Have an evergreen tree you’d like to donate to the city of Pittsburgh for its 108th Christmas tree?
If so, the city’s Department of Public Works Forestry Division is looking for you.
“We are beginning our search for the perfect tree for the City-County Building this year and are already excited to celebrate the holiday season with Pittsburgh,” Lisa Ceoffe, city forester with the Department of Public Works, said in a city of Pittsburgh news release.
The tree, of course, sits under the portico of the City-County Building on Grant Street, and is typically decorated with a variety of ornaments, including ones celebrating Pittsburgh’s 90 neighborhoods.
A Christmas tree at the City-County Building remains one of Pittsburgh’s oldest traditions. The first tree was erected on the construction site of the City-County Building in 1914.
In 2016, I was there as part of an event with popular Pittsburgh podcast Ya Jagoff to welcome the tree.
Pittsburgh artist Linda Barnicott captured the charm of this magnificent tree in a portrait titled “Winter’s glow on Grant Street.” It features the tree and passing trollies.
In her description of the painting, she wrote: “If you’re a true Pittsburgher, I think you can’t help but feel nostalgic when you walk in the ‘Winter’s Glow on Grant Street.’ When I created it, I wanted to bring you back to a time when families would hop on a streetcar and take in the beautiful decorations downtown during the holiday season. You can almost feel the winter chill in the air as holiday shoppers cross the street to get a closer look at the wonderful tree in front of the City-County Building. And just down the block, the stately landmark Allegheny County Courthouse is aglow, with its light softly illuminating Grant Street.”
The chosen tree does not have to be from within the city limits.
Last year’s Christmas tree was a 40-foot blue spruce from the Springdale campus of the Guardian Angels Catholic Parish of Natrona Heights.
Trees should be of any evergreen variety and be at least 40 feet tall.
The trees are taken from their location to the City-County Building in early November, ahead of the annual Light Up Night, which is set for Saturday, Nov. 18, this year.
Anyone interested in donating a tree from their property should call Pittsburgh’s Department of Public Works Forestry Division at 412-255-2621.
It's Christmas 365 