Photograph by Atlanta Journal-Constitution Photographic Archives, Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library
Somewhere in the family archives, there is a photo of me as a toddler sitting on the lap of Santa Claus, my face bunched up in a teary-eyed primal scream. Obviously, the concept of the jolly ol’ Saint Nick was not sitting well with me.
The photo was taken inside Rich’s department store in downtown, and though I don’t have a specific memory of it, I suspect the afternoon included a ride on the famed Pink Pig. I mean, who could bring a kid to Rich’s during the holiday season and not put them aboard the Pink Pig?
I do, however, vividly remember that evening. The department store had two five-story buildings on either side of Forsyth: the “Store for Fashion” and the “Store for Homes.” They were connected by the Crystal Bridge, four glass-enclosed pedestrian walkways stacked on top of each other, one for each of the top four floors of the buildings.
Started in 1948 as a marketing gimmick, the lighting of the Great Tree on Thanksgiving night quickly became a local tradition. It was even featured on the cover of Time magazine in 1961, and in the Atlanta skyline of the day, it was a beacon that could be seen from miles away.
In the weeks preceding the lighting, local television news would follow the journey of the tree, from the selection process for the 70- to-90-foot-tall white pine to cutting it down to live broadcasts of a huge crane lifting it into place. I cannot begin to imagine the challenges of decorating a gigantic Christmas tree perched five stories above the ground on a narrow walkway. The lights required 13 miles of electrical wiring.
Before the lighting of the tree, each of the walkways of the Crystal Bridge would be filled with local choirs that took turns singing Christmas carols. Lit up by bright lights inside the walkways, and set against the night sky, the choirs seemed to be messengers sent from the heavens. Above them, perched atop the highest bridge and hidden in the darkness, lurked the evening’s main event: the Great Tree.
On this Thanksgiving night, my family ventured out into the frigid air to stand among the throngs outside the store on Forsyth Street. I was bundled up against the cold, sitting on my father’s shoulders and watching in wonder as a choir sang five stories above us.
The moment is forever etched in my memory. All four decks of the bridge lit up as the choirs joined to sing “O Holy Night.” And when a soloist reached the soaring line “O night divine,” the lights on the tree sprang to life.
It was the most magnificent thing my young eyes had ever witnessed: the multicolored lights reflecting off basketball-sized ornaments and mirror balls, and a huge, bright snowflake perched on top.
Even the best traditions change or fade away. Rich’s was sold, then folded into the Macy’s chain. The lighting of the Great Tree was moved to Underground Atlanta for a few years. Since 2000, the tree lighting has been held at Lenox Square. But the tree is now artificial, and it stands in a parking lot rather than atop the city skyline. That decision was made after the boom on a crane broke in 2012, sending the Great Tree into a free-fall crash onto Macy’s and piercing a hole in the roof above the Men’s Store.
The tradition of the Pink Pig also lives on. We give it a nostalgic look in this month’s Big Picture, because a modernized version returns this holiday season to the Georgia Festival of Trees at the Gas South Convention Center in Duluth. It’s apropos that the Pink Pig is featured in our annual Best of Atlanta issue, since it is one of Atlanta’s most iconic “bests.”
So, too, is the Great Tree. Decades away from my childhood, it remains one of my favorite ghosts of Christmas past.
This article appears in our December 2024 issue.
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