Saturday morning arrival at Rockefeller Plaza
November 7, 2026 · 10:15 a.m. Eastern
The holiday season in New York City officially got underway Saturday morning as the 2026 Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree rolled into Midtown Manhattan on a massive 115-foot flatbed trailer before being hoisted onto its granite plaza base.
Hundreds of early-morning spectators, tourists, and festive New Yorkers lined 49th and 50th Streets between Fifth and Sixth Avenues to catch the first glimpse of the towering evergreen. A specialized hydraulic crane crew carefully rigged the 11-ton tree and guided it upright into the custom steel spike pedestal overlooking the iconic skating rink and Prometheus statue.
“Seeing the tree pull into the plaza brings a spark of joy that never gets old,” spectators cheered as construction crews secured the massive trunk with heavy support guy-wires.
Upstate New York Norway spruce
This year’s centerpiece is a 75-year-old Norway spruce standing 76 feet tall and spanning 43 feet in diameter. The tree was donated by landowners in West Edmeston, a rural hamlet located in Otsego County roughly 200 miles northwest of Manhattan.
Erik Pauze, head head gardener for Rockefeller Center who has selected the world’s most famous Christmas tree for more than three decades, scouted the spruce earlier this spring while driving rural routes in central New York. After months of careful watering, feeding, and monitoring, the tree was gently felled on Thursday, November 5, wrapped in miles of heavy twine, and escorted down Interstate 87 by state police convoys.
“It has that perfect symmetrical conical shape, lush dark-green needles, and dense branches strong enough to carry tens of thousands of lights,” Pauze noted when describing the selection.
50,000 lights and the Libeskind star
Following its Saturday installation, scaffolding will quickly encase the giant spruce as electricians and decorators begin a multi-week transformation. The tree will be adorned with more than 50,000 multi-colored, energy-efficient LED bulbs strung along five miles of electric wire.
Crowning the tree is the famous three-dimensional Swarovski star designed by renowned architect Daniel Libeskind. Weighing approximately 900 pounds, the star features 70 illuminated spikes encrusted with three million dazzling Swarovski crystals, casting vibrant prism reflections across Rockefeller Plaza.
As part of Rockefeller Center’s community arrival celebration, “Meet the Tree Day” offered children and families free book readings, festive craft-making, and souvenir photo opportunities throughout Saturday afternoon.
Holiday excitement on X
Rockefeller Center and New York City visitors shared real-time video clips and photography of the giant Norway spruce navigating Manhattan streets on X.
Open @rockcenternyc on X for lighting schedule updates and plaza visitor guidelines.