Macy's Great Tree, Annual Christmas tree installation at Lenox Square Mall in Atlanta, United States.
Macy's Great Tree was a cut eastern white pine, usually 65–75 feet (20–23 m) tall, displayed atop Rich's downtown Atlanta store and later on the four-story Crystal Bridge over Forsyth Street. It carried miles of wiring, thousands of lights, basketball-sized ornaments, mirror balls and strobe lights, with a seven-foot lighted topper. From 2000 it stood on the roof of Rich's Lenox Square store in Buckhead.
Rich's advertising head Frank Pallotta conceived the tree, first lit on Thanksgiving night in 1948 atop the downtown Atlanta store. It later stood on the four-story Crystal Bridge linking the flagship to the Forsyth Street addition, remaining there until the downtown store closed in mid-1991. The tree then moved to Underground Atlanta, and in 2000 to the Lenox Square store roof in Buckhead. Federated renamed Rich's-Macy's in the early 2000s, dropping Rich's on January 1, 2006.
The lighting ceremony drew large crowds each year and was seen by many Atlanta families as the true start of the holiday season. People returned year after year to watch the lights come on together in the same spot.
The tree stood at the main entrance of Lenox Square Mall and could be seen from the parking area before even entering the building. The official lighting ceremony offered a special experience, but the display was worth seeing at any point during the holiday season.
The tree was chosen more than a year before it was cut, so a backup would exist if the first pick failed. It was usually an eastern white pine from north Georgia; the 2009 tree had been a family's indoor Christmas tree, planted in late 1983.
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