The tree is always delivered on the Monday after Thanksgiving, and this year, Claire from the Concierge Desk documented the delivery and hoisting of the tree, including one very scary moment for our stained-glass canopy ceiling.
This year's tree came from just north of Taos, New Mexico, and is a staggering 29' white fir. Our Maintenance Department takes on the task of bringing the tree into the hotel and placing it in the lobby. Here, you can see some of our Maintenance Men checking out this year's challenge. 
Believe it or not, the tree is brought in through our front door every year. We open up the doors as wide as they will go and then the Maintenance Department does their best to push, pull, drag, and coax the tree into the lobby.
Once the tree is in, we let it lay out on the tile floor so our "tree aestheticians" can decorate the tippy-tippy top. Rhonda and her helpers from Living Interiors are always on hand to help with this part of the process.
Claire's "Levitating Tree" shot
Once the top part of the tree is done, the Maintenance Department uses a system of chains and double-pulleys to hoist the tree to a standing position.
Hoisting ...
...hoisting...
...hoisting...
...hoisting...
And this is the point of the hoisting that we realized that this year's tree was a wee bit too big for our ceiling. If you watch the videos, you can see the top of the tree poking one of the panels out of place. Luckily, the panes aren't welded into the frame -- they simply sit in the frame.The moment that had many of us worried!
We had to saw off the very top of the tree to make it fit in our lobby, but it's there now and fully decorated. Stop by to see it before December 29th, when it will be taken down -- and I strongly urge you to take a stellar photo of it. Stay tuned to our Facebook page for the reason why!
