Pittsburgh's Christmas tree arrives at City-County Building from Springdale's former St. Alphonsus Church

On an early November day when temperatures were expected to approach record highs near 80, it was beginning to feel a bit like Christmas in Springdale.

A crew from the City of Pittsburgh Forestry Division was on the campus of the former St. Alphonsus Church on Saturday morning to cut down a 40-foot blue spruce planted in an area where the church’s rectory burned down.

It’s set to become Pittsburgh’s official Christmas tree.

The tree was loaded onto a flatbed tractor-trailer and hauled to the City-County Building Downtown, where it will be displayed on the building’s portico. It will be decorated and illuminated during the city’s Light Up Night festivities Saturday, Nov. 19.

A 40 foot blue spruce harvested from the campus of St. Alphonsus Church in Springdale Sat. morning was loaded onto a truck bound for the City County Building where it will become the City of Pittsburgh's Christmas tree. pic.twitter.com/D6IVesbgyI

— Paul Guggenheimer (@PGuggenheimer) November 5, 2022

Guardian Angels Parish business manager Thomas Babinsack received a ceremonial deed of transfer from Pittsburgh city forester Lisa Ceoffe recognizing the selection of the tree as the official Christmas tree for the City of Pittsburgh.

“We’re just happy that the tree is going to be put to good use,” Babinsack told the Tribune-Review. “We were told by the people from the city that some of these trees are diseased and they probably won’t make it another year anyway. It’s a nice Christmas story.”

Ceoffe said while it’s sad to cut a tree down, this is a nice way for the tree to end its life.

“So many trees, especially evergreens, are in failing health due to climate change,” Ceoffe said. “It’s a nice way to go out to be part of a beautiful celebration in the city and bring so much happiness at this time of year. It dignifies a life well lived.”

Ceoffe said the process of scouting for the tree began in July, and there’s a lot of logistics involved.

“We look to find the perfect tree for the City-County Building. So residents will send in pictures and call us and say they have candidates,” Ceoffe said. “We’ll go out and look at the trees. The logistics involved are having access with a crane and dealing with overhead utilities and things like that.

”This year, it took us until almost the end of September to find the perfect tree, and we were lucky to find this one here in Springdale.”

Ceoffe said she and her staff were aware of the spruce trees at the church. When one was tall enough to use, the City of Pittsburgh sprang into action.

“The portico is 60 feet tall, so we have to get something that proportionately fills that space,” she said. “It’s just the quality, how it looks, those types of things before we consider it a final candidate.”

Guardian Angels Parish donated the tree, and the city will plant a tree in the spruce’s place next spring. It won’t be another evergreen but rather a flowering ornamental tree, Ceoffe said.

The irony of harvesting a Christmas tree on such an unseasonably warm day was not lost on Ceoffe.

“It is a little awkward that it’s so nice out,” she said. “It works great for us because usually it’s sleeting or it’s super cold. So, for the crews working Downtown, that portico is like a wind tunnel, and it’s really cold there and they’re taking breaks to try to warm up. So it is a little odd that it’s so warm out, but it is kind of nice to be able to do this and not have to deal with weather conditions.”

Ceoffe was concerned about the width of the tree making it difficult to transport it through the construction on Route 28 south heading into Pittsburgh, but the tree made it to the City-County Building without incident.