their tree was picked to be this year's Christmas centerpiece.

"It’s amazing," Shawn Albert said. "For us, it felt like a sign because it happened right after my mother-in-law, Michael's mom, passed away two days later. He showed up in our yard in 2020, and she was all about Christmas."

Pauze has been caring for the tree since April to make sure the tree cutting went smoothly. Tree workers bind the tree in a process called "corseting" and cut it at the base. They then hoist it onto a 115-foot trailer using a large crane. It will then make the roughly 140-mile journey down to midtown Manhattan and arrive by November 9.

"I started coming up in April," Pauze said. "Watering it, feeding it, and then it took us, as it got closer more frequent times; I was up here. And we had to tie the tree, which takes six days, about two days to set up the crane, the truck, so it's a long process."

On December 4, the tree will be lit up during a live broadcast from New York City after getting wrapped in 50,000 lights.