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Event
Information:
The
State Street Thanksgiving Parade,
currently title sponsored by
McDonald's and officially named the
McDonald's Thanksgiving Parade (see
below), an annual parade produced
and presented by the Chicago
Festival Association (CFA) and is
often known as “Chicago’s Grand
Holiday Tradition.” It is held on
State Street in downtown Chicago,
Illinois, and the three hour event
begins each year at 8:00a.m. CT on
Thanksgiving Day. The parade is also
telecast live, locally on WGN-TV,
and nationally on WGN America.
In
1934, the United States had been in
the Great Depression for five years.
Many leaders in Chicago searched for
ways to boost the economy as well as
public spirit. Walter Gregory,
President of Chicago's State Street
Council, proposed a Christmas parade
to Chicago Mayor Edward Kelly in the
hopes that it would improve the
moods of Chicago residents. The
Mayor agreed to the parade, being
primarily interested in its
potential to improve Chicago's
economy.
Chicago's first Christmas Parade was
on State Street on December 7, 1934.
Gregory and a costumed Santa Claus
led the caravan, which was filled
with toys and various merchandise
from State Street businesses. As the
city's government officials had
hoped, the parade contributed to
desirable growth in the local
economy and 1934 held the city's
largest holiday buying period since
1927. This was both exciting and
surprising for the entire city. Not
only was it the Depression, but that
day held dangerously low
temperatures throughout the entire
state. Some areas of Illinois were
as low as fourteen degrees below
zero (fahrenheit).
In
1935, the city was in even worse
financial status as a result of the
Depression. The city could not
afford the expensive floats that
were used the year before. However,
the event had been so successful in
the previous year that The State
Street Council and the City of
Chicago agreed to use an old trolley
to pull the floats, as there were
trolley tracks on State Street at
the time.
Local
Weather:
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