Did You Know?

The Mayor’s Christmas Tree, located in downtown Kansas City’s Crown Center, is shipped to KC as a trunk that’s been completely separated from its branches?  Shocking, right?!

Let’s back up a little…I’ve lived in KC on and off since January 2006 and didn’t pay much attention to the Mayor’s Christmas Tree the previous 5 Christmases. I started a new job with Children’s Mercy Hospitals & Clinics in February of this year…the hospital has grown so much that a good majority of non-patient care associates (including me) work in the office buildings surrounding Crown Center which is just across the street from the downtown hospital.

For you non-KC folks, here’s the low-down on Crown Center from www.crowncenter.com. “Located in the heart of downtown Kansas City, Crown Center is often called a city within a city. Three levels of great shopping and dining complement two of the city’s most luxurious hotels, exquisite office buildings, a residential community and several entertainment attractions. It all surrounds the worldwide headquarters of Hallmark Cards, Inc.”

Sometime in November, just beyond the windows of our floor, the Mayor’s Christmas Tree started taking shape…literally. First the trunk, which is nearly 100 feet tall, was anchored to the plaza floor. Next, a couple of guys with cherry pickers would take individual branches and somehow affix them to the trunk. A few weeks later, the tree was finally finished.

I have so many things to say about this process...

1. Do other major metro areas (NYC’s Rockefeller Christmas Tree, DC’s White House Christmas Tree) put their trees together in this same fashion? Maybe I’m totally ignorant regarding the ways of Christmas tree delivery but I thought a tree was cut down, carted across the country and set-up…branches virtually unscathed. Unfortunately, my hypothesis is likely wrong…
2. Wouldn’t children be somewhat horrified to see a major symbol of the holiday season hacked down, taken apart and put back together like Frankenstein? Good thing kids are resilient… 
3. The guys who put the tree back together…is that their “normal” job?! Or…are they power company employees who go rouge for a few weeks in November?! 
4. HOW THE HECK do they do it?! Our local news reporters report on all sorts of investigative topics…please, please, please report on this next year because the process is very intriguing (in my humble opinion).

I had a few pictures of the process but they didn’t turn out so you’ll just have to believe me on this one. The tree, as it stands in its completed state, looks nice…a little barren on the branch-front but nice. I’m sorry if I’ve crushed the perfect picture of a metro-area Christmas tree delivery and set-up in your mind; I’ll try not to give away and more dirty little secrets until after the first of the year.