broadway the canyon of heroes

tic reception extended to the French
military leader reflected the fever
pitch of emotions accompanying
U.S. entry into World War I on April 6.
MAYOR JOHN F. HYL AN
1918 – 1925
T
23 JULY 18, 1927 ★ DOUBLE PARADE
FOR TWO SEPARATE TRANSATLANTIC
FLIGHTS: ONE BY COMDR. RICHARD E.
BYRD, LT. GEORGE O. NOVILLE, BERNT
BALCHEN, AND BERT ACOSTA, AND
THE OTHER BY CLARENCE D. CHAMBERLIN AND CHARLES A. LEVINE
10
OCTOBER 21, 1921 ★ ADM. LORD
DAVID BEATTY, COMMANDER OF THE
BRITISH AND ALLIED FLEETS DURING
WORLD WAR I For his role in luring
©CORBIS
1
OCTOBER 28, 1886 ★ DEDICATION
OF THE STATUE OF LIBERTY The New
York Times reported that the
festivities of the day inspired so
many office boys to throw ticker
tape out the windows that, within
a minute, “the air was white with
curling streamers.”
the German fleet into the only
major naval engagement with the
British during the war, Beatty
became known as the hero of the
Battle of Jutland.
Richard Byrd had wanted to be
the first pilot to fly the Atlantic. He
and his crew were still preparing to
leave when Lindbergh made his triumphant solo flight. The Byrd team
was further disappointed when poor
weather over Paris forced their plane
into the surf at Ver-sur-Mer, off the
coast of France, dashing their hopes
for a nonstop transatlantic flight.
The other honorees, Chamberlin
and his passenger Levine flew 3,911
miles, from Long Island to Eisleben,
Germany, breaking Lindbergh’s
record. Muggy, rainy weather and
something like a hangover from the
excesses of the Lindbergh parade
dampened the city’s reception for
the five “birdmen.” It was Byrd’s
second of three ticker-tape
receptions (see nos. 17 and 35).
11
OCTOBER 28, 1921 ★ FERDINAND
FOCH, MARSHAL OF FRANCE,
COMMANDER OF THE ALLIED ARMIES
DURING WORLD WAR I Foch was the
MAYOR HUGH J. GRANT
1889 – 1892
©Bettmann/CORBIS
6
SEPTEMBER 8, 1919 ★ GEN. JOHN J.
PERSHING, COMMANDER IN CHIEF,
AMERICAN EXPEDITIONARY FORCE IN
WORLD WAR I Following his victory
architect of the plan that halted the
last great German offensive of the
war at the river Marne. Along with
General Diaz and Admiral Beatty,
Foch traveled to America for a conference on disarmament.
in Europe, Pershing was promoted
to be general of the armies—a rank
previously held only by George
Washington. Born in Missouri and
trained at West Point (class of 1886),
Pershing earned a reputation as an
able soldier and administrator while
stationed in Cuba, the Philippines,
and Mexico before his appointment
as commander in 1917.
plishment inspired countless
female athletes and brought her
world-wide fame, far greater than
the accolades she received for winning three swimming medals in the
1924 Olympics. The 19-year-old
native New Yorker swam the entire
35 grueling miles from Cap GrisNez, France, to Dover, England,
using the crawl, a stroke then considered too tiring for long-distance
swimming. Her record-breaking 14hour and 31-minute time beat the
five previous successful crossings,
all made by men using the breaststroke, and was not bested until
1964. When asked why she undertook such a difficult task, she said
she wanted to bring honor to the
United States. She also added that
her father had promised her “a
small roadster” if she succeeded.
After losing her hearing in 1930 and
suffering a debilitating back injury
in 1933, she spent many years
teaching deaf children to swim.
NOVEMBER 18, 1922 ★ GEORGES
CLEMENCEAU, PREMIER OF FRANCE
DURING WORLD WAR I Clemenceau –
known as the “Tiger of France” –
made New York City his first stop on
a nationwide speaking tour. He
hoped to convince the American
public that France was neither a
militaristic nor imperialistic nation.
2
APRIL 29, 1889 ★ CENTENNIAL OF
GEORGE WASHINGTON’S INAUGURATION AS FIRST PRESIDENT OF THE
UNITED STATES One hundred years
19 AUGUST 27, 1926 ★ GERTRUDE
EDERLE, FIRST WOMAN TO SWIM THE
ENGLISH CHANNEL Ederle’s accom-
12
©CORBIS
13
OCTOBER 5, 1923 ★ DAVID LLOYD
GEORGE, PRIME MINISTER OF GREAT
BRITAIN DURING WORLD WAR I
King Albert and Mayor Hylan
after George Washington took the
oath of office at Federal Hall, on the
corner of Wall and Broad Streets,
New Yorkers took pride in remembering that their city had been the
site of the nation’s first capital.
During his stay in New York City, the
British statesman complimented
the United States on its success in
welding the many immigrants from
the old world into a great nation.
7
OCTOBER 3, 1919 ★ ALBERT AND
ELIZABETH, KING AND QUEEN OF THE
BELGIANS New Yorkers warmly
received their noble wartime allies.
Sensational newspaper stories of
German atrocities in Belgium, and
King Albert’s heroic resistance to
the invasion, had helped convince
reluctant Americans to send their
sons into World War I.
MAYOR ROBERT A. VAN WYCK
1898 – 1901
3
SEPTEMBER 30, 1899 ★ ADM.
GEORGE DEWEY, HERO OF THE BATTLE
OF MANILA DURING THE SPANISHAMERICAN WAR Dewey’s squadron
14
AUGUST 6, 1924 ★ U.S. OLYMPIC
ATHLETES, ON THEIR RETURN FROM
THE PARIS GAMES The U.S. swept
all five titles in tennis and 13 out of
16 swimming events. American
swimmer Johnny Weissmuller won
three gold medals. He subsequently went to Hollywood where
he starred in a dozen movies as
“Tarzan the Ape Man.” Another
member of the 1924 American
Olympic team, rower Benjamin
Spock, later achieved great renown
as a pediatrician and book author.
slipped into Manila harbor at midnight on May 2, 1898, and in 12
hours destroyed the Spanish fleet,
with only eight Americans
wounded. On his return to the U.S.,
Dewey was greeted with wild
enthusiasm and briefly considered
a potential presidential candidate.
24
NOVEMBER 11, 1927 ★ RUTH
ELDER, FIRST WOMAN TO ATTEMPT A
TRANSATLANTIC FLIGHT, WITH PILOT
GEORGE HALDEMAN Dubbed the
“Flying Flapper” by the popular
press, Ruth Elder wanted to be the
first woman to fly across the
Atlantic. The would-be actress and
former dental hygienist should
have waited for spring weather.
Fortunately, she and Haldeman had
wisely decided to chart a course
over busy shipping lanes. When
they crashed in the Atlantic near
the Azores, 28 hours and 2,632
miles after leaving Roosevelt Field,
they were quickly scooped up by a
Dutch oil tanker. Although falling
short of their goal, they did
achieve the longest flight entirely
over water. For a time, the Alabamaborn, “comely Dixie aviatrix”
some money for my kids,” was the
thought that inspired the DanishAmerican 27-year-old mother of
two to make her 15-hour-38-minute
crossing. She was an hour slower
than Gertrude Ederle, but still faster
than any male swimmer. Corson
went on the lecture circuit to
capitalize on her well-publicized
athletic feat.
end of World War I, the Prince of
Wales set out on a world tour to promote British commerce and industry.
BA
1 Broadway
Mercantile Marine
Company Building
L–R: George Haldeman, Ruth Elder,
Official Greeter Grover Whalen
SEPTEMBER 10, 1926 ★ MILLE
GADE CORSON, FIRST MOTHER AND
SECOND WOMAN TO SWIM THE
ENGLISH CHANNEL “I’ve got to make
NOVEMBER 18, 1919 ★ EDWARD
ALBERT, PRINCE OF WALES After the
37 SEPTEMBER 3, 1930 ★ CAPT.
DIEUDONNÉ COSTES AND MAURICE
BELLONTE FOR THE FIRST NONSTOP
TRANSATLANTIC FLIGHT FROM PARIS
TO LONG ISLAND Three years after
TTE
©Bettman/CORBIS
28
JULY 6, 1928 ★ AMELIA EARHART,
FIRST WOMAN TO COMPLETE A
TRANSATLANTIC FLIGHT, WITH PILOTS
WILMER STULZ AND LOUIS E. GORDON
Flying had been only a weekend
hobby for the tall, slender social
worker until she met her future husband, book publisher George
Palmer Putnam. He decided Earhart
would be the first woman to fly successfully across the Atlantic.
Newspaper reporters played up her
resemblance to Charles Lindbergh,
calling her “Lady Lindy.”
PL
1
5-11 Broadway
Bowling Green
Offifices Building
5
7
9
11
13
17
38 JULY 2, 1931 ★ WILEY POST AND
HAROLD GATTY, FOR THEIR FLIGHT
AROUND THE WORLD (8 DAYS, 15
HOURS, 51 MINUTES) Wiley Post and
his navigator Harold Gatty flew
from, and returned to, Roosevelt
Field on Long Island in a Lockheed
Vega B5. They beat the 21-day
record for circumnavigation held by
the German airship Graf Zeppelin.
The lighter-than-air dirigible,
carrying 20 passengers, made the
Atlantic crossing from Friedrichshafen, Germany, to Lakehurst,
New Jersey, in four days, 15 hours,
and 44 minutes.
21
23
28
FLORIDA Captain Fried’s second
ticker-tape parade (see no. 15)
celebrated another dramatic North
Atlantic sea rescue. Fried and his
crew plucked 32 officers and seamen from the foundering freighter
in a raging storm. Harry Manning
was commander of the lifeboat.
built his craft, a 45-foot yawl, at the
Minneford Yacht Yards on City
Island, in the Bronx. The 23-yearold captain and his crew of six
young men sailed across the
Atlantic in 17 days, 14 hours, and
40 seconds. They attributed their
victory to “good luck” and to
choosing a northerly course, unlike
the other contestants, who
followed the Gulf Stream.
31
OCTOBER 4, 1929 ★ RAMSAY
MACDONALD, PRIME MINISTER OF
GREAT BRITAIN Born the illegitimate
son of a servant, by 1924
MacDonald had risen to become
the prime minister and foreign secretary of Great Britain’s first Labour
Party–led government.
30
32
35
46 AUGUST 1, 1933 ★ PILOTS AMY
JOHNSON AND CAPT. JAMES A.
MOLLISON, THE FIRST MARRIED COUPLE TO FLY THE ATLANTIC Johnson
and Mollison both had been recordbreaking British aviators prior to
their 1932 marriage. Johnson was
the first woman to fly from England
to Australia, and Mollison had
made the first solo westward
transatlantic flight from Ireland to
New Brunswick. The couple’s
transatlantic voyage began at
Pendine Sands in Southern Wales.
They intended to fly to New York
City, but their plane ran short of fuel
and they crash-landed at
Bridgeport, Connecticut, escaping
with only minor injuries. The couple
divorced in 1938. In 1941, Amy
Johnson drowned in the Thames
River after jumping from her faltering plane. Her body was never
recovered.
