The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree is located in the center of the complex of buildings between 47th and 50th Streets and 5th and 7th Avenues. It is illuminated from 5:30 a.m. until 11:30 p.m. daily, except on Christmas and New Year's Eve. On Christmas, the tree is illuminated for 24 hours and on New Year's Eve the lights are turned off at 9:00 p.m. The Christmas tree is an 84-foot-tall Norway Spruce. This year, all the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lights are "green." The light bulbs used are energy-efficient. The tree is adorned with 5 miles of wire and 30,000 multicolored bulbs known as light emitting diodes, or LEDs. Using the new lights is expected to reduce the energy consumption of the holiday display from 3,510 to 1,297 kilowatt hours per day. That daily savings would be equal to the amount of energy used to power a 2,000-square-foot home for a month.
Organizers plan to recycle the tree by using it as lumber for Habitat For Humanity projects in New York, the Gulf Coast, India and Brazil. The tree's topper can sparkle even without any lights: The Swarovski star is adorned with 25,000 crystals. It's almost 10 feet in diameter. The tree used at the Rockefeller Center tends to be one that was ornamentally planted in someone's front or back yard, and not obtained from forests. There is no compensation offered in exchange for the tree, other than the pride of having donated the tree.
Top photo was taken from the 8th Floor of the Saks Fifth Avenue Cafe.
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