Over the years, the parade has evolved and become more spectacular, but the magic of the early days is still alive in the vintage photographs that capture the spirit of the parade’s origins. In this article, we will take you on a journey through time with a collection of vintage photographs of Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. From the early days of the parade in the 1920s to the 1960s, we will show you stunning images of the massive balloons and colorful floats that captured the imagination of millions of people. These photographs are not only a fascinating glimpse into the past but also a testament to the creativity and ingenuity of the parade organizers who brought these magnificent spectacles to life. In 1924, store employees marched to Macy’s Herald Square, the flagship store on 34th Street, dressed in vibrant costumes. There were floats, professional bands and live animals borrowed from the Central Park Zoo. At the end of that first parade, Santa Claus was welcomed into Herald Square.At this first parade, Santa was enthroned on the Macy’s balcony at the 34th Street store entrance, where he was then crowned “King of the Kiddies”. With an audience of over 250,000 people, the parade was such a success that Macy’s declared it would become an annual event, despite media reports only barely covering the first parade. The Macy’s parade was enough of a success to push Ragamuffin Day, the typical children’s Thanksgiving Day activity from 1870 into the 1920s, into obscurity. Ragamuffin Day featured children going around and performing a primitive version of trick-or-treating, a practice that by the 1920s had come to annoy most adults. The public backlash against such begging in the 1930s (when most Americans were struggling in the midst of the Great Depression) led to promotion of alternatives, including Macy’s parade. While ragamuffin parades that competed with Macy’s would continue into the 1930s, the competition from Macy’s would overwhelm the practice, and the last ragamuffin parade in New York City would take place in 1956. Through the 1930s, the parade continued to grow, with crowds of over one million people lining the parade route in 1933. The first Mickey Mouse balloon entered the parade in 1934. The annual festivities were broadcast on local radio stations in New York City from 1932 to 1941 and resumed in 1945, running through 1951. The parade was suspended from 1942 to 1944 as a result of World War II because rubber and helium were needed for the war effort. The parade resumed in 1945 and became known nationwide shortly afterwards, having been prominently featured in the 1947 film Miracle on 34th Street, which included footage of the 1946 festivities. The event had its first broadcast on network television in 1948 (see § Television coverage). From 1984 to 2019, the balloons were made by Raven Industries of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, through its Raven Aerostar division. Since 1985, the parade was traditionally led by the New York City Police Department Highway Patrol. In 2019, the cast of Sesame Street led the parade in honor of the show’s 50th anniversary.   (Photo credit: Courtesy of Macy’s / Wired / AP / Flickr / Wikimedia Commons / Pinterest). Notify me of new posts by email.

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