What Happened To The Tree At Liberty Tree Mall? Only In MA

Only In Massachusetts is an occasional series where Patch tries to find answers to questions about life in Massachusetts. Have a question about the Bay State that needs answering? Send it to dave.copeland@patch.com.

It's been almost three years since I wrote about the mystery of what happened to the Liberty tree at the Liberty Tree Mall in Danvers, yet I still get a few emails every month about the article. They all pretty much read something like this:

"Hey, did you ever figure out what happened to the Liberty tree at the Liberty Tree Mall?"

And up until today, I could only say "Nope."

But starting today I can now answer "Yes! I figured it out with the help of Patch reader Robbie Short of Beverly!" Although, fans of the Liberty tree, brace yourselves: You're not going to like how this story ends.

First, for those of you who did not grow up as a North Shore mall rat in the 1970s and 1980s, some quick history:

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A metal sculpture of a Liberty tree was the centerpiece at the main entrance of the Liberty Tree Mall when it opened in 1972. It was the place your parents told you to meet at a pre-determined time in the days before they could send you a text message to tell you they were done with their shopping. The tree was where younger kids were told to go if they got separated from mom and dad. It was beautiful, or it was ugly, depending on your personal taste in art.

And then it was gone.

When I spoke to the mall's current owner, Simon Property Group, in 2018, they weren't even sure when it was removed. It may have been 1988. It may have been 1990. But it had been gone for "at least 15 years" at that point, and no one at the company knew what became of it, even though they got one or two notes a month from customers asking about its fate.

This is unsettling to hear when you're talking about something that was a commissioned piece of art. Albert Surman designed the Liberty tree sculpture for the New England Pavilion at the 1964-65 New York World's Fair. Following his death in 2010, Surman's son, Barry, told the Boston Globe the sculpture was composed of thousands of metal tubes and multicolored glass leaves, but the leaves were removed after the World's Fair. Before it moved to Danvers, the tree was displayed on Boston Common.

Vandals damaged the tree while it was on Boston Common, so it had to be refurbished before it was moved to the mall. The Globe's obituary for Surman claimed the tree was there until 1992, but Barry Surman told the newspaper at the time no one in his family knows what became of it

"Unfortunately, the management team and management companies have changed hands since [it was removed] and we are not sure exactly what happened to it," Simon spokesperson Lauren Dalis told me in 2018. "I'm sure someone must know, but I have yet to find that individual."

That individual is Short, who describes himself as a fan of the mall. Short read my article, started digging, and eventually connected with Steve Karp, the developer who conceived and owned the mall before selling to Simon.

Karp himself salvaged the tree from the scrap heap after the World's Fair, but as he planned an update of the property for its 20th anniversary, he wondered if anyone even paid attention to the tree anymore. In a 1988 Globe article, he hinted he was thinking of removing it and replacing it with the atrium and skylight that's still in the mall's entrance today.

Another Globe article, in 1992, announced the mall's facelift but made no mention of the tree that had been removed.

So Short called Karp, who said he didn't think anyone would miss the tree when he okayed plans for the renovation. "I believe it was scrapped a year after [it was] removed from mall," Karp told Short.

"Hopefully this helps the community get a little closure about the mystery of the tree," Short said. "Though it's sad to know it no longer exists and will only remain a memory to those who saw it in person."

Dave Copeland is Patch's regional editor for Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island and can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).