MODESTO’S CHRISTMAS TREE
BY HARRISON POWER
With the holiday season well underway, many will now be flocking to their favorite Christmas tree lot or heading to the mountains to find the perfect Christmas tree. Luckily for City of Modesto, the perfect tree for the holidays is always downtown, with most Modestans driving by it daily. That of course is the City Christmas Tree located on Christmas Tree Island at the intersection of La Loma Avenue and H Street, which City Council designated an official city landmark in 1997.
The beautiful now-large deodar cedar, like all trees, had smaller and humbler origins. The tree originally belonged to Joel Criswell, who has been credited as having operated the first Christmas tree lot in Modesto in the early 1930’s. In 1936, Criswell had kept a 4-foot cedar in a pot where it was eventually going to become rootbound, desiring a new home to continue growing. By 1939, Criswell had donated the tree to the City of Modesto and it was planted in it still current location by the Modesto Garden Club. As the tree continued to grow, the Modesto Garden Club later donated $600 to the City in 1964 to add a planter around the cedar with ivy and grass. The relandscaping of the island was completed by 1965.
While it is hard to pinpoint exactly when the City Christmas Tree was first decorated and lit, the official lighting of the tree by the City started in 1960 with the yuletide tradition continuing for over three decades. The official City tree-lighting ceremony in the early 1990’s moved to Centre Plaza, however the original city tree continued to be lit by the City until the mid-1990’s. From then on the City’s landmark Christmas tree has remained dark during the holiday season, but perhaps some time in the future the tree may again be lit as a beacon of holiday and community spirit.
