National Christmas Tree 2014 (photo by Anthony Quintano)
See the White House Grounds Tour web page for a map and links to other attractions on the grounds of President’s Park.
The National Christmas Tree sits at the very northern point of the Ellipse in President’s Park. Today it is a live tree, but when the first Christmas Tree was erected in 1923 it was a cut tree. The idea stemmed from the desire of Washington Public Schools to erect a tree on the Ellipse. Permission was granted by Grace Coolidge, wife of Calvin Coolidge. Coolidge became the first president to light a Christmas Tree on White House grounds.
Live trees were used the following year and up through 1953, but the location changed each year. It wasn’t until 1954 during the Eisenhower administration that the Christmas Tree returned to the Ellipse. It was a cut tree, and cut trees were used until 1973, at which time the ceremony once again reverted to using live trees, and that has been the practice ever since. The current tree, a Colorado Blue Spruce, was planted in 2012.
National Christmas Tree during the summer
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Last updated on April 28, 2020
