A tractor-trailer climbs to the top of Deering Avenue in Portland on Thursday morning on its way to delivering its payload: a Christmas tree for Monument Square. City worker Jay Ash-Cuthbert, left, walks alongside the truck to lift any low-hanging utility lines out of the way, while police keep traffic from entering the street. 

Neighborhood friends Max Civiello, 10, left, and Jack Watson, 9, watch as Portland city workers prepare to cut down a 45-foot-tall blue spruce pine tree at 140 Brentwood St. The tree was in place at Monument Square 2 1/2 hours later.

City workers and volunteers from Kelly Crane Service and Shaw Brothers Construction prepare to remove the tree Thursday from 140 Brentwood St. It was donated by homeowners Mikki Jones-Little and David Little.

Portland Forestry Supervisor Charles Shannon, right, cuts down what will be the city Christmas tree Thursday on Brentwood Street while city employee Greg Smith stands by.

Steve Cope holds 16-month-old Daisy while a crane lifts the tree over power lines on Brentwood Street in Portland. About 30 people gathered at the intersection of Brentwood and Bedell streets Thursday morning to see the tree cut free from its roots, hoisted aloft, and loaded onto a flatbed for the trip to Monument Square. 

City empoyees Eric Labelle and Bob Wassick stand outside a safety perimeter Thursday while a crane lifts this year’s Christmas tree from a flatbed to its place in Monument Square. The tree will be lit during a ceremony at 5:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 28.

Portland City Arborist Jeffrey Tarling sweeps branches and needles off Congress Street at Monument Square on Thursday, Nov.20, after crews installed this year’s Christmas tree.


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