Every year millions of people look forward to venturing to Manhattan to see the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree. Well, Long Islanders already take credit for bagels, beaches, and Billy Joel, so why not add America’s most famous Christmas tree to the list? Over the decades, nine Rockefeller Center Christmas Trees have come straight from Nassau and Suffolk, including one so over-the-top it caused an honest-to-goodness traffic meltdown on Fifth Avenue.
Here’s the full, sparkling, slightly chaotic history of every Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree that ever called Long Island home.
How the Rockefeller Center Tree Tradition Began
Before we get to the local legends, a quick refresher on how the Rockefeller Center tradition actually started:
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The first tree went up in 1931 during the Depression, bought collectively by construction workers building Rockefeller Center.
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That original tree was a 20-foot balsam fir decorated with strings of cranberries, handmade paper garlands, and even tin cans made by workers’ families.
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The first official tree lighting was held in 1933.
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From 1942 through the end of World War II, the tree remained unlit due to blackout rules.
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The biggest tree ever used was back in 1999, a 100-footer from Connecticut.
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And yes, if you think your backyard spruce has the “it factor,” Rockefeller Center does accept tree submissions.
Long Island’s Nine Rockefeller Center Christmas Trees
1934 – Babylon
The island’s first Rockefeller tree made an early debut:
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A 70-foot, 7-ton Norway spruce from Babylon was chosen in 1934.
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It was the third Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree in history.
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Decorated with 1,200 colored lights and lit by four floodlights, it helped solidify the fledgling tradition.
1942 – Huntington
A patriotic wartime trio:
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A 50-foot tree from Huntington was part of the 1942 display.
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Because of WWII blackout rules, it remained unlit.
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That year, Rockefeller Center used three trees, one painted or decorated red, one white, one blue, to show support for the troops.
1944 – “Somewhere on Long Island”
The anonymous tree:
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A 65-foot, 50-year-old Norway spruce from an unspecified Long Island location was used in 1944.
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It was one of the wartime “Dark Trees”, left unlit.
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Reports noted its roots were still wrapped in burlap when it arrived.
1945 – Syosset
Light returns after years of darkness:
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A 55-foot Norman spruce from Syosset was the first tree illuminated since WWII began.
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It featured fluorescent lights, still novel at the time.
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Newspaper articles mentioned public frustration that the trees were cut down each year and discarded afterward.
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Rockefeller Center tried to address that in 1945 by delivering the Syosset tree with an 11-foot-wide ball of earth, allowing it to be replanted at the estate it came from.
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It glowed from 5 p.m. to midnight daily from mid-December through January 1.
1946 – Syosset
Back-to-back spruces:
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Syosset got the call again in 1946 with a 75-foot Norway spruce.
1947 – Deer Park
Adding some post-war sparkle:
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In 1947, a 65-foot Norway spruce from Deer Park made the trip.
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It was decorated with 600 golden plastic balls.
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Installing the lights required a whopping seven miles of electric wire.
1949 – Yaphank
Long Island’s most famous Rockefeller tree, and a true spectacle:
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The 1949 tree from Yaphank was a 75-foot, 75-year-old Norway spruce, dating back to 1874.
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It was donated by Charles Everett Walters.
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Before being cut, it was sprayed with 200 gallons of silvery-white camouflage paint to give it a snowy, icy effect.
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Decorations included:
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500 plastic globes in blue, yellow, orange, orchid, and red
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7,500 lights in green, yellow, orange, blue, and red
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Another 500 colorful ornaments
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The Yaphank Historical Society described it as “a dazzling sight, both day and night.”
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Rockefeller Center doubled down on the spectacle with 576 rapidly spinning illuminated giant snowflakes along the promenade.
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The display was so bright and elaborate that it caused a major Fifth Avenue traffic jam, forcing police to step in with emergency traffic controls.
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The tree was featured in the November 29, 1949 New York Times under the headline “7,500 Bulbs at Night, ‘Icy’ Coat by Day, Light the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree.”
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Life Magazine also ran a feature on it.
1951 – Lake Ronkonkoma
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In 1951, an 82-foot tree from Lake Ronkonkoma took center stage.
1961 – Smithtown
A towering end to Long Island’s Rockefeller run:
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The 1961 tree from Smithtown stood 85 feet tall and weighed two-and-a-half tons.
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Estimated to be 85 years old, it likely sprouted around 1876.
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It grew on a 138-acre former estate off Landing Meadow Road, a property being “let go back to nature.”
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The spruce stood where a manor house once stood.
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The estate’s owners, Mr. and Mrs. Maurice Gilmartin, had removed the house about ten years earlier.
