Anthea Wilson felt she owned the perfect evergreen for a downtown Christmas tree.

The Center City Association, which organizes Holiday in the City, agreed.

Really, though, Wilson just wanted it out of her yard.

On Monday morning, Center City made it disappear — a textbook example of a win-win.

“It was entirely too big for the yard,” Wilson said.

Wilson’s 40-foot spruce was cut down in New Carlisle and re-erected halfway across the county at Springfield’s downtown Esplanade, where it will serve as the focal point for the annual holiday bash.

Mike Vanhoose, an employee of C&S Tree Service, said this year is the farthest they’ve gone to fetch the community Christmas tree. But Wilson had a beauty on her hands.

“The last tree was closer to the house and they’d had it trimmed,” Vanhoose said. “This is a real full tree. A good looking tree.”

The 39-year-old tree came down in “less than three minutes,” he said. It took considerably longer Monday to position the towering tree in place, which was done by a Kapp Construction crane operator wearing a Santa hat.

Seeing the tree dramatically hoisted over the stoplights at the intersection of High Street and Fountain Avenue was merely a prelude to the real show on Nov. 24, when the tree will be lit amid a fireworks display.

Wilson’s evergreen was among 22 nominated this year for Holiday in the City, said Maureen Fagans, Center City executive director.

“A tree this size is typically loved by the owner,” Fagans said. “They don’t want to just cut it down. They’d rather see it have a place of honor.”

Wilson has known the tree her whole life. It first belonged to her grandparents, then, eventually, to her, when she bought their house four years ago.

Growing up, she used to be able to mow around it — now she can’t.

“It was time to go,” she said.

Among the potential trees, Wilson’s nomination was late to arrive.

“We actually had a tree that none of us were excited about,” Fagans said. “Then this one came online about three weeks ago. We knew immediately. This is the one we wanted.”