MAYOR FIORELLO H. L AGUARDIA
1934 – 1945
39 SEPTEMBER 2, 1931 ★ OLIN J.
STEPHENS JR. AND THE CREW OF THE
DORADE, WINNERS OF A TRANSATLANTIC YACHT RACE FROM NEWPORT,
RHODE ISLAND, TO PLYMOUTH,
ENGLAND Stephens designed and
JANUARY 28, 1929 ★ CAPTAIN
GEORGE FRIED, CHIEF OFFICER HARRY
MANNING, AND THE CREW OF THE
STEAMSHIP AMERICA FOR RESCUING
THE CREW OF THE ITALIAN FREIGHTER
25 Broadway
Cunard Building
15
L–R: Mrs. Gatty, Wiley Post, Mayor Walker,
Harold Gatty, Mrs. Post (©CORBIS)
29 OCTOBER 16, 1928 ★ DR. HUGO
ECKENER AND THE CREW OF THE DIRIGIBLE GRAF ZEPPELIN FOR THE FIRST
COMMERCIAL TRANSATLANTIC FLIGHT
RY
Historic
Battery
Park
Lindbergh’s west-to-east voyage,
two French aviators conquered the
more difficult east-to-west crossing, a 37-hour and 17-minute flight
across the Atlantic from LeBourget
Field, Paris, to Curtiss Field, Long
Island.
30
20
8
40
★ PIERRE
OCTOBER 22, 1931
LAVAL, PREMIER OF FRANCE The
French leader was feted in New
York City on his way to Washington,
D.C., for talks with President
Hoover. New Yorkers couldn’t know
that ten years later, when France
fell to the Germans, Laval would
become vice-premier in the Vichy
government under Marshal Pétain
37
39
41
43
©Bettmann/CORBIS
47
SEPTEMBER 3, 1936 ★ JESSE
OWENS AND MEMBERS OF THE U.S.
OLYMPIC TEAM ON THEIR RETURN
FROM THE BERLIN GAMES The
African-American athlete Owens
upset Adolph Hitler’s theories of
Aryan superiority by winning four
gold medals in track and field
events. Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia
presented medals to the American
team at ceremonies on Randall’s
Island after the parade. Alluding to
the German press comment that
America would have been nowhere
without its “black auxiliary force,”
Mayor LaGuardia said, “We are all
Americans here and we have no
auxiliaries in this country.”
44
48
49
couple traveled to New York to
dedicate the Norwegian exhibit at
the World’s Fair. After the Nazi
invasion of Norway in 1940, Martha
accepted President Roosevelt’s
offer of asylum in the U.S., while
Olav established a government-inexile in London. The attractive
princess was a frequent guest at the
White House, where her lively
companionship and good cheer
were much appreciated by the
President during the grim war years.
51
MAY 1, 1939 ★ REAR ADM.
ALFRED W. JOHNSON, OFFICERS AND
MEN OF THE ATLANTIC SQUADRON OF
THE U.S. FLEET The fleet came to
Plains, New York, Willie Turnesa
was one of seven golf-playing
brothers, and the only one who
never became a professional golfer.
TRUMAN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED
STATES Truman made a five-minute
stop at City Hall before motoring on
to Central Park, where he delivered
a major address to the nation delineating 12 fundamental points of
U.S. foreign policy.
E
STAT
ST
ADM. WILLIAM F. HALSEY JR.,
COMMANDER OF THE NAVY’S THIRD
FLEET IN WORLD WAR II Halsey’s
ships felled 3,000 Japanese planes
and sank 1,650 enemy boats.
Drew Pearson (©CORBIS)
66
NOVEMBER 18, 1947 ★
FRIENDSHIP TRAIN BEARING GIFTS
AND SUPPLIES FROM THE UNITED
STATES TO EUROPE Newspaper
L–R: Official Greeter Grover Whalen with General
Eisenhower and his wife Mamie
52
JUNE 19, 1945 ★ GEN. DWIGHT D.
EISENHOWER, SUPREME COMMANDER
OF THE ALLIED EXPEDITIONARY FORCE
IN WORLD WAR II “Don’t Throw
53
AUGUST 27, 1945 ★ GENERAL
CHARLES DE GAULLE, PRESIDENT OF
THE PROVISIONAL GOVERNMENT OF
FRANCE The Gallic leader was
United
States
Customs
House
Buildings noted are
New York City designated
landmarks.
WH
BE
Please note the location
of individual Canyon of
Heroes markers is subject
to change.
AV
18
24
25
ST
26
27
29
31
33
34
36
Prime Minister Winston Churchill and his wife Clementine
67
ST
14
12
10
8
6
4
3
ON
2
T
ES
MAYOR WILLIAM J. GAYNOR
1910 – 1913
©Bettmann/CORBIS
4 JUNE 18, 1910 ★ THEODORE
ROOSEVELT, FORMER PRESIDENT OF
THE UNITED STATES, ON HIS RETURN
FROM AN AFRICAN SAFARI Although
Roosevelt was fond of quoting the
old West African proverb “Speak
softly and carry a big stick, you will
go far,” his weapon of choice on
safari was a gun with which he
bagged 17 lions, 11 elephants, 20
rhinoceroses, and 464 other animals. The only native New Yorker to
serve as president of the United
States, Roosevelt succeeded
William McKinley following his
assassination in 1901.
He was 25 years old and the most
popular member of the royal family.
Unexpectedly, Edward’s remarkable
sense of style gave the greatest
boost to British trade. Exports
boomed as mills and factories in
England worked overtime to meet
the demand generated by men
around the world who wanted to
dress like the prince. The press carefully chronicled his ever-changing
wardrobe. The Globe’s description
of his outfit for the City Hall reception following the parade was typical: “He wore a light gray overcoat,
over a bluish gray suit, with a delicate check mixture, tan cordovan
brogue oxfords, heavy brown golf
stockings, a blue tie, with red stripes,
and a black bowler hat, tilted at a
rakish angle. He carried a cane that
seemed class itself.” Edward
ascended the throne in January
1936, only to abdicate after 325 days
in order to marry “the woman I
love,” the American divorcée Wallis
Simpson. He was subsequently
made Duke of Windsor, served during the war years as governor of the
Bahamas, and spent the rest of his
life in retirement in Paris, where he
died in 1972.
MAYOR JAMES J. WALKER
1926 – 1932
15 FEBRUARY 16, 1926 ★ CAPT.
GEORGE FRIED AND THE CREW OF THE
STEAMSHIP PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT
FOR RESCUING THE CREW OF THE
BRITISH FREIGHTER ANTINOE New
Yorkers by the thousands braved
bitter winter weather to salute
Captain Fried and his crew, who
had battled violent seas in a North
Atlantic storm for four days to save
all 25 men of the Antinoe.
L-R: Official Greeter Grover Whalen,
President Cosgrave, Mayor Walker
25 JANUARY 20, 1928 ★ WILLIAM T.
COSGRAVE, PRESIDENT OF IRELAND
New York City officials feared that
the political unrest in Ireland might
follow Cosgrave across the Atlantic.
There were almost as many policemen as spectators along the parade
route as he sped through the city
on a three-hour visit.
MAY 27, 1926 ★ GUSTAF ADOLPH
AND LOUISE, CROWN PRINCE AND
PRINCESS OF SWEDEN Newspaper
flew from Kings Bay, Spitsbergen
(Norway), to the North Pole in a
Fokker trimotor. They named their
aircraft the Josephine Ford, for the
daughter of Edsel Ford, a primary
backer of the mission. This was the
first of three ticker-tape parades
that Byrd would receive for daring
exploits during his lifetime (see
nos. 23 and 35).
42
32 APRIL 29, 1930 ★ HENRY LEWIS
STIMSON, SECRETARY OF STATE, AND
U.S. DELEGATES RETURNING FROM
THE LONDON NAVAL DISARMAMENT
CONFERENCE Stimson, principal
negotiator for the U.S., brokered
the agreement that sought to eliminate naval competition between
the U.S., England, Japan, France,
and Italy.
courage and assistance to the
American cause in the Revolutionary
War had long symbolized the bond
between the U.S. and France. A
century and a half later, New Yorkers
honored his descendants with a
fitting reception.
34
JUNE 11, 1930 ★ DR. JULIO
PRESTES DE ALBUQUERQUE, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF BRAZIL The
famously tardy Mayor Walker had to
admit that the seven hours Dr.
Prestes kept him waiting was a
record he could not beat. The Brazilian statesman’s arrival had been
delayed by fog in the Lower Bay.
16
17 JUNE 23, 1926 ★ LT. COMDR.
RICHARD E. BYRD AND FLOYD
BENNETT FOR THE FIRST FLIGHT OVER
THE NORTH POLE Byrd and Bennett
40
MAY 26, 1930 ★ MARQUIS
JACQUES DE DAMPIERRE AND FAMILY,
DESCENDANTS OF THE MARQUIS DE
LAFAYETTE, PASSENGERS ON THE
MAIDEN VOYAGE OF THE FRENCH
OCEAN LINER LAFAYETTE Lafayette’s
21 OCTOBER 18, 1926 ★ MARIE,
QUEEN OF RUMANIA The granddaughter of Czar Alexander II of
Russia and Queen Victoria of
England, Marie was instrumental in
bringing Romania into WWI on the
side of the Allies. Marie had just
two hours for her visit, but that was
long enough for New Yorkers to
express their appreciation with a
ticker-tape parade.
38
33
Queen Marie and Mayor Walker
Princess Louise and Crown Prince
Gustaf Adolph (©CORBIS)
reporters interviewed the prince
during his New York City visit. “It
was a most amusing and interesting experience,” said His Royal
Highness, commenting on his first
encounter with journalists.
MARCH 9, 1948 ★ EAMON DE
VALERA, FORMER PRIME MINISTER OF
IRELAND Born in New York City in
58 MARCH 15, 1946 ★ WINSTON
CHURCHILL, PRIME MINISTER OF
GREAT BRITAIN DURING WORLD WAR II
OCTOBER 17, 1949 ★
JAWAHARLAL NEHRU, PRIME MINISTER
OF INDIA Nehru was India’s first
71
★ EURICO GASPAR
MAY 23, 1949
DUTRA, PRESIDENT OF BRAZIL Dutra
spearheaded the overthrow of
Brazilian dictator Getulio Vargas in
1945, and served as president until
Vargas returned to power in 1951.
of the Filipino underground during
World War II. His wife and three of
his five children were killed by the
Japanese invaders.
1882 and raised in Ireland, De
Valera hoped to be the Irish leader
who would one day come to the
U.S. to announce that all of Ireland
was united and free. He died in
1975, with the cause to which he
devoted his life still elusive.
51
53
55
57
59
62
63
88 APRIL 20, 1951 ★ GEN. DOUGLAS
MACARTHUR In one of the biggest
ticker-tape parades in New York
City history, an estimated 7.5 million spectators turned out to welcome home the five-star general
after his sensational firing by
President Truman. MacArthur was
relieved of his command after calling for an escalation of the Korean
War, an escalation that Truman
believed risked touching off World
War III.
83
JUNE 2, 1950 ★ FOURTH MARINE
DIVISION ASSOCIATION VETERANS OF
PACIFIC BATTLES IN WORLD WAR II
prime minister after independence
from Britain. At City Hall, Nehru said
he was “overwhelmed” by his
reception. “The people along the
street,” he said, “looked at me with
friendly eyes and friendly faces.
That means more to me than this
ceremony.” His daughter Indira
Gandhi accompanied him on the
New York City trip. She would lead
India from 1966 until her assassination in 1984.
