Workers from Austin Energy started climbing a 155-foot moonlight tower in Zilker Park this week, stringing it with thousands of lights to kick off the city's 60th annual Zilker Holiday Tree. The transformation began Thursday, turning one of Austin's oldest pieces of infrastructure into its most recognizable holiday landmark for another year.
Crews began hanging the lights on the structure, located just south of Barton Springs Road near Andrew Zilker Road, according to KXAN Austin. The tree is built around one of the city's historic moonlight towers, a structure that long predates the holiday tradition itself. Once the crews finish, the display will feature 39 strings of LED lights, with each string containing 81 red, yellow, green and blue bulbs.
A Swirl Pattern Baked Into the Design
The tree's signature look doesn't happen by accident. Strategically placed yellow bulbs on each string create the display's distinctive, dizzying swirl pattern, Austin Energy has said. That same light configuration and 155-foot height were documented when crews installed the tree back on Oct. 28, 2021, for its 55th year, according to CBS Austin, which also reported the display topped out with a double star measuring 10 feet from point to point.
This year's tree is expected to be topped by that same style of 10-foot-tall double star once installation wraps up, per the KXAN report. Austin Parks and Recreation describes the finished display as featuring 39 streamers holding 81 multicolored bulbs apiece, though the department's current specifications for this particular tree are drawn from a lower-confidence snippet rather than a formal release.
Older Than Austin's Power Grid Itself
What makes the Zilker tree different from a typical holiday display is the tower underneath it. The structure was among the original 31 towers that made up the City of Austin's first urban lighting system, installed all the way back in 1895. Of those original towers, only 17 remain in operation today, and Austin Energy says they're the only working moonlight towers left anywhere in the world.
Austin Energy has called the tree and its moonlight tower foundation icons of the city and a beloved community tradition, a status reinforced by six decades of consecutive installations. The holiday season in Austin effectively kicked off this week with the start of this year's installation work.
More Details Coming in November
Specifics about this year's lighting ceremony, including scheduling and any related festivities, haven't been released yet. Austin Parks and Recreation is expected to share additional information about the tree and related events next month, according to KXAN's reporting.
For context, last year's 59th annual lighting ceremony was held Nov. 30, with musical performances starting at 5:15 p.m. ahead of a 6 p.m. tree-lighting, KXAN previously reported. The tree traditionally serves as a prelude to Zilker's Trail of Lights, which last year was reported to include more than 2 million lights, 96 illuminated trees and 70 festive displays scattered across the park.
