Mayor: Tipped-Over City Hall Tree Will Pop Back into Place

CRANSTON, RI—Powerful wind gusts upwards of 60 mph blasted through Rhode Island on Tuesday, taking down a few power lines and signs, scattering backyard bric-a-brac and tipping trash and recycling bins.

It also dealt a wallop to many trees, including one big evergreen in front of Cranston City Hall, which tipped over and lay prone, roots exposed, on its side in front of the building on Wednesday morning.

Residents worried that this was the untimely end for the stately conifer, which is decorated with lights in Christmastime and stands boldly in front of the building’s front gate. Its presence along Park Avenue hearkens to the Italian ancestral lands of many Cranstonians, where cypresses garnish the terraced rows of olive trees and grape vines.

Fear not, said Cranston Mayor Allan W. Fung.

“Tree is fine,” he said on Facebook. “Northeast Tree [is] working to re-plant it.”

Photo courtesy: Mayor Allan Fung