Vintage Minnesota: The $30,000 poinsettia pyramid

Photo originally published Dec. 25, 1981

Minneapolis Star columnist Barbara Flanagan called it a "happy holiday scene," and even in black and white you can tell that the poinsettia pyramid at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Minneapolis was mighty impressive.

It took about a dozen people more than two days to set up the 2,200 poinsettia plants for the 32-foot pyramid that towered over the lobby of the hotel, at 13th Street and Nicollet Mall.

"We were supposed to start at midnight and end at 8 a.m.," said Wendy Whit­aker of Butterfield's in Wayzata, who worked on the project. "We started at 4:30 p.m. and ended three days later."

The plants cost $7.50 each, and with its 24-foot-square base, the entire setup cost about $30,000.

If you think you missed your chance at seeing a poinsettia tree, you're in luck. The Minnesota Landscape Arboretum in Chanhassen has 25-foot-tall poinsettia trees as part of its Winter in Bloom celebration, which runs through Jan. 5.

Nicole Hvidsten