Chicago X-mas tree to be one large spruce

CHICAGO, Nov. 3 (UPI) -- Chicago's huge Christmas tree, made up since 1955 of many small trees, this will year be a single blue spruce donated by a Chicago-area family, officials said.

Harlan and Carol Weivoda, of Palos Heights, Ill., said their acre of land was crowded with trees, so they contacted the city through its Web site to offer a 56-foot tall tree, the Chicago Sun-Times reported Tuesday.

"We were looking for a tree. It was the prettiest we found,'' Mary May, of the Office of Special Events, said.

New York's Rockefeller Center, which puts up a single large tree every year, suggested keeping the Chicago tree under 60 feet so that during transport to its Daley Plaza display site, its girth would fit under the "L" tracks that surround the downtown area, Ann Hickey, Special Events program coordinator said.

Harlan Weivoda said the tree is a Christmas gift to his home town. "I remember going downtown to see the Christmas lights. I remember seeing the pope in Grant Park. I've always loved the city," he said.

The tree will be decorated with 7,000 energy-saving LED lights donated by Underwriters Laboratories.