If the tree at Old School Square looks finished from Atlantic Avenue, why will it stay dark until December?

The City of Delray Beach answers that question in its own FAQ. Putting up the tree frame and the houses inside and around it takes about 10 to 14 days. Once that's done, volunteers and staff decorate the inside of the tree and each of the six houses, and the City says that interior work takes about a month. The tower you've been driving past on Swinton Avenue is the shell. What people actually come to see is being built inside it now, and it opens to the public on Tuesday, Dec. 1.

That changes how the tree is worth seeing. The lighting is one crowded evening. The inside of the tree is free and open through New Year's Day, and most of it is about Delray Beach itself.

How a 100-Foot Tree Gets Built in Delray

The structure isn't a tree at all, and the City says so. The frame is built from aluminum sections that are put together to form rings. Each ring is smaller than the one below it, and a crane lifts them onto each other until they form a cone. The star goes on last.

Laid out on the calendar, the season runs in this order:

1. Mid-October. The crane lifts the aluminum rings into place over 10 to 14 days, and the houses go in.
2. Late October through November. Volunteers and staff spend about a month decorating the inside of the tree and the six houses.
3. Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2026. Santa lights the tree at 7 p.m. during a 6 to 9 p.m. street fair.
4. Through New Year's Day. The tree and Santa's Village stay open.

When it's finished, the City counts 18,000 ornaments and 217,980 individual LED lights. All of those details take far longer than the frame, which is why the tree stands dark so long.

The Inside Is a Model of the City

The Downtown Development Authority's event listing says that once the tree is lit, you can step inside and see the story of Delray's "Village by the Sea" told in animated holiday scenes. The City's page names who builds them. The Spady Cultural Heritage Museum decorates the "Spady House" inside the tree. Amanda Perna decorates the "Cornell Museum" scene, and St. Paul's Episcopal Church provides the crèche. The page also thanks ten tree decorators and volunteers by name.

So the interior is decorated by real Delray institutions. The Cornell Art Museum is at Old School Square, the same campus as the tree. The Spady Cultural Heritage Museum also appears on the season's sponsor list. Walking through the tree means walking past small models of buildings you already know.

The City also takes on its most common question, whether the tree is real. Its answer is that the tree didn't grow from nature, but the volunteers' work, the first dates and proposals, and the family traditions built around it are real.

The Tree Was Built to Bring People Downtown

The tree has always been tied to the downtown around it. The DDA's history says it started in 1993 as a 50-foot tree the authority bought to help revitalize downtown. Two years later it grew to 100 feet for Delray Beach's centennial.

In a 2023 WPTV interview, Marjorie Ferrer, a former executive director of the Delray Beach Downtown Development Authority, recalled what downtown looked like in 1993. "The city was pretty much boarded up," she told the station. "I mean, there were like three restaurants." In the same WPTV piece, she described the moment at the 1994 lighting that set up the jump to 100 feet:

"I said, 'Do we want to do 100 feet for 100 years,' and the crowd went crazy. The mayor leaned over and said, 'Let's talk.'"

WPTV reported that three decades on, the tree looks much like it did on day one, while the downtown around it is almost unrecognizable. The City marks the 2026 season as the tree's 33rd year.

Dec. 1 Is the Busy Night

The 2026 lighting falls on Tuesday, Dec. 1. In 2025 it fell on Dec. 2, with the same 6 to 9 p.m. window and the same 7 p.m. lighting. The City lists more than 60 vendors along Atlantic Avenue, Old School Square and Pineapple Grove, food trucks on Swinton Avenue, and a silent disco. Atlantic Avenue closes to traffic from Swinton Avenue to NE 5th Avenue, and the DDA listing adds carolers and games along the closed street.

Holiday Village activities are ticketed at the Gingerbread Ticket House. The last ticket on lighting night sells at 8:30 p.m., and the City notes that time may change depending on crowds. Tickets are not refundable.

The tree is free on every day it's open. The paid rides are the extras. The City still lists the season schedule for the village and the tree, and the hours for Santa's House, as TBD. For a weeknight walk-through in mid-December, check the City's 100 Ft. Christmas Tree page for posted hours before you go. Questions go to Delray Beach Parks and Recreation at 561-243-7250, option 3.

Other Reasons to Be at Old School Square This Season

Because the tree stays up for a month, it ends up as the backdrop for most of Old School Square's holiday calendar. These are the confirmed 2026 dates at the square around it:

• Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Delray Winter GreenMarket runs every Saturday at Old School Square. Its December 2026 dates are Dec. 5, 12, 19 and 26, so each of those Saturday mornings puts the market next to the lit tree.
• Sunday, Nov. 15, noon to 4 p.m. The 7th Annual Pooches & Presents, listed as "Delray is Going to the Dogs," is free and includes adoptable dogs, holiday shopping and photos with Santa. The tree will be standing but not yet lit, with the lighting about two weeks away.
• Sunday, Dec. 6, 6 to 9 p.m. The Chanukah Festival and Menorah Lighting, presented by the City of Delray Beach, takes place at Old School Square.

The Dec. 6 festival and the GreenMarket Saturdays both fall inside the tree's run, so the walk-through fits easily into a trip already on the calendar. Since entry to the tree is free, a visit can be short and doesn't need a separate trip downtown.

For a seller near downtown, the season works the same way. A listing that goes live in early December comes on the market while the tree and its events are bringing people to Swinton and Atlantic. If you're wondering what that timing could mean for your property, Cheran Marek can show you how homes near Old School Square are positioned this season. Request a personalized home valuation before the tree goes dark after New Year's Day.