Mayor O’Dwyer and President Dutra
General Clifton B. Cates, commandant of the Marine Corps, used his
speech at City Hall to answer critics
who said the Marines had outlived
their usefulness. “The Marine
Corps may look to the past for its
inspiration,” he said, “but I can
assure you it looks to the future for
its justification.”
L–R: Official Greeter Grover Whalen, Shah of Iran,
Mayor O’Dwyer
71
95
OCTOBER 29, 1951 ★ 50
WOUNDED UNITED NATIONS VETERANS OF THE KOREAN WAR Injured
soldiers from 19 nations toured the
country under the sponsorship of
the U.S. Defense Department “to
foster understanding of the United
Nations effort to resist communist
aggression in Korea.”
84
throne in 1941 and narrowly
escaped assassination in 1949.
remarks, Menzies promised that
Australian soldiers would soon be
fighting alongside the Americans in
Korea. In the 1960s, he dispatched
his troops to support the U.S. war
effort in South Vietnam.
AUGUST 4, 1950 ★ ROBERT
GORDON MENZIES, PRIME MINISTER
OF AUSTRALIA In his post-parade
NOVEMBER 21, 1949 ★
MOHAMMED REZA PAHLEVI, SHAH OF
IRAN The Shah ascended to the
cheered wildly when a car in the
motorcade carrying Joe DiMaggio
and three other Yankee teammates
passed by. “Mr. Baseball,” the 86year-old Cornelius McGillicuddy,
a.k.a. Connie Mack, received a
polite welcome. At the City Hall ceremony, Mayor O’Dwyer informed
the audience that “Mr. Mack was
once the person I hated most in the
entire United States,” recalling the
Athletics’ 1911 defeat of the New
York Giants in the World Series.
“But old wounds have healed,” he
concluded. O’Dwyer saluted the
friendly rivalry between the New
York and Philadelphia teams, and
honored Connie Mack for his 66
years in organized baseball, noting
that as athlete, manager, and
owner, his life story was truly a history of the game.
first prime minister, governed from
1948 to 1953. The trip was a homecoming for Ben-Gurion’s Brooklynborn wife Paula Moonvess, and she
received almost as much attention
as he did.
Mayor O’Dwyer and Prime Minister Menzies
77
MAY 24, 1951 ★ U.S. ARMY 4TH
INFANTRY DIVISION, EIGHTH
REGIMENTAL COMBAT TEAM: THE
FIRST NATO TROOPS TO BE SENT
OVERSEAS There was little cheering
85 AUGUST 22, 1950 ★ LT. GEN.
CLARENCE R. HUEBNER, COMMANDER
OF U.S. ARMED FORCES IN EUROPE
City reporters that the Communist
Party in Chile was not a democratic
political party, but rather “an invisible army at the service of Russia’s
imperialism.”
72
73
74
along the parade route as the soldiers marched off to fight in the
Korean war.
General Huebner was the highestranking member of the First U.S.
Infantry Division. Between World
War I and II, the Division had
its official home at Fort Hamilton
in Brooklyn.
71 Broadway
Empire Building
76
78
81
82
84
96
NOVEMBER 13, 1951 ★ WOMEN IN
THE ARMED SERVICES The U.S.
97 JANUARY 17, 1952 ★ CAPT.
HENRIK KURT CARLSEN FOR HIS
HEROIC ATTEMPT TO SAVE HIS SINKING SHIP, THE S.S. FLYING
90
78 APRIL 17, 1950 ★ GABRIEL
GONZALEZ VIDELA, PRESIDENT OF
CHILE Videla informed New York
Assistant Secretary of Defense Anna Rosenberg greets
potential women recruits
Defense Department asked the city
to stage a parade dramatizing the
need for 72,000 women recruits in
all service branches. Forty women
signed up at the City Hall ceremony.
Mayor O’Dwyer dons Chilean native costume to greet
President Videla
65 Broadway
American Express
Company Building
68
Australian Army Sgt. Allen Carmichael and Navy Petty
Officer Reginald Bairstow
89 MAY 9, 1951 ★ DAVID
BEN-GURION, PRIME MINISTER OF
ISRAEL The Zionist leader, Israel’s
taken on a 62-mile trip through
22 JUNE 13, 1927 ★ CHARLES A.
LINDBERGH, FOR THE FIRST SOLO
NONSTOP TRANSATLANTIC FLIGHT
The moment he landed in Paris on
May 21, 1927—33 hours, 30 minutes, and 28 seconds after leaving
Long Island—Lindbergh became
the focus of unprecedented world
adulation, and the first media
superstar of the 20th century. His
ticker-tape parade had ten thousand soldiers and sailors leading
the way, and shredded paper and
confetti so thick that few could
even see the young aviator.
Grover Whalen (see photo, parade no. ) did not invent the ticker-tape parade, but he is credited
with making it a New York City institution. Appointed by Mayor Hylan as the city’s official greeter
GROVER WHALEN
in , Whalen had the idea to throw ticker-tape receptions for returning World War I soldiers and
to continue the practice for distinguished guests over the next three decades. Famous for his top hat and the carnation he always
wore in his lapel, the handsome Manhattan-born host presided over more than , public events and organized more than 
ticker-tape parades before he retired in . In addition to his unsalaried protocol duties, Whalen helped found the municipal radio
station WNYC, headed the organization that built the  ⁄ New York World’s Fair, and, in , inaugurated the Coty
American Fashion Critics’ Annual Award for clothing design. Whalen died in  at age .
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26 Broadway
Standard Oil
Building
received the attention she dreamed
of, with her every change of
costume duly noted in the press.
Her subsequent vaudeville tour and
film career were less than stellar.
Married six times, she died in San
Francisco in 1977.
ER
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H
ITE
ALL
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73 AUGUST 19, 1949 ★ CONNIE MACK
ON HIS 50TH YEAR AS MANAGER OF
THE PHILADELPHIA ATHLETICS BASEBALL TEAM The partisan crowd
Churchill’s 1946 visit to the U.S.
became justly famous for the
speech he made at Fulton, Missouri,
in which he coined the phrase “Iron
Curtain.” His post-parade remarks
at New York’s City Hall were equally
noteworthy. With his country and
Europe in ruins at war’s end, he
declared that the power of the
United States was now the “greatest of any nation since the fall of
the Roman Empire.”
L–R: Official Greeter Grover Whalen,
General de Gaulle, Mayor LaGuardia (©CORBIS)
sound of Mexican folk songs
played by the Banda Tipica, a 46member costumed band from
Mexico City on hand to entertain
the visiting dignitaries.
columnist Drew Pearson conceived
the idea of the Friendship Train,
which collected food from
Americans to help war-ravaged
Europe. It eventually grew to 500
cars in length, carrying 11,000 tons
of food from around the country.
L–R: Former Irish Finance Minister Frank Aiken,
City Council President Vincent Impellitteri,
Prime Minister De Valera
The regiment, formed as the 69th
Infantry of the New York State
Militia on October 12, 1851, won
fame as the “Fighting 69th.” It
became the 165th Infantry in 1917.
MAY 10, 1950 ★ TEN FOREIGN
MAYORS ATTENDING THE 18TH
ANNUAL U.S. CONFERENCE OF
MAYORS City Hall echoed with the
AUGUST 11, 1949 ★ ELPIDIO
QUIRINO, PRESIDENT OF THE
PHILIPPINES Quirino was a leader
1946 – 1950
94 OCTOBER 8, 1951 ★ NEW YORK
NATIONAL GUARD’S 165TH INFANTRY
REGIMENT ON ITS CENTENNIAL
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MAYOR WILLIAM O’DWYER
Paper at Ike!” The newspapers
reminded potential revelers that,
with Americans still fighting in the
Pacific, paper was needed for the
war effort. Mayor Fiorello
LaGuardia met Eisenhower at
LaGuardia Airport. As the motorcade traveled through Manhattan
to the Battery for the start of the
traditional parade, New Yorkers
couldn’t resist the temptation to
honor the victorious leader with a
shower of ticker tape all along his
route. At City Hall, LaGuardia
presented Eisenhower with a gold
medal and honorary citizenship
of the city.
with another woman. She went on
to become a nightclub singer
known as “La Tigresa,” and in 1995
was elected to the Mexican senate.
ENTERPRISE Carlsen spent 12 days
aboard his doomed vessel to prevent it being claimed for salvage by
another ship. He was finally persuaded to abandon ship just 40
minutes before it sank off Lizard
Point, the southernmost tip of
England. The city built a model of
the ship’s bow on the steps of City
Hall to honor the captain, a native
of Elsinore, Denmark, and a resident of Woodbridge, New Jersey.
Trinity Church
and Graveyard
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BR OAD WAY THE CANYON OF HER OES
Arturo DiModica sculpture
Charging Bull
Bowling Green
Fence
O’Dwyer remarked that the exhibition “will contribute immensely to
the realization that France remains
the great bastion of Western
European culture that she has
always been.”
57 DECEMBER 14, 1945 ★ FLEET
town to take part in opening ceremonies for the World’s Fair.
West Germany. Led by General Clay,
the U.S. military conducted a massive airlift that brought in 8,000
tons of food and fuel each day,
keeping 2.5 million people alive for
more than a year until the blockade
was lifted.
65 NOVEMBER 5, 1947 ★ OFFICERS
AND CREW OF THE FRENCH WARSHIP
GEORGES LEYGUES FOR BRINGING
RARE FRENCH TAPESTRIES FOR EXHIBITION AT THE METROPOLITAN
MUSEUM OF ART Mayor William
56 OCTOBER 27, 1945 ★ HARRY S.
BROADWAY
ST
here is no thrill quite like a ticker-tape parade. All
along Broadway, from the Battery to City Hall, hundreds
of thousands of spectators crowd the sidewalks and look
down from skyscraper windows. They cheer and shout and
toss confetti in a shower that becomes a blizzard of shredded
paper falling on the motorcade below. Flags, marching bands, and
music herald the procession. At City Hall,
the mayor presents the honored guest with
a proclamation, a medal, a scroll, or a key
to the city. In two hundred parades, over
more than one hundred years, the city has
bestowed this unique tribute on champion athletes, pioneers of
air and space travel, soldiers, sailors, sea captains, firemen, headsof-state, politicians, journalists, and a virtuoso pianist.
Ticker-tape parades evolved from New York City’s long
history of public celebrations. In the colonial era, soldiers
displayed their colors in ceremonial reviews. Following the
American Revolution, parades commemorated events of national
importance, such as Evacuation Day and Independence Day.
The city staged parades to mark the completion of the Croton
Aqueduct, the Erie Canal, the Brooklyn Bridge, and other great
public-works achievements of the th century. Parades
sponsored by political parties, immigrant groups, and labor
organizations became a regular feature of city life. Parades
afforded more than just free entertainment; they helped unify a
diverse immigrant population in a rapidly growing city.
Ticker tape and skyscrapers added new excitement to
New York City parades. Invented in , ticker tape was a
one-inch-wide ribbon of paper on which the “ticker” machine
recorded telegraphed stock quotes. Brokerage firms using the
ticker machine proliferated in lower
Manhattan, then as now the city’s financial
district, and provided an abundant supply
of scrap paper. In the latter part of the th
century, skyscrapers replaced low buildings
and turned the narrow downtown streets into stone canyons.
Office workers quickly discovered that ticker tape sent swirling
into the air created a dramatic effect.
