For generations, we Chicagoans all look forward to basking in the dazzling beauty of the Christmas tree in Daley Plaza. It’s symbolic of that magical transition from a fall season that has long since grown cold and stale to the festivity and resplendence of the holiday season, where the smell of burnt leaves is supplanted by the smell of pine and peppermint. And the tree lighting ceremony was traditionally held the day after Thanksgiving, the day when the holiday shopping season typically begins.
Ironically, one of those random memories that I’ve retained was seeing the tree-lighting ceremony in Daley Plaza on the news when I was about 6 years old. It was, of course a CBS 2 newscast (I wouldn’t have bothered mentioning it here otherwise); I think Don Craig and Lester Holt were among the anchors. And when they ran the credits over the newly-lit Daley Plaza Christmas tree, I couldn’t wait to see it the next time I had occasion to visit my dad at work at City Hall. And I’m sure plenty of other people have similar experiences of feeling that first spark of holiday excitement from seeing that brilliant, glowing Daley Plaza Christmas tree.
The Daley Plaza been pretty much the same as it is now since 1955. Last year, it was 85 feet high and composed of 113 smaller trees. But this year, that Christmas tree to which we’ve grown accustomed will not be back.
Now, now, don’t panic. They’re not going to replace it with an 85-foot high Festivus pole or anything like that. But the city is taking into account an unavoidable reality at this time of year – the huge conical Christmas tree with all its subunits costs a lot of money to put up.
The tree last year cost more than $300,000 for six weeks of work, and city workers were the ones who came to build the frame to hold the tree, decorate it, and take it down.
That exorbitant cost was the subject of an investigation last year by Pam Zekman. And after that report, Mayor Richard M. Daley told his Director of Special Events Megan McDonald that he wanted to see some changes.
So this year, there will just one tree. It won’t be some tiny tree that could fit into your living room, but it will be a lot smaller than the compound tree we’re used to. A private contractor will be cutting it down, setting it up and dismantling it.
Some people might complain that we’re a world-class city that deserves a world-class public Christmas tree, and I agree. But if you think this smaller tree means we’re acting like some second-tier Midwestern backwater, think again. You know the famous tree in Rockefeller Plaza in New York City? That’s one single tree too.
Watch
Pam Zekman’s report on the changes to the Daley Center Christmas tree below:
