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The 89-Year Evolution Of The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Paradehttps://www.businessinsider.in/the-89-year-evolution-of-the-macys-thanksgiving-day-parade/the-first-macys-day-parade-was-on-november-27-in-1924-the-parade-originally-featured-macys-employees-and-live-animals-from-the-central-park-zoo-floats-instead-of-balloons-were-the-main-attraction-/slidelist/26503478.cms2021-07-26T12:47:49+05:30

The 89-Year Evolution Of The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

Jul 26, 2021, 12:47 IST

The first Macy's Day Parade was on November 27 in 1924. The parade originally featured Macy's employees and live animals from the Central Park Zoo. Floats, instead of balloons, were the main attraction.

The parade began in Harlem at 145th Street and ended in front of the Macy's flagship store on 34th Street. It was originally called the Macy's Christmas Parade, but was renamed the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade in 1927.

An estimated 250,000 spectators attended the first parade. Today, about 3.5 million people attend.

In 1927, Marionette maker Tony Frederick Sarg's large animal-shaped balloons replaced the live animals in the parade.

Up until 1932, balloons were released into the sky at the end of the parade. Macy's offered a $50 reward to anyone who returned a deflated balloon.

Floats were pulled by horses up until 1939.

Over the parade's history, three main types of balloons have been used: Novelty (smaller balloons), full-sized (five to six stories high), and Blue Sky Gallery (depicts contemporary art) characters.

The first Mickey Mouse balloon debuted in 1934, while fellow Disney character Donald Duck was introduced in 1962.

Today, over 2,000 volunteers are needed to handle the balloons. Each volunteer must weigh at least 120 pounds and be in good health. Each balloon is handled by about 50 volunteers. A police officer also marches alongside each balloon.

Since 1984, a majority of the parade's balloons have been made by Raven Industries of Sioux Falls, SD.

During WWII's rubber and helium shortage, the parade was halted and balloons were deflated and donated to the government.

Since 1945, the parade has started at 77th Street and Central Park West and ended in Herald Square in front of Macy's.

This year, the parade runs along Central Park and down 6th Avenue until it reaches Macy's at 34th Street.

The parade became a more prominent part of American culture after footage from the 1946 parade was featured in the movie "Miracle on 34th Street."

In 1948, the parade was broadcast for the first time on network television.

Though CBS was the original network to air the parade, NBC has been the parade's official television broadcaster since 1952.

Initially, the telecasts were only an hour long. In 1961, the telecast expanded to two hours, then 90 minutes between 1962 and 1964, back to two hours in 1965, and by 1969, three hours of it were being televised.

The Radio City Rockettes have appeared in the parade since 1957.

Helium shortages in both 1958 and 2006 led to less balloons in the parade.

In 1997, wind gusts of up to 50 miles an hour caused many balloons to deflate.

Broadway appearances have been a parade regular since 1980 when the cast of "The Pirates of Penzance" were featured. In last year's parade, the cast of "Annie" performed.

Over the 88-year history of the parade, there have been numerous injuries caused by balloon issues. The most serious injury occurred with a Cat in the Hat balloon in 1997 and resulted in the implementation of balloon size restrictions.

After 9/11, Macy's reintroduced an old Harold the Fireman balloon from 1948 to commemorate those who helped in the aftermath of the attacks.

Starting in 2005, the original parade logo has been swapped out for a new logo every year.

Besides being used in publicity material and the ID badges worn by the parade staff, the official parade logo is rarely seen.

See this year's logo here.

(Above photo is from 2003)