California city boasts tallest Christmas tree
Never had, never will.
That's still in Newport Beach, no matter what The New York Times or the Miami Chamber of Commerce claims.
Miami this week boldly declared that it erected the nation's largest tree, and the national media seemed ready to anoint the city's 110-foot Norway spruce with the title. It dwarfs the puny, 76-foot Rockefeller Center tree. It towers over the scrawny, 67-foot White House tree.
"Turns out we've been barking up the wrong trees," The Miami Herald reported Wednesday.
At 112 feet, 9 inches, the tree at the Fashion Island shopping mall in Newport Beach is taller, and the center is not about to give up bragging rights.
Call it East Coast bias, call it being misinformed, but "our tree is bigger than theirs," Fashion Island spokeswoman Jane Gillespie said.
Miami even had an affidavit from its tree supplier asserting the $200,000 tree, centerpiece of the city's new Downtown Holiday Village, was the tallest.
Vito Serrao, Fashion Island's tree supplier, burst into laughter when he heard Miami's tall tale. "They got ripped off. They spent all that money, and we still have the tallest tree."
Newport Beach bought the taller tree at half the price — $100,000.
Fashion Island was snubbed because The New York Times and people in Miami don't care about anything west of the Mississippi, Newport Beach Mayor Tod Ridgeway said.
The title of tallest tree is somewhat unofficial, since no group certifies trees as tallest or prettiest. Newport Beach's tree is the tallest the National Christmas Tree Association knows of, said Jim Corliss, president of the group that publishes an annual Christmas tree journal.
After a slew of calls from Fashion Island folks, Serrao and The Orange County Register, Miami officials conceded Wednesday that the Newport Beach white fir is taller.
"If this is true, then we no longer have a claim to the tallest tree," said Nelson Albareda, president of the Unipro Group, an entertainment company that is setting up the tree and holiday village.
The world's biggest Christmas tree?
News reports claim a Rio de Janeiro shopping center has one at 270 feet.