The World's Tallest Glass Christmas Tree is in Williams Bay, Milwaukee

Yerkes Observatory is building the world’s largest glass Christmas tree

The World’s Tallest Glass Tree comes to the historic, world-renowned Williams Bay Yerkes observatory

The World’s Tallest Glass Tree

A jaw-dropping 35-1/2 feet is the size of the tree that Champaign, Ill. glass artisan Jason Mack is in the process of handcrafting outside Yerkes Observatory in Williams Bay, a pound or two of extruded 2,200-degree molten recycled glass at a time as the tree’s steel frame rotates.

Yerkes Observatory, which was built in 1897 by the University of Chicago, reopened to the public this past spring following a several-year closure. Since reopening, the observatory has focused attention on holding educational events for the public.

The glass extrusion process Mack is using to create the record-breaking World’s Tallest Glass Tree is like the process used to produce glass fiber optic cable. It took nine days to build, even in the frigid weather. The glass sculpture only grew thanks to the community. Mack said they used donated glass — things like wine bottles and pickle jars.

“We’ve had everyone from a 4-year-old to a 90-year-old add liquid glass to the tree,” said Mack.

The Glass Tree is a collaborative project of Mack and childhood friend and fellow Illinois State University graduate Rob Elliott, an entrepreneur and philanthropist who splits his time between residences in Williams Bay and Milwaukee.

Principal of Milwaukee-based Elliott Organization, Elliott serves as producer of The World’s Tallest Glass Tree, organizing and marketing the event and raising the funds to make the holiday artisan event a reality.

“We’ve had a steady flow of people coming in,” Elliott said of the opening weekend crowd. “As you can imagine, once they see the glass moving it’s quite mesmerizing and catches a lot of attention … It’s built by the community, and it’s live action. It’s here for people to come and watch and witness each weekend as it grows. It brings people together. It’s all about community and educating and inspiring. It’s awesome.”

After two years of crafting, Elliott said the reopening of a revitalized Yerkes Observatory earlier this year made the historic Williams Bay facility a natural venue for the 2022 tree project.

Williams Bay Yerkes Observatory’s world’s tallest glass Christmas tree | FOX6 News Milwaukee

“The tie with glass — the largest refracting telescope in the world, which is amazing, and the largest collection of glass tile slides of space and the cosmos,” Elliott said of the allure of moving the performance art event to new host site Yerkes, with also houses the world’s largest elevator. “And now we have The World’s Tallest Glass Tree here. They were willing to let us come and put this big tree here and who wouldn’t want to have it here? This is a magnificent space. And it’s also an opportunity to raise awareness that this place is now open again. A lot of people don’t know this place is accessible now. It’s good to get the word out there.”

To take the tree down, the artists will put on special gloves and grab chunks of the glass from the tree before bringing it back to their studio, where they’ll turn that glass into ornaments that will be put up for sale.

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