December 24, 1931: The 1st Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree

December 24, 1931: This is the 1st Christmas with a Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center in New York, even though the project is still under construction. 30 Rockefeller Plaza -- a.k.a. 30 Rock, and known as the RCA Building, then the GE Building from 1988 to 2015, and now the Comcast Building -- opened on May 1, 1933, and the Rockefeller Center Skating Rink in 1936. The tree has been placed between 30 Rock's front entrance and the Rink ever since.

The tree is usually a Norway Spruce, nearly always cut from somewhere in New York State, and tends to rise to between 70 and 100 feet. It is decorated only with lights, not "ornaments" as we now understand that term. With 30 Rock's most famous tenant being NBC, the tree-lighting ceremony, presided over by the Mayor of New York, was televised locally beginning in 1951 and nationally since 1997.

Some cities, including Philadelphia, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Miami and Denver,  have their main trees at City Hall. Other cities:

* Atlanta: Colony Square.

* Boston: Boston Common.

* Chicago: Millennium Park.

* Cincinnati: Fountain Square.

* Cleveland: Public Square.

* Dallas: The Galleria Dallas, a shopping mall.

* Detroit: Campus Martius Park.

* Kansas City: Crown Center.

* Los Angeles: The Grove at The Farmers' Market.

* Milwaukee: Fiserv Forum, the new sports arena.

* Minneapolis: Nordic Plaza.

* New Orleans: The French Market.

* St. Louis: Kiener Plaza Park, in front of the Old Courthouse.

* San Diego: Liberty Station.

* San Francisco: Union Square.

* Seattle: Pike Place Market.

* Washington, D.C.: In front of the White House.

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December 24, 1931 was a Thursday. Baseball was in the off-season. Football was in midweek: There was a college game on Christmas Day, but no college or pro games on this Christmas Eve. The NBA hadn't been founded yet.

There was 1 game in the NHL: The Toronto Maple Leafs beat their arch-rivals, the Montreal Canadiens, 2-1 at the Montreal Forum. Harvey "Busher" Jackson, the left wing on the Leafs' "Kid Line" with right wing Charlie Conacher and center Joe Primeau, scored the winning goal 9:55 into overtime.