Contemporary accounts of the earliest ticker-tape parades
describe the cascade of scrap paper as a spontaneous gesture
on the part of spectators inspired by the festivities outside their
windows. As the practice grew, city officials recognized the
promotional value of ticker-tape parades and began to plan them
as a function of municipal government. From  to the
present day, the mayor of New York City has decided who will
receive a ticker-tape parade.
The first officially organized ticker-tape parades welcomed
home the victorious soldiers of World War I. New York City
customarily greeted important foreign visitors with great fanfare.
In the , with ticker tape seen as a modernization of the
ancient ritual of strewing flowers before conquerors, it became
routine to hail arriving heads-of-state with a paper shower.
The city started a tradition of recognizing champion athletes
with the ticker-tape parade for the American Olympic team
in . The massive reception for pioneering aviator Charles
Lindbergh in  attracted hundreds of thousands of
spectators to lower Manhattan and made the ticker-tape
parade famous around the world.
The city staged  ticker-tape parades from  to .
More than half of these events greeted visiting heads-of-state,
usually at the request of the U.S. State Department. Patriotic
display, an important element in all
parades, prevailed in ticker-tape receptions
of this era. Returning World War II
leaders, troops sent to fight in Korea,
retiring high-ranking military personnel,
and foreign dignitaries all received ticker-tape parades that
prominently featured men and women of the armed services.
The city perfected the art of an efficient ticker-tape parade
during this period, when as many as three were held in three days
(May ‒, ). Coordinated by the mayor’s office, with
assistance from the police department and other New York City
municipal agencies, the parades formed at the Battery. This
practice dated from the time when travelers to the city arrived via
ocean liner. The parade started at noon in order to take advantage
of lunch-hour crowds. Marching bands from one or more
branches of the military service, or from departments of city
government, led the parade. Accompanied by the city’s chief of
protocol, and escorted by motorcycle-riding New York City
police officers, the honoree rode up Broadway in an open
limousine. A luncheon banquet at a midtown hotel usually
followed the City Hall ceremony.
In , the Chrysler Corporation custom-built an Imperial
“phaeton” limousine expressly for New York City ticker-tape
parades. It featured a rear-seat windshield,
leather upholstery, red carpeting, built-in
flag holders, and a special cushion atop the
backseat for the dignitary who wanted to sit
up high. The phaeton, with restyled fenders
and grill, is still used in ticker-tape parades today.
By the early , there had been so many ticker-tape
parades that they came to be viewed as synthetic and routine. The
city had to deliver confetti and shredded paper to buildings along
Broadway to ensure the honored guest an appropriate cascade of
paper. Businesses in lower Manhattan complained of disruptions.
The parades seemed anachronistic to many Americans who were
beginning to question authority and shun patriotic display.
When John Lindsay, New York’s youthful new mayor, took
office in , he announced that his administration would
discontinue the ticker-tape parade in favor
of more informal receptions tailored to the
special interests of the guest. Lindsay did
not give up parades completely. The
spectacular success of America’s Apollo
space program in 1969 cried out for tickertape celebrations. He broke with tradition, however, by riding
with the Apollo astronauts in their motorcades. Previous mayors
had waited at City Hall to greet the honored guests, who were
escorted up Broadway by the city’s chief of protocol.
As the th century drew to a close, the ticker-tape parade
regained some of the excitement and spontaneity of its earlier
years. Lindsay’s  parade for the New York Mets established a
new tradition for baseball teams who won
the World Series. The parades for the
Korean and Vietnam war veterans, though
organized many years after the fact,
acknowledged a growing revival in
patriotism. The parade for the Gulf War
soldiers in  recalled the custom of welcoming home the
troops. The numbers of spectators, estimated in the millions,
thronging lower Manhattan to hail the sports stars of recent years,
have not been seen since the days of the aviators in the .
After more than a century, the New York City ticker-tape parade
remains the ultimate mark of approval for a job well-done.
The ticker-tape parades in the following list all took place, at
least in part, along the traditional route from the Battery, up
Broadway, to City Hall.
Kenneth R. Cobb
Director, New York City Municipal Archives
Tyre Jones, Jr., had a handsome
face, a sense of humor, and a flair
for the dramatic—and played a
great game of golf. His success
on the links drew Americans to the
sport in record numbers during
the 1920s.
idol told newspaper reporters that
New York reminded him of Naples:
“The spirit of the American people
is the same spirit of Italy, and if it
were not for the difference in language, I would imagine myself back
in Italy.”
64 JUNE 9, 1947 ★ WILLIE
TURNESA, BRITISH AMATEUR GOLF
CHAMPION, AND FELLOW MEMBERS
OF THE VICTORIOUS AMERICAN
WALKER CUP TEAM Born in White
WALL ST
MAY 9, 1917 ★ JOSEPH J. C. JOFFRE,
MARSHAL OF FRANCE The enthusias-
50 APRIL 27, 1939 ★ OLAV AND
MARTHA, CROWN PRINCE AND
PRINCESS OF NORWAY The royal
ST
5
Charles Lindbergh’s legendary ticker-tape reception in  was one of  parades celebrating
achievements in aviation. The exploits of the daring pilots were more than just publicity
THE AVIATORS
stunts—they helped focus popular attention on the commercial possibilities of aviation. Of all
the offers Lindbergh received after his famous flight, ranging from film contracts in Hollywood to a cabinet-level position in
Washington, he chose a three-month tour to promote aircraft as a regular means of transport for both goods and people.
18 JULY 2, 1926 ★ BOBBY JONES,
BRITISH OPEN CHAMPION Robert
RECTOR
9 OCTOBER 19, 1921 ★ GEN. ARMANDO
V. DIAZ, CHIEF OF STAFF OF THE
ITALIAN ARMY The Italian military
26
APRIL 30, 1928 ★ CAPT.
HERMANN KOEHL, MAJ. JAMES
FITZMAURICE AND BARON GUENTHER
VON HUENEFELD FOR THE LONGEST
WESTWARD TRANSATLANTIC FLIGHT
As soon as the German and Irish
aviators took off from Dublin,
headed for New York, on April 12,
1928, thousands of spectators
gathered at Long Island’s Mitchel
Field to await their arrival. After
flying 37 hours, a dangerous storm
and mechanical difficulties forced
the crew to land on Greenly Island,
Labrador. The disappointed crowds
waiting in New York were nonetheless elated at news of their safe,
but premature, landing in North
America. They quickly began preparations for a ticker-tape parade to
celebrate this great achievement.
27
MAY 4, 1928 ★ PRINCE LUDOVICO
POTENZIANI SPADA, GOVERNOR OF
ROME The ticker-tape parade
and reception was Mayor James
J. Walker’s way of thanking
the prince, his host in Rome the
previous summer.
and institute a reign of terror. He
drafted laborers for German factories, cooperated in the persecution
and deportation of Jews to death
camps, and advocated collaboration with the Nazis. After the war he
was tried for treason and executed.
41 OCTOBER 26, 1931
PHILLIPPE PÉTAIN, MARSHAL OF
FRANCE New Yorkers saluted
★ HENRI
Pétain for his heroism during World
War I, long before he earned a
death sentence (later commuted to
life imprisonment) for collaboration
with the Nazis in World War II.
42
NOVEMBER 30, 1931 ★ DINO
GRANDI, FOREIGN MINISTER OF ITALY
As a representative of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, Grandi gave
the fascist salute at his City Hall
reception. Later in the day, anti-fascist demonstrators hung him in
effigy in Union Square.
43 JUNE 20, 1932
EARHART, FOR THE FIRST SOLO
TRANSATLANTIC FLIGHT BY A WOMAN
★ AMELIA
Determined to set a flight record
of her own (see no. 28), Earhart
(now Mrs. Putnam) flew from
Newfoundland to Dublin, the first
solo and longest nonstop flight by a
woman. Five years later, with copilot Frederick J. Noonan, she
attempted to fly around the world.
With two-thirds of their flight completed, they departed from New
Guinea on July 1, 1937, but were
never seen again. Their fate
remains a mystery.
MAYOR JOHN P. O’BRIEN
1933
44
35 JUNE 18, 1930 ★ REAR ADM.
RICHARD E. BYRD FOR HIS FIRST
ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION AND FLIGHT
OVER THE SOUTH POLE The expedition began in 1927 with 41 men, two
ships, four planes, 94 dogs, and
food and supplies for two years. On
November 28, 1929, Byrd, along
with Bernt Balchen, Ashley
McKinley, and Harold June, flew
from their base camp at the Bay of
Whales to the South Pole. They
returned to New York in June 1930
for a ticker-tape reception, the third
for Byrd (see nos. 17 and 23).
36 JULY 2, 1930 ★ BOBBY JONES,
BRITISH OPEN CHAMPION Jones
earned his second ticker-tape
parade (see no. 18) for being the
first American to win both the
British open golf championship and
the British amateur crown.
Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens,
where he visited Idlewild Airport
(now Kennedy), then under construction. De Gaulle resigned the
presidency in January 1946 when
it became clear that his views
favoring a strong executive would
not be incorporated into a new
constitution.
JULY 21, 1933 ★ ITALIAN AIR
MARSHAL ITALO BALBO AND THE
CREWS OF 24 SEAPLANES FOR THEIR
FLIGHT FROM ROME TO CHICAGO The
mass formation of seaplanes flying
6,065 miles in 49 hours was
intended to demonstrate the technical prowess of “modern fascist
Italy.” In 1940, during World War II,
Balbo was killed by friendly fire as
he flew over North Africa.
45
JULY 26, 1933 ★ WILEY POST
FOR THE FIRST SOLO FLIGHT AROUND
THE WORLD (7 DAYS, 18 HOURS, 49
MINUTES) Post bested his own
circumnavigation record in his
Lockheed Vega 5B, Winnie Mae,
flying from, and returning to, Floyd
Bennett Field, Brooklyn. In 1935
he was killed in a plane crash
in Alaska, along with the humorist
Will Rogers.
©Bettmann/CORBIS
48 JULY 15, 1938 ★ HOWARD
HUGHES AND CREW FOR THEIR
RECORD-BREAKING FLIGHT AROUND
THE WORLD (3 DAYS, 19 HOURS, 8
MINUTES) Starting and finishing at
Floyd Bennett Field, Brooklyn,
Hughes and his crew—Thomas M.
Thurlow, Harry P.M. Connor, Richard
Stoddart, and Edward Lund—flew
in a modified Lockheed Super
Electra at an average speed of
206.1 mph. Hughes used radio
communications, navigation, and
weather forecasting that set new
standards for airline travel.
©Museum of Flight/CORBIS
54
SEPTEMBER 13, 1945 ★ GEN.
JONATHAN M. WAINWRIGHT, HERO OF
THE BATTLES OF BATAAN AND
CORREGIDOR IN WORLD WAR II
Wainwright spent three years, three
months, and 18 days in Japanese
prison camps. During that time, his
wife wrote him as many as seven
letters a week – of which he
received a total of six. The period of
the general’s imprisonment was the
first time the Wainwrights had been
separated since World War I. When
speaking to City Hall reporters,
Mrs. Wainwright said, “After you’ve
been married 34 years, why, four
years is a small time in your life, I
suppose.” She paused a moment,
and then repeated, “I suppose.”
49 AUGUST 5, 1938 ★ DOUGLAS
“WRONG WAY” CORRIGAN FOR HIS
FLIGHT FROM NEW YORK TO IRELAND
INSTEAD OF HIS “INTENDED” DESTINATION OF CALIFORNIA “My name’s
Corrigan. I left New York yesterday
morning headed for California, but I
got mixed up in the clouds and
must have flown the wrong way.”
For the rest of his life, Corrigan
never wavered from the story he
gave the authorities after landing in
Dublin. The saga of the secondhand flying jalopy and its shy smiling pilot—who was told he could
not fly across the Atlantic, but did
anyway—greatly appealed to the
Depression-weary American public.
His famous “wrong-way” flight
inspired medals, awards, and products named after him, including a
watch that ran backwards. Corrigan
later owned an orange grove in
southern California. He died in 1995
at age 82.
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1 Wall Street
103
100 Broadway
American Surety
Company Building
59
OCTOBER 23, 1946 ★ DELEGATES
TO THE FIRST PLENARY SESSION OF
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE
UNITED NATIONS In his welcoming
speech at temporary U.N. headquarters in Flushing, Queens,
President Truman told the delegates, “This meeting … symbolizes
the abandonment by the U.S. of a
policy of isolation.” No prayer was
offered at the Assembly opening
out of respect for the delegates’
diverse religious traditions.
60
Brig. Gen. Lewis Beebe and General Wainwright (©CORBIS)
EX C H A N G E P L
1914 – 1917
EX CH AN GE AL LE Y
MAYOR JOHN PURROY MITCHELL
1885 – 1886
T
MORRIS S
THE CANYON
OF HEROES
MAYOR WILLIAM R. GRACE
OCTOBER 25, 1946 ★ COL.
CLARENCE S. IRVINE, COMMANDER OF
THE B-29 DREAMBOAT, AND HIS CREW
OF ARMY AIRMEN FOR THEIR
HONOLULU-TO-CAIRO FLIGHT OVER
THE NORTH POLE “Our mission is to
L–R: Mayor Impellitteri, Queen Juliana, Prince Bernhard
68 JULY 7, 1948 ★ RÓMULO
GALLEGOS, PRESIDENT OF VENEZUELA
Gallegos, a popular novelist, held
office only a few months before
being overthrown by a reactionary
military coup.
go anywhere in the world anytime
we want,” declared the colonel. His
nonstop flight, the first to cross the
magnetic North Pole, covered a distance of 10,873 miles.
61 JANUARY 13, 1947 ★ ALCIDE DE
GASPERI, PREMIER OF ITALY De
Gasperi founded the Christian
Democratic party and, from 1945
to 1953, led eight successive
coalition governments.
62
FEBRUARY 7, 1947 ★ HAROLD
ALEXANDER, VISCOUNT OF TUNIS,
FIELD MARSHAL OF THE BRITISH
ARMIES IN WORLD WAR II, AND
GOVERNOR GENERAL OF CANADA The
field marshal’s uniform displayed
ten rows of ribbons, testimony to
his exceptional military career in
two world wars. In the first, he led
his men into combat against the
enemy. During the second, he
directed heroic retreats in Burma
and Dunkirk, fought in North
Africa, and served as the supreme
commander of Allied Forces in
the Mediterranean.
Spectators in native costume view the ceremonies
in City Hall Park
69
FEBRUARY 3, 1949 ★ FRENCH
GRATITUDE TRAIN BEARING GIFTS
FROM FRANCE TO THE UNITED STATES
IN APPRECIATION OF THE FRIENDSHIP
TRAIN France sent the 49-car train
(one car for each state, plus the
District of Columbia) as a “thank
you” for the Friendship Train (see
no. 66). Originally used to carry
American soldiers to the front during World War I, the boxcars contained gifts, including dishes,
clothing, rare paintings, and books.
At the City Hall ceremony following
the parade, Mayor O’Dwyer presented Drew Pearson, originator of
the Friendship Train, with the city’s
certificate for distinguished and
exceptional public service.
President Plaza and Mayor Impellitteri
Admiral Kinkaid and City Council President
Vincent Impellitteri
President Gallegos and Mayor O’Dwyer
91
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SEPTEMBER 16, 1949 ★ 48
EUROPEAN JOURNALISTS IN CELEBRATION OF FREEDOM OF THE PRESS DAY
DURING THEIR U.S. TOUR The newspapermen, from 14 European countries, were on a two-week junket to
the U.S. to report firsthand on the
American way of life. One of the
journalists, Ralph Pride, editor of
Scotland’s Dundee Evening
Telegraph and Post, thoughtfully
sent Mayor O’Dwyer a copy of the
article he wrote describing his
impressions of the American character. “[He] is the most friendly and
hospitable chap in the world … . He
doesn’t save money for his old age,
but enjoys life as he goes … . He’s
the best-disciplined pedestrian in
the world, crossing the street only
on the green or the policeman’s
whistle. In short, he works hard,
plays hard, and looks happy.”
APRIL 28, 1950 ★ ADM. THOMAS
C. KINKAID, HERO OF WORLD WAR II
NAVAL BATTLES AND RETIRING
COMMANDER OF THE NAVY’S EASTERN
SEA FRONTIER AND THE ATLANTIC
RESERVE FLEET Kinkaid was made
a full admiral in 1945 for his naval
victories during World War II at Coral
Sea, Midway, Guadalcanal, Kiska,
New Guinea, and the Philippines.
80 MAY 8, 1950 ★ LIAQUAT ALI
KHAN, PRIME MINISTER OF PAKISTAN
Khan served as Pakistan’s first
prime minister after partition from
India. He was assassinated in 1951.
L–R: Mrs. William O’Dwyer, Governor Aleman, Senora
Casas Aleman
L–R: City Comptroller Lazarus Joseph, Mayor O’Dwyer,
Mrs. and Mr. William Garbarina
75 OCTOBER 4, 1949 ★ RAYMOND A.
GARBARINA MEMORIAL POST 1523
FOR WINNING THE AMERICAN LEGION
DRUM AND BUGLE CORPS NATIONAL
CHAMPIONSHIP The Post was
named for Private Garbarina, killed
in combat in Europe during World
War II.
81
MAY 9, 1950 ★ FERNANDO CASAS
ALEMAN, GOVERNOR OF MEXICO CITY
FEDERAL DISTRICT The governor
had a somewhat more interesting
domestic life than the demure family photographs taken during his
New York City visit would suggest.
One of his mistresses, the 15-yearold Irma Serrano, slashed Aleman
in the face when she caught him
Mayor O’Dwyer and his wife Sloan Simpson
leave Gracie Mansion for the last time on their
way to farewell ceremonies downtown
86
AUGUST 31, 1950 ★ WILLIAM
O’DWYER UPON HIS RESIGNATION AS
MAYOR OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK
The Daily News observed that the
city gave a “restrained adios” to
O’Dwyer as he left for Mexico and
his post as the American ambassador. The reason for his abrupt resignation, only eight months into his
second term as mayor, remained
unstated, but in 1951 O’Dwyer
appeared before the Kefauver
Senate Crime Committee. Although
never charged with wrongdoing,
O’Dwyer apparently had had
improper dealings with criminal
elements while serving both as
Kings County District Attorney and
as mayor.
MAYOR VINCENT R. IMPELLITTERI
1950 – 1953
President Auriol (at far right) and his wife Michelle
aboard the Isle de France in New York Harbor
87
★ VINCENT
APRIL 3, 1951
AURIOL, PRESIDENT OF FRANCE
During World War II, Auriol worked
in the French underground. The first
president of the Fourth Republic, he
served from 1947 to 1954.
JUNE 25, 1951 ★ GALO PLAZA
LASSO, NATIVE NEW YORKER AND
PRESIDENT OF ECUADOR President
Plaza was born in New York City at
the Hotel Marlton, 5 West 8th
Street, in 1906, while his father was
serving as minister to the U.S.
A liberal democrat and an expert in
mechanized agriculture, Plaza was
Ecuador’s first constitutionally
elected president in 28 years to
complete his term.
98
APRIL 7, 1952 ★ JULIANA, QUEEN
OF THE NETHERLANDS, AND PRINCE
BERNHARD During their busy day in
the city, the royal couple stopped at
St. Martin’s Episcopal Church at
122nd Street and Lenox Avenue in
Harlem, where they were greeted
by a crowd estimated at 7,500.
99
MAY 14, 1952 ★ MAYORS OF 250
CITIES ATTENDING THE 20TH ANNUAL
U.S. CONFERENCE OF MAYORS Public
92
SEPTEMBER 17, 1951 ★ SIR
DENYS LOWSON, 623RD LORD MAYOR
OF LONDON Sir Denys came to New
York after visiting seven countries
on a goodwill tour arranged in connection with the Festival of Britain.
93
SEPTEMBER 28, 1951 ★ ALCIDE
DE GASPERI, PREMIER OF ITALY In
remarks at City Hall following his
ticker-tape reception, his second
(see no. 61), De Gasperi urged the
U.S. to help ease overpopulation in
Italy by reducing immigration
restrictions.
officials from 250 cities heard the
president of their organization blast
Congress for having “failed completely” to provide for a civil
defense program. They feared that
an atomic attack could result in as
many as 7.5 million casualties.
100
JULY 7, 1952 ★ U.S. OLYMPIC
TEAM SEND-OFF TO THE HELSINKI
GAMES The American team went on
to win 75 medals in the international contest, the most of any
nation. The second-place Russian
team, competing for the first time
since 1912, won 68 medals.
Soldiers on parade in City Hall Park for General Clay
70
©CORBIS
President Aleman and Mayor O’Dwyer (©CORBIS)
55
63
responsibilities made him the
equal of Eisenhower and MacArthur,
and the huge crowds along the
parade route made sure he knew it.
a famous guerrilla leader, Aleman
had become a wealthy labor lawyer
by the time of his 1946 election to
the presidency. He bought his
suits in Hollywood, his Rolls-Royces
in Britain, and on the weekends,
flew his DC-3 plane to the beaches
of Acapulco.
OCTOBER 9, 1945 ★ FLEET ADM.
CHESTER W. NIMITZ, COMMANDER IN
CHIEF OF THE NAVY’S PACIFIC FLEET
IN WORLD WAR II Nimitz’s wartime
★ MIGUEL ALEMAN,
MAY 2, 1947
PRESIDENT OF MEXICO The son of
MAY 19, 1949 ★ GEN. LUCIUS D.
CLAY, MILITARY GOVERNOR OF
GERMANY AND COMMANDER OF THE
BERLIN AIRLIFT Isolated within
Soviet-controlled East Germany
and partitioned into Allied and
Soviet sectors, post-war Berlin was
the focus of continuing Cold War
confrontations. In 1948, the Soviet
Union attempted to drive the Allies
from the city by imposing a blockade of all land and water communications between West Berlin and
Until the early , New York City financed ticker-tape parades out of its own pocket.
It is not certain whether the federal government helped defray the cost of the numerous headWHO PAYS
of-state parades that the State Department requested from the city during the  and .
FOR A PARADE?
Mayor Wagner’s  letter to President Eisenhower asking him to “share the expenses” of
official receptions suggests that federal assistance was not customary. The recession that hit the city shortly after Mayor Dinkins
took office in  forced him to solicit private donations and corporate sponsorship for the parades held during his administration. Even with the city’s recovery in recent years, outside funds are still necessary to underwrite the considerable expense
of staging a ticker-tape parade.
