M.T. Kelley Electric Honored to Light City of Chicago’s 2021 Christmas Tree in Millennium Park

This year, M.T. Kelley had the incredible honor to light the City of Chicago’s 2021 Christmas Tree in Millennium Park. It marks the city’s 108th year continuing this tradition and providing guests with a festive winter wonderland to gaze upon the twinkling lights.

Overview of Tree Lighting

Each year, the City of Chicago hosts the annual lighting of their Christmas tree in Millennium Park. The 2021 tree lighting was expanded and reimagined to provide more space and opportunities for event-goers to participate. This included multiple locations to view the lighting, screens and concession stands across the park, a main stage on the great lawn, a special concert, and a ceremony followed by an incredible firework show. This year’s tree, a 51-foot Blue Spruce, was donated by the Benavides family of Chicago’s Logan Square neighborhood. This display runs for just about two months, November 19th through January 9th, near Michigan Ave. and Washington St.

Vincent Kelley, the CEO of M.T. Kelley Electric, states, “We are excited to not only be providing the lighting for the main tree but the rest of the lighting around all of Millennium Park as well. As a second-generation Chicago business, it is impactful to be involved in an opportunity for people in our community to connect. After 25 years serving the Chicagoland area, we know the positive impact light has on the community as a whole. We are very grateful for this opportunity to light up our community’s spirit during the holidays.”

Although lighting a huge tree is not M.T. Kelley’s typical project, they successfully strung 1,030 strands of lights, which comes out to 53,000 individual lights on the main tree. This works out to be about 4.8 miles of lighting on the main tree and about ten and a half miles of lighting throughout Millennium Park.

Check out the official video below by Powering Chicago of M.T. Kelley Electric lighting the 108th City of Chicago Christmas Tree.

The History of the City of Chicago Christmas Tree

In 1913, the first Christmas tree was installed in the City of Chicago in Grant Park. It stood 35 feet tall and was lit on Christmas Eve by former mayor Carter Harrison. Since then, the evolution of the Christmas tree has continued to stay a tradition for the city. Here are a few fun facts about this tradition:

• The official Christmas tree went from an individual tree to a combination of smaller trees.
• In 1966, the City of Chicago Christmas tree was moved to the now known Daley Plaza
• The tree is required to be cut down within 100 miles of the Chicago Loop
• In 2008, the largest City of Chicago Christmas Tree stood 85 feet tall.
• A 2010 tree was decorated with 7,000 LED lights, a lighted star on the top of the tree, and weighed in at about 11,900 lbs.

Currently, the main Christmas tree is now only comprised of one tree. This is due to cutting back on expenses on building the main tree and decorating and maintaining it.

About M.T. Kelley Electric

With over 40 years of experience, M.T Kelley is recognized as an electrical leader in Chicagoland. They have provided over 25 years of service dedicated to providing the best electrical services throughout the Chicagoland area. Established in 1994, this family-run business has focused on incredible service centered around serving the customer. It’s not about getting the job done as fast as they can, but about providing a superior quality electrical installation at competitive pricing on a timeline that works for you. They are dedicated to the always-evolving electrical industry by staying up to date with emerging technologies while continuing to stay connected to their community.