In 1931, with the Great Depression casting a long shadow over the country, a crew of Italian immigrants began excavating the foundation for what would become Rockefeller Center. Grateful to have work when so many were struggling, they decided to bring some holiday cheer to the grinding and risky work site in Midtown Manhattan.
By Christmas Eve, they had pooled their money, purchased a modest 20-foot balsam fir and decorated it with whatever they could find: cranberries, paper garlands, tin cans, even foil wrappers from blasting caps. That simple tree marked the humble beginnings of what we now know as the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree tradition.