101 JULY 18, 1952 ★ COMMODORE
HARRY MANNING, CHIEF ENGINEER
WILLIAM KAISER, AND CREW OF THE
S.S. UNITED STATES FOR SETTING A
NEW TRANSATLANTIC SPEED RECORD
Despite charges of a government
boondoggle, the U.S. subsidized
construction of the 2,000-passenger ocean liner on the premise that
it could be converted to a troop
ship in wartime. The luxurious
super-liner broke the transatlantic
speed record that had been held by
the Queen Mary since 1938. This
was Captain Manning’s second
ticker-tape parade; the first, (see
no. 30) in 1929, honored him for
rescuing the Italian freighter
Florida.
known as the “golfing machine”
was visibly moved by the parade
and City Hall ceremony. In 1953, he
won both the British and U.S. Open
tournaments as well as the
Masters. His triumphs were all the
more remarkable in view of a 1949
automobile accident—he had suffered injuries so severe that doctors
gave him little chance of ever walking again. He died in 1997.
DECEMBER 21, 1953 ★ 144 CONVALESCING KOREAN WAR VETERANS FROM
THE NEW YORK METROPOLITAN AREA
MAYOR ROBERT F. WAGNER
1954 – 1965
114 FEBRUARY 1, 1954 ★ CELAL BAYAR,
PRESIDENT OF TURKEY Bayar assured
108
OCTOBER 1, 1953 ★ JOSE
ANTONIO REMON, PRESIDENT OF
PANAMA Remon was assassinated
potential American investors that
Turkey was “solidly devoted to capitalism and private enterprise, ‘the
best system.’ ” Bayar served as
president from 1950 until his ouster
by a military coup in 1960. Though
condemned to death, Bayar had his
sentence commuted to life in
prison, and after three years he was
released because of poor health.
He lived another two decades,
dying at age 104 in 1986.
at a racetrack in Panama on
January 2, 1955.
102
DECEMBER 18, 1952 ★ LT. GEN.
WILLIS D. CRITTENBERGER, RETIRING
COMMANDER OF THE FIRST ARMY
General Crittenberger directed 326
days of continuous combat in Italy
during World War II and forced the
unconditional surrender of the
German Ligurian Army.
L–R, in pairs: Mayor Impellitteri and his wife Elizabeth,
General Clark and his wife Maurine, and his son
and daughter-in law, Major William D. Clark and his
wife Audrey
115
MARCH 31, 1954 ★ 4,000 NEW
YORK CITY FIREMEN IN OBSERVANCE OF
FIREMEN’S DAY Antique apparatus in
109 OCTOBER 20, 1953
MARK W. CLARK, RETIRING
COMMANDER OF U.S. FORCES IN THE
FAR EAST The four-star general said
★ GENERAL
he had returned home from his
third war, in Korea, “with feelings of
misgiving … I was the first American
commander to put his signature to
a paper ending a war when we did
not win it.”
117
JUNE 1, 1954 ★ HAILE SELASSIE,
121
111
113
115
117
THAMES ST
110
New York, the royal couple were
observed wearing sunglasses, both
indoors and out. King Mahendra
died of a heart attack in 1972 at age
51. His son, Birenda, ascended to
the throne. On June 1, 2001, in the
Narayanhiti Palace, Crown Prince
Dipendra shot and killed his father
King Birenda, mother Queen
Aishwarya, sister, brother, three
aunts, and two uncles, before
turning the gun on himself. The
official, and most likely, explanation is that the crown prince, in an
alcohol-and-drug-fueled rage, massacred his family because they
refused to allow him to marry the
woman he loved.
145
MAY 29, 1959 ★ BAUDOUIN I,
KING OF THE BELGIANS The youthful
MAY 20, 1958 ★ VAN CLIBURN,
FIRST WINNER OF MOSCOW’S
INTERNATIONAL TCHAIKOVSKY PIANO
COMPETITION The Russian people
28-year-old “modest monarch”
pleaded futilely with his itinerarymakers to spare him the
traditional parade.
fell in love with the appealing and
talented 23-year-old virtuoso
pianist from East Texas. Americans
saw Van Cliburn’s victory as a Cold
War triumph.
★ WILLIAM
OCTOBER 28, 1954
V. S. TUBMAN, PRESIDENT OF LIBERIA
President Diem and Mayor Wagner
133
MAY 13, 1957 ★ NGO DINH
DIEM, PRESIDENT OF SOUTH VIETNAM
Tubman served as president from
1944 to 1971. During his New York
City visit, the African leader predicted that one day all the races of
mankind “will be integrated and
love and peace and happiness and
respect one for the other will
dominate the human family.”
Diem became president in 1955 and
served until 1963 when he was
murdered by a group of dissident
generals.
122
NOVEMBER 19, 1954 ★ LT. GEN.
WITHERS A. BURRESS, RETIRING COMMANDER OF THE FIRST ARMY
Burress saw action in France during
World War I and commanded the
100th Infantry Division in Europe
during World War II.
Mayor Wagner shakes hands with Captain Villiers while
Andrew “Scotty” Anderson-Bell holds Felix, the ship’s cat
123
JANUARY 31, 1955 ★ PAUL
EUGENE MAGLOIRE, PRESIDENT OF
HAITI The exceptionally corrupt
134
JULY 2, 1957 ★ CAPT. ALAN J.
VILLIERS AND THE CREW OF THE
REPLICA SHIP MAYFLOWER II Felix,
Haitian leader was ousted in 1956.
124
the ship’s cat (carried by sailor
Andrew Anderson-Bell) is the only
feline known to have marched in a
ticker-tape parade. The Mayflower
II was a full-scale reproduction of
the type of early 17th-century vessel that brought the pilgrims to
America. Its builders used historically accurate materials, including
English oak timbers, linen canvas
sails, and true hemp rope. The
Mayflower II sailed from Plymouth,
England, to Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 54 days; the original
Mayflower took 67 days to cross
the Atlantic in 1620.
125
APRIL 15, 1955 ★ 3,000 NEW
YORK CITY FIREMEN IN OBSERVANCE
OF FIREMEN’S DAY More than 3,000
firemen marched in the parade,
accompanied by antique and modern fire-fighting apparatus.
again in the future shall German
and American soldiers fight each
other,” Heuss assured a joint session of Congress shortly before his
New York City reception.
remarks, Garcia made an unusually
heartfelt tribute to the city and its
inhabitants: “The real glory of New
York is that it is the City of Men. Here
is a city built upon a scale more godlike than human, as if one day Man
had planted his foot on the solid
rock of Manhattan and here decided
to build a city more splendid than
any ever conjured up by the genie of
Aladdin’s lamp or by the magic wand
of Merlin. The real greatness of New
York is to be found in the daily miracle of 10,000,000 people living and
working together under unbelievable pressures of time and space,
and yet avoiding each momentary
menace of explosion and chaos. This
is possible only because New York is
aware that it is an amalgam of all the
races, nations, and religions of the
world, and because New York knows
also that it has a duty to render unto
each the equal dignity and respect
to which it is entitled.”
120
122
125
127
129
131
135
137
Olympio helped bring about Togo’s
independence from France in 1960
and ruled two years as president of
the West African nation before
being assassinated by a group of
ex-soldiers.
sued a neutral course in Middle
Eastern politics and received aid
from both the western and Soviet
blocs. He ruled 38 years from 1961
until his death in 1999.
157
MAY 11, 1961 ★ HABIB
BOURGUIBA, PRESIDENT OF TUNISIA
Bourguiba became the first president of the North African nation
after it gained independence from
France in 1956. He pioneered
women’s rights and was an advocate of Arab moderation towards
Israel. Deposed in 1987, he died in
2000 at age 96.
L–R: Mrs. Wagner, the president’s daughter Begum Nasir
Akhtar Aurangzeb, President Ayub Kahn, Mayor Wagner
172 MAY 22, 1963 ★ MAJ. L.
The Pakistani leader made it clear
that he expected more from New
York’s financial district than a
hearty parade, calling on
Americans to invest in his nation as
a hedge against communism.
L–R: President Lopez Mateos, Mayor Wagner, the
president’s daughter Eva and his wife
147 OCTOBER 14, 1959 ★ ADOLFO
LOPEZ MATEOS, PRESIDENT OF
MEXICO It is tempting to speculate
SEPTEMBER 22, 1961 ★ MANUEL
PRADO UGARTECHE, PRESIDENT OF
PERU The aristocratic Peruvian
which souvenir of his American visit
Lopez Mateos appreciated more:
the memories of his New York City
ticker-tape parade or the new blue
Ford Falcon that President
Eisenhower gave him.
political leader was twice president.
Replaced by a three-man military
junta in July 1962, he went into exile
in France, where he died in 1967.
159
145
147
184
OCTOBER 20, 1969 ★ NEW
YORK METS, WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONS The city went all out to cele-
words. The following is a transcript
of the speech he gave at a reception in his honor at the Waldorf
Astoria Hotel: “I don’t generally say
very much. I’m so impressed that
today I’m going to say even less. I
would just like to say that on behalf
of the entire Mercury team, I thank
you for this wonderful day.”
Goulart’s election as president in
1961 was opposed by the military
because of his pro-communist leanings. He was overthrown in a rightist revolution in 1964.
City Council President Paul R. Screvane
and President Radhakrishnan
Casey Stengel
166
APRIL 12, 1962 ★ NEW YORK
METS, NEW NATIONAL LEAGUE BASEBALL TEAM The Mets chose New
173 JUNE 10, 1963 ★ DR.
SARVEPALLI RADHAKRISHNAN,
PRESIDENT OF INDIA The respected
York Baseball legend Casey Stengel
as their first manager. They chose
their official colors to symbolize the
return of National League baseball
to the city: royal blue for the
Brooklyn Dodgers and orange for
the old New York Giants. Four days
earlier, the 1961 world-champion
Yankees had been honored with a
City Hall reception, but not with a
parade. The Mets would play their
first two seasons in a spruced-up
polo grounds, the former home of
the Giants. The crowds along the
parade route might have withheld
their cheers had they known of the
dismal season ahead, in which the
team would lose a record-breaking
120 games.
academic served as president from
1962 to 1967.
years in the battle against
apartheid, Mandela embarked on a
world tour after his February 1990
release. Elected president in 1994
in South Africa’s first multiracial
elections, he served until 1999.
brate the “Amazin’” Mets victory
over the Baltimore Orioles, four
games to one. The ticker-tape
parade was just the start of a day
that included a rally at Bryant Park,
a luncheon at the Four Seasons
restaurant, hot dogs on the lawn
at Gracie Mansion, and fireworks
and poetry readings in Flushing
Meadow Park.
President Macapagal and Mayor Wagner
178 OCTOBER 8, 1964 ★ DIOSDADO
MACAPAGAL, PRESIDENT OF THE
PHILIPPINES Elected in 1961,
Macapagal was noted for his efforts
fighting poverty, unemployment,
and corruption. Ferdinand Marcos
defeated him in 1965.
GORDON COOPER JR., MERCURY
ASTRONAUT WHO ORBITED THE EARTH
22 TIMES Cooper was a man of few
158 JULY 14, 1961 ★ MOHAMMAD
AYUB KHAN, PRESIDENT OF PAKISTAN
chusetts-born, Harvard-educated
king ascended the throne of his
South East Asian nation in 1950.
During the 1960s, Thailand was a
strong supporter of the U.S. war
effort in Vietnam, providing bases
for American troops and airfields
for strikes against the North
Vietnamese.
