Photos: The world's tallest glass Christmas tree at Yerkes Observatory
The 36-foot-tall tree is being crafted from 3,000 pounds of recycled glass and will be up through Dec. 28.
The 36-foot-tall glass Christmas tree at Yerkes Observatory is a collaboration between glass artist Jason Mack, local entrepreneurs Rob and Sarah Elliott and the community, which donated 20 tons of glass to the project. The tree only needs about 3,000 pounds of glass, so the remainder has gone to a Delavan company that processes the glass and sells it to bottle and jar manufacturers.
Molten recycled glass is added to a steel frame to create the world's tallest glass Christmas tree.
John Donaubaurer of Jason Mack Glass hands a wand of molten glass to Pauline Javorsky, 7, on Friday night as she prepares to string the glass onto the world's tallest glass Christmas tree. When completed, the 36-foot tall tree at Yerkes Observatory in Williams Bay will have 3,000 pounds of clear and blue glass from recycled bottles and jars.
John Donaubaurer pulls molten glass from an oven to add to a large tree-shaped structure during the second weekend of the World’s Tallest Glass Tree event at Yerkes Observatory in Williams Bay, Wis. Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. At left is Rae Ripple, a colleague on the project. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL
Emery Otzen, 9, and her mother, Kelly, share the warmth of a fire during a visitFriday night to the World’s Tallest Glass Tree event at Yerkes Observatory in Williams Bay.
Rae Ripple welds a metal component for the star that will be placed on top of the of the world's largest Christmas tree at Yerkes Observatory. Ripple, who lives in Nashville, is a world renowned metal artist, television personality, stunt rider and author. Her work has been featured in magazines, television shows and documentary films.
The historic Yerkes Observatory in Williams Bay opened in 1897 and not only holds the world's largest refracting telescope but also, through Dec. 28, the world's tallest glass Christmas tree.
Joe Michels of Fontana, Wis. wears a festive holiday hat during a visit with family to the World’s Tallest Glass Tree event at Yerkes Observatory in Williams Bay, Wis. Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL
Christmas ornaments made by Jason Mack Glass from recycled glass were among the items for sale Friday at the World’s Tallest Glass Christmas Tree event at at Yerkes Observatory in Williams Bay. When the event closes Dec. 28, the glass from the tree will be made into 1,000 6-inch-tall commemorative Christmas trees that will be sold at next year's event.
John Donaubaurer layers molten glass onto a large tree-shaped structure during the second weekend of the World’s Tallest Glass Tree event at Yerkes Observatory in Williams Bay, Wis. Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL
Members of the Yerkes Future Foundation find shade under a large maple tree on a portion of the 48-acre John Olmsted-designed grounds of the Yerkes Observatory in Williams Bay. The 60,000-square-foot facility, home to three domes each with its own telescope, was constructed between 1894 and 1897.
Ed Struble, who has been the director of building and grounds at Yerkes Obervatory for nearly 30 years, rotates the dome's movable roof with an electric control panel at the 1890's-era research facility in Williams Bay, Wis. Wednesday, June 10, 2020. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL
One of tens of thousands of glass photograph plates captured by the 40-inch refracting telescope at the Yerkes Observatory in Williams Bay is held by Dianna Colman, chairwoman of the Yerkes Future Foundation.
In operation since 1897, ownership of the Yerkes Observatory in Williams Bay was transferred last month from the University of Chicago to the Yerkes Future Foundation, which has plans to raise $20 million for its renovation and operations.
Centered inside a 90-foot diameter dome, the 1890s-era refracting telescope at Yerkes Observatory in Williams Bay towers over visitors. The University of Chicago earlier this year transferred ownership of the 123-year-old facility to the Yerkes Future Foundation, a preservation group that plans to restore, refurbish and reopen the historic research center.
The largest of three domes at the Yerkes Observatory in Williams Bay, Wis. shades visitors to the grounds of the research facility Wednesday, June 10, 2020. Recently, the University of Chicago transferred ownership of the 123-year-old building to the Yerkes Future Foundation, a preservation group that plans to restore, refurbish and reopen the historically-significant center. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL
Ed Struble, who has been the director of building and grounds at Yerkes Obervatory for nearly 30 years, controls the dome's movable roof panels with an electric control switch at the 1890's-era research facility in Williams Bay, Wis. Wednesday, June 10, 2020. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL
Built in the 1890s, the world's largest refracting telescope is maneuvered by hand by Ed Struble, who has served for nearly 30 years as director of building and grounds at the Yerkes Observatory in Williams Bay. The floor can also be raised and lowered to bring people closer to the eye piece.
Ornate stonework in the entrance of the Yerkes Observatory in Williams Bay, Wis. greets visitors Wednesday, June 10, 2020. Designed by architect Henry Ives Cobb and built on the shores of Lake Geneva in the 1890's, the research facility has been referred to as the birthplace of modern astrophysics. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL
Recycled glass collected from throughout Walworth County is being melted on site to create the world's tallest glass Christmas tree.
Members of the Geneva Lake West Rotary Club gathered Dec. 19 at Walworth Elementary School and Sharon Community School in the run-up to the Christmas and New Year's holidays to assemble and then deliver 243 food boxes as part of the nonprofit service organization's annual Holiday Food Assistance Program outreach to food insecure individuals and families in its West End service area encompassing Fontana, Linn, Sharon, Walworth and Williams Bay.
After six years as board chair of the Williams Bay-based Yerkes Future Foundation (YFF), Dianna Colman on Dec. 31 stepped off the Yerkes Board of Directors as her second term as a Foundation trustee came to an end.
WILLIAMS BAY — Next month, guests at the World’s Tallest Glass Tree Festival can help create the 36-foot, red-glowing structure.
A star-topping ceremony scheduled for 4 p.m. Dec. 14.Â
Lake Geneva Tourism Commission members deny additional grant funding for World's Tallest Glass TreeÂ
