Pittsburgh's official holiday tree hails from Springdale

The city of Pittsburgh’s official holiday tree will come from the Alle-Kiski Valley.

A 40-foot blue spruce will be donated by Guardian Angels Parish from its Springdale campus.

It will be situated at the City-County Building, along Grant Street downtown, and will be lit Nov. 19 during the unofficial start to the holiday season: Light Up Night.

“We’re excited to have located this year’s official city of Pittsburgh Christmas Tree,” said Lisa Ceoffe, city forester with the department of public works.

“Forestry looks forward to this very special duty, and the department is always happy to be part of this great city tradition.”

This marks the 107th year that a Christmas tree will decorate the City-County Building.

The tree is scheduled to be removed from Springdale on Nov. 5. Once downtown, it will be decked out with lights and ornaments and will remain for celebrations through the New Year.

The city launched a search for the perfect tree just last week.

Ceoffe said, despite it being September, the forestry department was busy prepping for the holidays. Only trees at least 40 feet tall qualified for consideration.

A holiday tree at the City-County Building is one of the city’s oldest traditions. The first tree was erected in 1914 on the construction site of the City-County Building.

Last year’s 106th city tree also was a blue spruce, planted in the 1990s and donated by the Fuga Family from Pittsburgh’s Lincoln Place neighborhood.

In 2019, the tree was a 50-foot blue spruce that grew in the yard of a Springdale couple.

Lindsay and Dennis Malinowski donated the tree, which in 1987 was a 5-foot-tall Christmas tree of the property’s previous owner, who replanted it outside.

City officials Monday also announced that the annual Gingerbread House Display and Competition will return this year as an in-person event at the City-County Building.

For updates on this year’s Light Up Night festivities, visit pittsburghpa.gov/events/tree.