143
★ HASSAN II, KING
APRIL 1, 1963
OF MOROCCO King Hassan II pur-
APRIL 5, 1962 ★ JOÃO
GOULART, PRESIDENT OF BRAZIL
JULY 5, 1960 ★ BHUMIBOL
ADULYADEJ AND SIRIKIT, KING AND
QUEEN OF THAILAND The Massa-
141
171
165
153
139
MARCH 21, 1962 ★ SYLVANUS
OLYMPIO, PRESIDENT OF TOGO
164
L–R: President Goulart, Mayor Wagner,
Mrs. Wagner, U.S. Chief of Protocol Angier Biddle Duke
King Bhumibol and Mayor Wagner
170
172
174
100 Broadway
American Surety
Company Building
116
118
119
Troops disembark from the USNS General William
Weigel at the Brooklyn Army Terminal
104
year in Korea, the 351 G.I.’s from
New York and New Jersey had 20
minutes for an emotional reunion
with their families before they
paraded up Broadway to City Hall.
110
OCTOBER 26, 1953 ★ MAJ. GEN.
WILLIAM F. DEAN, HERO OF TAEJON
AND PRISONER OF WAR FOR THREE
YEARS DURING THE KOREAN WAR
“Get it out of your heads that I’m a
hero. I’m not. I’m just a dog-faced
soldier,” Dean told reporters after
being freed from captivity. New
Yorkers disagreed and gave him a
rousing ovation.
105
APRIL 24, 1953 ★ GEN. JAMES
A. VAN FLEET, RETIRED COMMANDER
OF THE UNITED NATIONS GROUND
TROOPS IN KOREA The ticker-tape
parade planned in 1950 for Van
Fleet, after he helped Greece defeat
a communist revolution, had been
rained out. This time, the weather
cooperated. The four-star general
died at age 100 in 1992.
106 MAY 26, 1953 ★ NEW YORK
CITY DEPARTMENTS AND UNITS OF
THE ARMED SERVICES TO COMMEMORATE THE 150TH ANNIVERSARY OF
THE LAYING OF THE CORNERSTONE
FOR CITY HALL Jenney, a small donkey borrowed from the Bronx Zoo,
hauled a replica of the cornerstone
into place. Her performance was
reported as “reluctant but adequate.”
123
124
L–R: Mrs. Impellitteri, Mayor Impellitteri,
Queen Frederika, King Paul I
111
NOVEMBER 2, 1953 ★ PAUL I AND
FREDERIKA, KING AND QUEEN OF
GREECE The city always made an
extra effort to welcome royalty. For
the Greek visitors, an aviator wrote
“zito” (“long life”) in the sky. Later in
the day, Frederika was reunited with
Mr. Edward P. Kelly, whom she had
met during World War II on an airplane flight. The queen, her country
then occupied by the Germans, was
crying, and Mr. Kelly, unaware of her
identity, befriended her.
118
JULY 26, 1954 ★ GENEVIÈVE DE
GALARD-TERRAUBE, A NURSE KNOWN
AS THE ANGEL OF DIENBIENPHU FOR
STAYING WITH WOUNDED FRENCH
SOLDIERS IN VIETNAM On May 7,
1954, after a 56-day siege, 49,000
soldiers of the communist Viet
Minh surrounded and captured
13,000 French troops garrisoned at
Dienbienphu, a military base in a
remote corner of northwest
Vietnam. This defeat signaled the
end of French power in Indochina.
Lt. Geneviève de Galard-Terraube,
a nurse and pilot, was the only
woman in the garrison. She spent
17 days as a prisoner, refusing to
leave until the transfer of French
wounded was complete. After her
release, she confirmed that she
had sent birthday greetings to Viet
Minh leader Ho Chi Minh at the
request of her captors because she
feared refusal would endanger the
wounded soldiers. She wrote a
second time to thank him for her
own liberation. Lt. de GalardTerraube was the third foreigner
ever officially invited by Congress
and the president to visit the U.S.
(the others were the Marquis
de Lafayette in 1824 and the
Hungarian patriot Louis Kossuth
in 1851).
128
130
132
Isamu Noguchi sculpture
133
134
136
138
140
142
144
146
126
AUGUST 11, 1955 ★ ORDER OF
THE KNIGHTS OF PYTHIAS The
148 NOVEMBER 4, 1959 ★ SÉKOU
TOURÉ, PRESIDENT OF GUINEA The
pageantry of old Persia found its
way to lower Broadway in a parade
of 2,000 merrymaking members of
the fraternal order. The men, who
were known as “Dokeys” (Dramatic
Order, Knights of Khorassan) wore
“Arabian” costumes and the
women, called “Nomads” (Nomads
of Avrudakah), wore “Indian” dress.
Founded in 1864, the Knights of
Pythias was the first American fraternal organization chartered by an
Act of Congress.
day after his City Hall reception, the
West African leader told the United
Nations General Assembly that
newly independent nations like his
would not be “taken in tow” by the
West or the Soviet bloc. Africa, he
said, would become “what its own
sons want to make it.” Touré served
as president until his death in 1984.
127
L–R: Representative Frances P. Bolton (R-Ohio), Lt. de
Galard-Terraube, Official Greeter Richard C. Patterson
126
Red Cube
120 Broadway
Equitable Building
assembly and ended the practice of
slavery. Army officers deposed him
in a 1974 coup, and in 1975 he was
murdered in prison.
APRIL 3, 1953 ★
METROPOLITAN NEW YORK COMBAT
CONTINGENT, THE FIRST U.S. ARMY
TROOPS TO RETURN FROM THE
KOREAN WAR After fighting for a
121
NOVEMBER 4, 1955 ★ CARLOS
CASTILLO ARMAS, PRESIDENT OF
GUATEMALA In June 1954, a U.S.-
backed revolution against a leftwing government put Castillo
Armas in power. He was assassinated in 1957.
128 DECEMBER 9, 1955 ★ LUIS
BATLLE-BERRES, PRESIDENT OF
URUGUAY In New York City, the
Uruguayan leader said he was
“determined that the evil seed of
communism” should not flourish in
his country.
129
MARCH 12, 1956 ★ GIOVANNI
GRONCHI, PRESIDENT OF ITALY
©Bettmann/CORBIS
135
JULY 11, 1957 ★ ALTHEA
GIBSON, WIMBLEDON WOMEN’S
CHAMPION Althea Gibson overcame
obstacles far greater than the 100°
heat at Wimbledon in the summer
of 1957. She had battled racial discrimination in the world of professional tennis before becoming the
first African-American female athlete to enjoy international fame.
Gibson received her trophy from
Queen Elizabeth II and danced with
Prince Philip at the Wimbledon Ball
before returning home to a tickertape reception.
JANUARY 29, 1959 ★ DR.
ARTURO FRONDIZI, PRESIDENT OF
ARGENTINA Frondizi served as president from 1958 until 1962, when
the army ousted him.
Gronchi served in the largely ceremonial post of president from 1955
until 1962.
130
★ SUKARNO,
MAY 23, 1956
PRESIDENT OF INDONESIA
Sukarno became Indonesia’s first
leader after independence from
the Netherlands in 1945. He proclaimed himself president-for-life
in 1963, but was deposed in a
military takeover by General
Suharto in 1965.
The ticker-tape parade did its part to help win the Cold War in the  and . Tickertape parades provided an excellent opportunity to impress visiting heads-of-state with
TICKER TAPE
American power and influence. Escorted by marching bands from every branch of the military
AND THE COLD WAR
service and showered with ticker tape—a unique artifact of the capitalist system—the foreign
dignitary would ride past Wall Street, the ultimate symbol of American wealth. The ticker-tape parade was part of a package
for the head-of-state arranged by the U.S. State Department. It usually included an honorary doctorate from an American university, the opportunity to make a speech at the United Nations, and an audience with the president in Washington, D.C. Most
visiting dignitaries took advantage of their proximity to Wall Street to plead for financial aid to fight communism.
L–R: Mayor Robert Wagner and his wife Susan,
Mayor Willy Brandt and his wife Rut
©Hulton-Deutsch/CORBIS
142 FEBRUARY 10, 1959 ★ WILLY
BRANDT, MAYOR OF WEST BERLIN
OCTOBER 21, 1957 ★
ELIZABETH II, QUEEN OF THE UNITED
KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND
NORTHERN IRELAND, AND PRINCE
PHILIP, DUKE OF EDINBURGH Her
In 1971, as president of West
Germany, Brandt won the Nobel
Peace Prize for initiating peace
talks with Eastern European countries, including East Germany.
Majesty had expressed a lifelong
desire to see the famous
Manhattan skyline from New York
harbor. Her wish was granted as
she traveled by ferry from Staten
Island across the bay to the Battery
for the start of the ticker-tape
parade. Elaborate security arrangements kept disturbances to a minimum, although one old lady was
spotted brandishing a small sign
that read “Ireland Belongs to the
Irish—Get Out.”
143 MARCH 13, 1959
LEMUS, PRESIDENT OF EL SALVADOR
136
★ JOSE MARIA
Lemus arrived in New York from
Washington in “high spirits”
because he had succeeded in
obtaining President Eisenhower’s
support for Latin-American coffee
growers in their battle against rival
African producers. In October 1960,
following an assassination attempt,
Lemus was deposed and deported
by a leftist group
APRIL 11, 1960 ★
DR. ALBERTO LLERAS CAMARGO,
PRESIDENT OF COLOMBIA Lleras
Senator Kennedy and his wife Jacqueline
(©Bettmann/CORBIS)
155
OCTOBER 19, 1960 ★ SENATOR
JOHN F. KENNEDY, DEMOCRATIC
PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE The police
could not keep the wildly enthusiastic crowds from surging against
the motorcade. The candidate’s
wife Jacqueline later said it felt like
the sides of the car were bending.
Camargo authored Colombia’s first
agrarian reform and drew up a
ten-year social and economic
development plan.
151 APRIL 26, 1960 ★ CHARLES DE
GAULLE, PRESIDENT OF FRANCE By
the late 1950s, the growing revolt in
the French colony of Algeria had
reached a crisis, and de Gaulle was
considered the only leader of
sufficient strength to deal with the
situation. Elected president of the
Fifth Republic in 1959, he decided
to allow Algeria self-determination,
and in 1962 the North African country gained full independence. De
Gaulle was reelected in 1965,
resigned in 1969, and died a year
later. It was de Gaulle’s second
ticker-tape parade. (See no. 53)
156
158
OCTOBER 13, 1961 ★ GEN.
IBRAHIM ABBOUD, SUDANESE LEADER
149 MARCH 9, 1960 ★ CAROL
HEISS, WOMEN’S OLYMPIC FIGURESKATING CHAMPION According to
150
155
160
the Danish royal family is Europe’s
oldest monarchy. As a young
mother during the years of Nazi
occupation in World War II, Ingrid
pushed a baby carriage along the
streets of Copenhagen and used
her bicycle for shopping.
Sports Illustrated, the 20-year-old
Queens native “delivered one of the
most polished performances in
Olympic figure-skating history,”
when she won the gold medal at
the winter games in Squaw Valley,
California. Six weeks later, she married 1956 Olympic figure-skating
champion Hayes Jenkins. Before
settling in Ohio to raise three children, she gave Hollywood a try,
starring in the 1961 production of
Snow White and the Three
Stooges.
