Milwaukee City/County Christmas tree glowing in Red Arrow Park

MILWAUKEE -- The annual lighting of the Milwaukee City/County Christmas tree occurred Monday evening, November 19th in downtown Milwaukee's Red Arrow Park.

The tree, a 40-foot Colorado spruce was harvested near N. 25th Street and Stark on November 8th.

"It's a great tradition. 98 years we've been doing this. This is my ninth one, so I'm just a pup, but it's a lot of fun. The neighbors love it and of course we're going to have this beautiful tree downtown," Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett said.

The city of Milwaukee began its search on Thursday, September 27th for the perfect tree to be this year’s City/County Christmas Tree.

Officials say there are some strict standards for finding the perfect tree.

The ideal tree should be 30 to 40 feet tall, and must be accessible for harvest with a crane, meaning no overhead wires can be present.

Thursday was the third time homeowner William Love has tried to donate his tree to Milwaukee. Love says he can't wait to see it all decked out at Red Arrow Park.

"It was getting large, like over-sized, and I thought it might help brighten up some of the kids' Christmas," Love said.

The tree was decorated with 6,000 lights, over 600 yards of red ribbons fashioned into large bows and another 100 yards of gold ribbon for the bow on top of the tree.