By Howard Morrel & Leslie Hirsch
The holiday season has officially arrived in Midtown.
The 2026 Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree arrived at Rockefeller Plaza on November 7, bringing one of New York’s most recognizable seasonal traditions back to the heart of Manhattan. This year’s tree is a 76-foot Norway spruce from West Edmeston, New York, standing approximately 50 feet wide and weighing about 11 tons. At roughly 75 years old, it will spend the coming weeks being transformed into the centerpiece of Rockefeller Center’s holiday season.
A New York Tradition Returns
The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree has been part of the city’s holiday landscape for generations. The tradition began in 1931, when construction workers at Rockefeller Center placed a small decorated tree on the site, followed by the first official Tree Lighting Ceremony in 1933.
Today, the annual arrival of the tree marks one of the clearest signs that the holiday season has begun in New York. Positioned above The Rink and just steps from Fifth Avenue, it sits at the center of Midtown’s seasonal transformation, surrounded by holiday windows, skating, shopping, and some of the city’s most familiar landmarks.
From West Edmeston to Rockefeller Plaza
This year’s Norway spruce was selected by Rockefeller Center head gardener Erik Pauzé, who has spent more than three decades searching for trees suited to the scale of the Plaza.
In the coming weeks, the tree will be decorated with more than 50,000 multicolored LED lights strung along approximately five miles of wire. At the top will sit the Swarovski star designed by architect Daniel Libeskind, weighing approximately 900 pounds and covered with three million crystals.
The official Tree Lighting Ceremony will take place on Wednesday, December 2, when the tree will be illuminated for the first time this season. It will then remain on display through mid-January 2027.
The Holiday Season Along 57th Street
For the 57th Street neighborhood, the tree’s arrival is part of a broader seasonal shift already taking place across Midtown.
The Rink at Rockefeller Center is already open for its 90th anniversary season, Fifth Avenue is beginning its holiday transformation, and the surrounding blocks are moving into one of the most distinctive times of year in New York. From 57th Street, Rockefeller Center is only a short walk away, making the Christmas Tree another part of the cultural and seasonal landscape that defines this part of Manhattan.
For residents, visitors, and anyone spending time along Fifth and 57th, the coming weeks bring together some of Midtown’s most familiar traditions within just a few blocks.
More Than a Holiday Landmark
The life of the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree continues even after the season ends.
Following its time on the Plaza, the tree will be milled into lumber and donated to Habitat for Humanity, where the wood will be used for home building — continuing a longstanding tradition that gives the tree a second purpose beyond the holiday season.
For now, its arrival marks the beginning of another holiday season in Midtown — with the lighting still to come on December 2.
Want to learn more? Let’s talk!
All the best,
Howard Morrel & Leslie Hirsch
Christie’s International Real Estate
(212) 956-4823
mha@christiesrealestateny.com
