By this point the event, and Macy's sponsorship of it, were sufficiently well-known to give rise to the colloquialism "Macy's Day Parade". The event was first broadcast on network television in 1948 ( see below). The parade became known nationwide after being prominently featured in the 1947 film, Miracle on 34th Street, which included footage of the 1946 festivities. The parade resumed in 1945 using the route that it followed until 2008. The parade was suspended from 1942 to 1944 as a result of World War II, owing to the need for rubber and helium in the war effort. 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 first Mickey Mouse balloon entered the parade in 1934. Through the 1930s, the Parade continued to grow, with crowds of over one million people lining the parade route in 1933. Īddress labels were sewn into them, so that whoever found and mailed back the discarded balloon received a gift from Macy's. The following year, they were redesigned with safety valves to allow them to float for a few days. Felix was filled with air, but by the next year, helium was used to fill the expanding cast of balloons.Īt the finale of the 1928 parade, the balloons were released into the sky, where they unexpectedly burst. Sarg's large animal-shaped balloons, produced by the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company in Akron, Ohio, replaced the live animals in 1927 when the Felix the Cat balloon made its debut. ![]() Macy's heard about Sarg's talents and asked him to design a window display of a parade for the store. After moving to London to start his own marionette business, Sarg moved to New York City to perform with his puppets on the street. At this first parade, however, the Jolly Old Elf 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.Īnthony "Tony" Frederick Sarg loved to work with marionettes from an early age. At the end of that first parade, as has been the case with every parade since, Santa Claus was welcomed into Herald Square. There were floats, professional bands and live animals borrowed from the Central Park Zoo. ![]() In New York, the employees marched to Macy's flagship store on 34th Street dressed in vibrant costumes. ![]() In 1924, the annual Thanksgiving parade started by Louis Bamberger in Newark, New Jersey at the Bamberger's store was transferred to New York City by Macy's. Proud of their new American heritage, they wanted to celebrate the American holiday of Thanksgiving with the type of festival their parents had loved in Europe. In the 1920s, many of Macy's department store employees were first-generation European immigrants. Balloons, from left: Uncle Sam, Tom Turkey, Macy's Star, Gnome, Toy Soldier, Chloe the Clown.
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