Downtown Syracuse just keeps getting better and better! Not only is it going to be easier to park there (and "freer!"), thanks to the new Park On Us program, now you can even take your friends or family down to Clinton Square for some early Christmas fun. That's right, with the gigantic Christmas tree in place, the annual Holiday Magic in the Square Christmas celebration has officially begun.
"It's nice to come down here with the family, you know. Get a hot chocolate. A lot of kids come on field trips," says Mike McCarthy, Carpenter Foreman of the Syracuse Engineering Department, as he points to the ice rink by the 57-foot Norway Spruce. "Sometimes on a holiday I have three hundred kids out there skating. "
That's all well and nice, but if an 18-foot artificial California Baby Redwood is on sale for $7,349 dollars, how much is his 57-foot giant cousin going to cost?
Nothing. The tree was completely free. That's because every year, somebody would donate a tree to the City of Syracuse, like a Christmas gift, and in return they'll get their names mentioned in the newspaper. This year's donor is Craig and Karen Anders of 2 Gale Place in Baldwinsville.
This year's tree was originally 71-foot tall, but in the end it had to be trimmed down to 57-foot for it to be properly placed by the ice rink. That's also the maximum height that electricians can reach with their equipment to place Christmas lights on the tree. Here's what the tree looked like last year.
(p.s- This tree may not be the world's tallest Christmas tree, but it is still incredibly large and uses a lot of lights. McCarthy said this year, Syracuse is going green and is switching to using energy saving light bulbs. )
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