When you walk into the atrium of Rochester City Hall, the scent of the holiday season greets you even before the visual of the 25-foot-tall Norway spruce.
It’s an annual tradition to install a soaring evergreen in city hall for the holiday season; it was put up on Nov. 24. The tree came from private property in Hilton, where it was cut down, wrapped and brought to city hall.
Step-by-step: How the tree was hoisted into the atrium
The tree was lifted through the stairwell to the atrium through a rope and pulley mounted high in the atrium by crews with the city’s forestry and building services departments. It’s a change from how the city has completed the work in the past, said Andrew Place, city forester.
“In the past it was good old-fashioned bull work with a rope and 15 to 20 people pulling on the rope from this floor, trying to pull it up the stairwell,” Place said, gesturing to upper floors of the atrium. “It always presented some problems. It got the job done but last year we looked at it a bit and thought we could do it better, more efficiently.”
By applying some of the same techniques the forestry department uses every day, they were able to speed up the process and ease up on the amount of labor required to get the tree in place for Christmas.
“It came upstairs nice and easy,” Place said. “We had it hanging almost from the ceiling here. We moved it around with the ropes nice and easy here and we were able to hoist it up in the corner here with the same system.”
City hall tree lighting set for Dec. 3 in Rochester
The teamwork between the departments to get the Christmas tree into place each year is a tradition and point of pride for the city employees. The tree will be lighted in a ceremony Dec. 3, opening the tree to the public and welcoming in the holiday season.
Recycling options for residents after Christmas
When the holidays are over, the tree is cut into smaller pieces to make removal easy and then recycled. City residents can drop off their natural trees at four locations — Genesee Valley Park, Cobbs Hill Park, Norton Village and Charlotte — to be recycled from after Christmas through the end of January.
— Steve Howe reports on weather, climate and the Great Lakes for the Democrat and Chronicle. An RIT graduate, he has covered myriad topics over the years, including public safety, local government, national politics and economic development in New York and Utah.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Holiday magic arrives at Rochester City Hall with a 25-foot Norway spruce
Reporting by Steve Howe, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
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