Downtown Cincinnati and Fountain Square are full of festivities each year at the holidays. An early sign of the season is the annual installation of the tree at the corner of Fifth and Vine streets on Fountain Square.
After a careful selection process, the tree typically arrives in early November. Workers first build a base for the tree with heavy steel plates and I-beams. The tree arrives on the same truck that removed it from the ground.
Once on site, the tree is lifted from a horizontal to a vertical position, set into the base, and secured with cables and wood blocking. Plenty of mulch and a wall of stone pavers complete the base.
It takes about four hours to set the tree, secure it, and attach the red star at the top. Finally, the tree is decorated with 20,000 white lights in preparation for the big tree-lighting event in late November.
Watch the video on the installation of the tree on November 13, 2010.
The 2011 tree, from Medina, Ohio, is about 65 feet tall. With the Macy’s star topper, the tree will stand about 70 feet high. In addition, new and larger LED lights, sponsored by Philips Lighting, will be used to decorate the larger surface area of the tree’s branches. The lights will also be a mixture of white and colored this year, as opposed to the all-white lights of years past.
ENERFAB, a 107-year-old, Cincinnati-based metal fabrication company that moved the Fountain to and from the Square during the renovation in 2006, oversees the complex installation of the tree.
A number of companies contribute to the transport and installation of the tree. In addition to ENERFAB, in-kind sponsorship is provided by AmQuip, Secon, Inc., HGC Construction, Zuk’s Tree Moving, Cincinnati Park Board, United Electric, Reading Rock, Christmas Lighting Company and THP.
The holiday tree is the centerpiece of the annual Macy’s Light Up the Square, a family-friendly event that kicks off the holiday season in Cincinnati. The event takes place the day after Thanksgiving. Macy’s, P&G, and Toyota are sponsors of this year’s event. Read more about the tree-lighting event here.
Fountain Square Management professionally sources the holiday tree for the Square; however, picturesque trees that are over 65 feet tall (5 to 6 stories) will be considered. Please send a photo of the tree for consideration to info@myfountainsquare.com. Make sure the photo includes a point of reference so tree height can be determined. Thank you!
