(FORTUNE Magazine) – For the second time in five years, the traditional towering Christmas tree will be absent from the front of ((Pittsburgh's)) City-County Building. The administration has opted instead for two small artificial trees in the | building's mezzanine windows. Mayor ((Tom)) Murphy will light the trees in a ceremony . . . A similar decision by Mayor Sophie Masloff in 1990 touched off controversy. Masloff ((barred)) the Christmas tree out of fear of a lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union. The ACLU had pursued several challenges of holiday displays with religious overtones. . . The Murphy administration ((said)) the decision was based on environmental, not legal, concerns. The city did not want to cut down a tree, mayoral spokesman Judy Kelly said. With artificial trees, "no living thing has lost its life," she explained. -- From a news report in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.