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22 more Jersey-grown trees have towered over the plaza,
Even though the first official Rockefeller Tree was lit in 1933, the very first one was put up by the workers building the complex on Christmas Eve, 1931. This first tree was much smaller than the ones that we see today (about 20 feet tall and was decorated with paper garlands, cranberries and even a few tin cans!) Though not as flashy as the tree in Rockefeller Center today, this modest tree was the one that started it all!
The skating rink in the sunken plaza below the tree was introduced in 1936 to lure tourists to the sub-level shopping area. That year, a pair of 70-foot Norway spruces from Morristown NJ were erected in the plaza. Since then, 22 more Jersey-grown trees have towered over the plaza, with one originating in Tenafly (A 65 ft Norway spruce- in 1973) and two others from Mahwah in Bergen County.
The Tree is always a Norway spruce typically picked from homeowner submissions and scouting trips by center arborists—typically from New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Connecticut
Here is a list of all the trees that originated in New Jersey
1936: Morristown; Twin Norway spruces, 70 ft
1937: Allamuchy; Two Norway spruces, 70 ft
1939: Town Unknown, New Jersey; Norway spruce; 75 ft
1952: Allamuchy; Norway spruce, 85 ft
1953: Morristown; Norway spruce, 75 ft
1954: Town Unknown, Warren County; Norway spruce, 65 ft
1955: Belvidere; Norway spruce, 65 ft
1972: New Brunswick; Norway spruce, 65 ft
1973: Tenafly; Norway spruce, 65 ft
1976: Montclair; Norway spruce, 65 ft
1978: Mahwah; Norway spruce, 75 ft
1982: Mahwah; Norway spruce, 70 ft
1984: Far Hills; Norway spruce, 75 ft
1988: Raritan Township; Norway spruce, 75 ft
1995: Mendham; Norway spruce, 75 ft
2001: Wayne; Norway spruce, 81 ft
2002: Bloomsbury; Norway spruce, 76 ft
2005: Wayne; Norway spruce, 74 ft
2008: Trenton/Hamilton; Norway spruce, 72 ft
2012: Flanders; Norway spruce, 80 ft