Processing Your Payment

Please do not leave this page until complete. This can take a few moments.

November 19, 2025

Portland's holiday tree has a short trek to Monument Square

Christmas tree at Monument Square Photo / Peter Van Allen Workers raise the tree on Monument Square.
By Peter Van Allen

The raising of the holiday tree on Portland's Monument Square is an annual tradition.

But this year's tree has an unusual story that started just blocks away from the square where it was raised on Wednesday.

While many trees come from Maine's abundant forests, in this case, the 40-foot red spruce was cut down just a half mile away, at a Portland Housing Authority site at 9 Boyd St.

The tree was felled at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday and brought by truck down Congress Street, where it was raised by a crane later in the morning. 

Trucking services were donated by Gorham-based Shaw Brothers Construction, while South Portland-based Keeley Crane Service handled lifting the tree onto its stand. 

The tree was slated to come down anyway to make way for affordable housing, the city said in a press release. 

“The Portland Housing Authority is honored to see this tree — rooted in one of our neighborhoods for decades — become part of Portland’s holiday season,” said Leah Bruns, interim executive director of the Portland Housing Authority.

“For many years, this tree has simply been part of the place our residents and staff call home. As we move forward with building new housing on this site, it needs to be removed, and we’re glad it can continue to serve a purpose. Sending it to Monument Square gives it a fitting next chapter, and we appreciate the opportunity to share a small piece of the place we call home with the wider community.”

An added benefit of finding a nearby tree is its alignment with local climate goals; the Portland-South Portland One Climate Future plan calls for reducing the transportation carbon footprint. Last year's tree had a three-mile journey from the Deering neighborhood of Portland, while the 2023 tree came from South Portland. 

Forestry crews were expected to start installing lights in the coming days and hoped to finish by Tuesday, depending on conditions.  

Tree-lighting festivities will start Friday, Nov. 28, at 4 p.m., with the actual lighting closer to 6:30 p.m., the city said. 

The tree will stay up until Jan. 1. 

Sign up for Enews

Mainebiz web partners

Most Recent

Most Recent

Related Content

Thumbnail Maine Celtics, Shaw Brothers and Springer's execs receive Junior Achievement awards

0 Comments

Order a PDF