See the Evolution of the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree

On Christmas Eve 1931, a group of construction workers erected a 20-ft. tree on the muddy site of what would become one of the city's greatest architectural and commercial monuments.Two years later, a Rockefeller Center publicist organized the first official tree-lighting ceremony.

AP

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1934 Rockefeller Center Tree

MCNY/Gottscho-Schleisner/Getty Images

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1936 Rockefeller Center Trees, celebrating the opening of the ice skating rink.

AP

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1949 Rockefeller Center Tree

John Lindsay—AP

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1955 Rockefeller Center Tree

AP

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1966 Rockefeller Center Tree

NBC NewsWire/Getty Images

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1979 Rockefeller Center Tree

Marty Lederhandler—AP

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1985 Rockefeller Center Tree

G. Paul Burnett—AP

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1991 Rockefeller Center Tree

Ed Bailey—AP

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1996 Rockefeller Center Tree

Evan Agostini—Liaison/Getty Images

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2001 Rockefeller Center Tree

Richard Drew—AP

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2011 Rockefeller Center Tree

Henny Ray Abrams—AP

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2014 Rockefeller Center Tree

Brad Barket—Getty Images

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2016 The Rockefeller Center Christmas tree during the 84th lighting ceremony.

Julie Jacobson—AP

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