But Deeds Carillon isn’t Dayton’s only iconic holiday tree. For decades, the NCR Christmas Tree also signaled the onset of the season. Standing outside NCR World Headquarters — Building 10 on South Main Street — the towering evergreen was illuminated every December.
“The factory’s window display department … estimates 214 man-hours were spent decorating the tree,” reported The Dayton Journal Herald in its Dec. 31, 1947, edition, covering the first tree lit after World War II.
“The electrical department spent 136 man-hours getting 2,039 bulbs on the 25-foot tree.”
Each year, the company searched far and wide for the perfect tree. As the NCR Factory News described in its December 1956 edition: “It was not until over 150 miles of territory had been closely covered that a tree was found … This tree, which was finally located in south-central Ohio, is a magnificent evergreen whose perfect trunk soars 45 feet into the air … The tree had grown on this spot for more than 40 years.”
NCR’s Carpenter and Paint Shop then adorned the tree with more than 3,000 lights. From “the bottom of the trunk to the top of the star,” it stood approximately 50 feet tall.
“Do you have a short-needle spruce or pine tree 40 to 50 feet tall?” asked the Dayton Daily News on Oct. 7, 1963, under the headline: “NCR Needs Christmas Tree.” “If you do, the National Cash Register Co. would like to know about it. The firm is having trouble buying a suitable Christmas tree.”
In 1973, the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio curtailed large Christmas displays to conserve energy. Soon after, the company’s beloved tree disappeared for good.
In the years since, new Dayton Christmas traditions have taken root, including the Tree of Light.
From Nov. 25 through Dec. 30, Connie Taylor’s Tree of Light will once again light the skyline during A Carillon Christmas. Featuring Santa Claus, the Carillon Park Railroad, Small-Train Rides, Gem City Letterpress, Letters to Santa, Christmas Shoppe shopping, Culp’s Café, Carillon Brewing Co., and countless Yuletide attractions, the park’s month-long holiday sets Carillon Historical Park aglow.
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