“It puts on a show all year long,” said Eleanor McKee. “It was a beautiful, beautiful tree. It took years and years to grow that.”

Originally, it was hoped that the tree could stay, said Nancy McDougal, assistant vice president/branch manager at Mutual Savings Association, 100 S. Fourth.

The Fourth Street improvement project calls for the widening of a small segment of Green Street, which runs on the west side of Mutual Savings.

That means the fire hydrant must be moved and a light pole would come up the middle of the tree.

“Just the way it had grown and branched out, those branches were so low, I think people would have hit their heads on them, and it would have been a problem,” McDougal said.

The decision to cut down the tree was a difficult one.

“A lot of factors came into the ultimate decision,” McDougal said.

“I know a lot of people are disappointed. Once it’s all done, we’re going to look at putting another tree in on the other side of the building.”