1927-29 Macy's Christmas [Thanksgiving Day] Parades [Sound] |
Description: In 1927, '28 and '29, Movietone News had their sound cameras out for what was then known as Macy's Christmas Parade. The parade has been a New York City tradition since 1924. The 1927 parade ( 00:13 ) was the first to include the famous balloons, though they do not appear in these outtakes. According to news accounts, the parade included a 21-foot-high "human behemoth", a 60-foot-long dinosaur (accompanied by cavemen), a 25-foot-long dachshund, a puppet show, a Robinson Crusoe float, a Little Red Riding Hood float, a horde of piggies going to market, a giant yule log and finally the Santa Claus float. All shots were taken just south of 53rd Street where the El crossed over Broadway. The 1928 parade ( 04:16 ) included a blue elephant, 18 feet high and 40 feet long; a 60-foot tiger, a 50-foot hummingbird; and an "early bird," including worms. At the end of the parade, the balloons were released into the sky. The Movietone cameramen were at two locations, the second of which was 78th and Broadway. It was quite windy the day of the 1929 parade ( 7:15 ) and a lot of the film shows the struggles to control the balloons in the wind. Two of the balloons, a dog and a turkey, got punctures. Featured in this year's parade were figures from the Katzenjammer Kids comic strip. Again, a number of balloons were released at the end of the parade, with a $50 reward for their return. The three parades shown here all followed the same route, starting at 110th Street and proceeding south on Broadway to the Macy's store at 34th Street. Tony Sarg (1880-1942), who did Macy's holiday window displays, also designed the balloons. 
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