152
160
162
164
L–R: General Abboud, Mayor Wagner,
U.S. Chief of Protocol Angier Biddle Duke
OCTOBER 14, 1960 ★ FREDERICK
IX AND INGRID, KING AND QUEEN OF
DENMARK Dating to about 950 A.D.,
AUGUST 27, 1958
HYMAN G. RICKOVER, COMDR.
WILLIAM R. ANDERSON, AND CREW OF
THE NAUTILUS, THE FIRST NUCLEAR
SUBMARINE The Nautilus was pro-
141
151
154
★ REAR ADM.
pelled by a high-speed turbine
engine driven by the heat from an
atomic reactor. Able to remain submerged indefinitely, the Nautilus
became the first vessel to dive
under the North Pole.
149
L–R: King Frederick IX, Queen Ingrid, Mrs. Wagner,
Mayor Wagner
L–R: Commdr. Anderson, Mayor Wagner, Rear Adm.
Rickover
140
148
President Eisenhower and Vice President Nixon
156
NOVEMBER 2, 1960 ★
DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER, PRESIDENT
OF THE UNITED STATES, AND VICE
PRESIDENT RICHARD M. NIXON,
REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE
The Citizens for Nixon Committee
were determined that their candidate’s parade would outshine the
tumultuous display that greeted
Senator Kennedy two weeks earlier.
Taking no chances, they bought
eighteen tons of confetti and
shredded paper and distributed it
to office buildings lining the
parade route.
In 1964, a general strike and
economic chaos ended Abboud’s
six-year rule of the East African
nation.
L–R: City Budget Director Abraham Beame,
Rear Adm. George Wales, Capt . Walker
161
OCTOBER 27, 1961 ★ CAPT.
THOMAS J. WALKER, CREW AND
BUILDERS OF THE U.S.S.
CONSTELLATION, THE WORLD’S
LARGEST AIRCRAFT CARRIER The
newest weapon in the Cold War, the
Constellation had a flight deck of
4.1 acres capable of launching 100
nuclear-bomb-carrying planes at
targets 1,200 miles away. Budget
Director Abraham D. Beame hosted
the ticker-tape reception, an opportunity he would not have during his
own mayoralty (1974–1977).
Lt. Col. Glenn and Mayor Wagner
162 MARCH 1, 1962 ★ LT. COL. JOHN
H. GLENN JR., THE FIRST AMERICAN
TO ORBIT THE EARTH Glenn’s flight
had proved the value of having a
man rather than only automatic
equipment in spaceships. “A
human being can work more effectively, pound per pound, than any
mechanical computer,” fellow
astronaut Alan Shepard testified
before a Senate committee. “And,”
added Glenn, “I’ve heard that he
can be produced more cheaply and
easily than a computer.”
163
★ AHMADOU
MARCH 16, 1962
AHIDJO, PRESIDENT OF CAMEROON
Ahidjo served as president of the
West African nation for 22 years following independence from France
in 1960. In 1983, one year after he
resigned the presidency, he was
accused of plotting against the government, then forced into exile and
sentenced to death in absentia. He
never returned to his native land
and died in Senegal in 1989.
Mayor Wagner and the Shah of Iran
167
APRIL 16, 1962 ★ MOHAMMED
REZA PAHLEVI, SHAH OF IRAN, AND
EMPRESS FARAH In remarks after
his ticker-tape parade, his second
(see no. 77), the Shah declared that
his country needed to take drastic
measures on land tenure, rights of
workers, and distribution of property. Despite reforms in these
areas, the Shah’s autocratic rule
and his extensive use of the secret
police led to widespread popular
unrest. He fled the country in
January 1979.
168
169
171
173
175
deposed him in a bloodless coup.
Afghanistan subsequently
descended into chaos and civil war;
by the 1990s the Taliban, Islamic
fundamentalists, had taken over
the country. When United States
and allied forces defeated the
Taliban rulers at the end of 2001,
the former King vowed to return to
his homeland from exile in Italy.
Landing in Kabul on April 18, 2002,
Zahir promised to “serve my people
as best I can.” In June, the new government granted him the honorary
title of “father of the nation.” Ill
health prevented Homaira Shah,
the former Queen, from returning
with her husband. She died in
Rome on June 26, 2002.
Lt. Comdr. Young and Major Grissom
179
MARCH 29, 1965 ★ MAJ. VIRGIL
I. GRISSOM AND LT. COMDR. JOHN W.
YOUNG, GEMINI III ASTRONAUTS The
Gemini mission was the first U.S.
space flight in which two astronauts went into orbit in the same
capsule. Grissom and Young
blasted off from Cape Kennedy in
Florida and splashed down in the
Atlantic near Bermuda, four hours
and 53 minutes later, after orbiting
the earth three times. Grissom died
on January 27, 1967, in the Apollo
spacecraft flash fire during a launch
pad test at Kennedy Space Center.
OCTOBER 19, 1978 ★ NEW YORK
YANKEES, WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONS
192
The Yankees became the first
team in baseball history to win
four games in a row in the World
Series, after losing the first two
games. They defeated the Los
Angeles Dodgers.
Welcome Home” was almost canceled because the city was broke.
Private donations saved the day for
12,000 troops from 14 countries
who had participated in the war
against Iraq, code-named
“Operation Desert Storm.”
OCTOBER 4, 1963 ★ HAILE
SELASSIE, EMPEROR OF ETHIOPIA
called out the name “Scott
Carpenter” as Houphouët-Boigny’s
motorcade passed by, thinking the
West African president was the
American astronaut who had just
returned from a space flight.
Houphouët-Boigny apparently did
not notice or mind and, in his
statement at City Hall, graciously
called the space flight a “great
victory for peace.”
MAYOR RUDOLPH W. GIULIANI
1994 – 2001
186 OCTOBER 3, 1979 ★ POPE JOHN
PAUL II The Pope’s motorcade travL–R: Council President Peter Vallone,
Mark Messier, Mayor Giuliani
194
JUNE 17, 1994 ★ NEW YORK
RANGERS, STANLEY CUP CHAMPIONS
“The curse is broken!” cried Mayor
Rudolph Giuliani, as the New York
Rangers won the championship for
the first time since 1940.
178
180
182
179
181
183
finally assassinated in 1979 by
the head of the Korean Central
Intelligence Agency.
181 JUNE 1, 1965 ★ 4,500 FIREMEN
CELEBRATE THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY
OF NEW YORK CITY’S FIRST PROFESSIONAL FIRE DEPARTMENT In 1865,
there were 700 firefighters in the
independent cities of Brooklyn and
Manhattan. By 1965 the Department
had 13,186 men and 282 firehouses
in the five boroughs.
187
JANUARY 30, 1981 ★ U.S.
HOSTAGES RELEASED FROM IRAN
AFTER 444 DAYS IN CAPTIVITY
At City Hall, Makarios remarked
that relations between the Greek
Christian majority and the Turkish
Muslim minority on his Mediterranean island nation were “improving.” This improvement did not
prevent Turkey from invading northern Cyprus in 1974, resulting in partition of the island and the ouster of
Makarios.
COOPER, ROBERTSON & PARTNERS Architects and Urban Designers
QUENNELL ROTHSCHILD & PARTNERS Landscape Architects
VOLLMER ASSOCIATES Engineers
PENTAGRAM Graphic Designers
HARVEY + MARSHALL ASSOCIATES Lighting Designers
defeated the Atlanta Braves 6-2 in
their first World Series appearance
in sixteen years.
On November 4, 1979, militant
184
186
188
189
191
193
195
185
187
190
followers of the Ayatollah Khomeini
seized the U.S. Embassy in Tehran,
taking 52 American hostages. A rescue attempt in April 1980 failed, and
the crisis was not resolved until
January 20, 1981, the day of Ronald
Reagan’s inauguration as U.S. president. Nearly all Iranian conditions
had been met, including the unfreezing of nearly $8 billion in Americanheld assets.
192
194
196
197
198
199
200
196 OCTOBER 17, 1998 ★ SAMMY
SOSA, CHICAGO CUBS BASEBALL
PLAYER, WHO BROKE THE SINGLESEASON HOME RUN RECORD Sammy
Sosa, a native of the Dominican
Republic, was the second player to
surpass Roger Maris’s record of 61
home runs in 1961. St. Louis
Cardinal first baseman Mark
McGuire was the first to break the
record; he finished the season with
70 home runs. Babe Ruth had set
the record of 60 home runs in 1927.
1966 – 1973
In his second parade (see no. 117),
Selassie followed the recent fashion of visiting monarchs who
alighted from the limousine to walk
the final steps to City Hall. King
Hassan of Morocco and King
Mohammed of Afghanistan had
both marched on foot up Broadway.
176 JULY 16, 1964 ★ CREWS OF
SAILING VESSELS PARTICIPATING IN
OPERATION SAIL More than 2,500
officers, cadets, and crewmen from
13 countries participated in the
international goodwill effort, as a
demonstration of training under
sail as a means of character building for young men.
JANUARY 10, 1969 ★ LT. COL.
FRANK BORMAN, LT. COL. WILLIAM A.
ANDERS, AND CAPT. JAMES A. LOVELL
JR., APOLLO 8 ASTRONAUTS, THE
FIRST MEN TO SEE THE FAR SIDE OF
THE MOON Riding with the astro-
nauts in the motorcade, Mayor John
V. Lindsay was reported to have
overheard them say, “It’s a forbidding place … gray and colorless … It
shows the scars of a terrific bombardment … certainly not a very
inviting place to live or work.”
Thinking they were talking about
New York, he broke in and told
them, “If you’re going to talk like
that you’re not going to get your
medals.” They’d been describing
the moon.
Mayor Koch and Mary Lou Retton
188
AUGUST 15, 1984 ★ U.S.
OLYMPIC MEDAL WINNERS FROM THE
LOS ANGELES GAMES Gymnast Mary
Lou Retton was the crowd’s favorite
from among the more than 200 athletes returning from the XXIII
Olympiad in Los Angeles.
Daniel Yaccarino and Mayor Wagner
177 SEPTEMBER 3, 1964 ★ STATEN
ISLAND’S MID-ISLAND ALL-STARS,
LITTLE LEAGUE WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONS Mayor Wagner anticipated
correctly that neither of the two
professional clubs would make the
World Series in 1964 and decided to
honor at least one successful New
York team. Daniel Yaccarino, the
Mid-Island star player, pitched a nohitter against the team from Mexico.
AUGUST 13, 1969 ★ NEIL A.
ARMSTRONG, COL. BUZZ ALDRIN, AND
LT. COL. MICHAEL COLLINS, APOLLO
11 ASTRONAUTS, FOR THE FIRST
MANNED MOON LANDING The astronauts made a hectic one-day,
coast-to-coast tour to celebrate
their triumph. New York City had
three and a half hours to give them
the ticker-tape celebration, and
then it was on to Chicago for
another parade. The day ended
with a state dinner hosted by
President Nixon in Los Angeles.
197 OCTOBER 23, 1998 ★ NEW
YORK YANKEES, WORLD SERIES
CHAMPIONS The Yankees defeated
the San Diego Padres in four
games, capping a record-setting
regular season in which they won
an American League best-ever 125
games, including the post-season.
PA
RK
RO
W
NEW YORK CIT Y MAYORS, 1885-2002
WILLIAM R. GRACE 1885-1886
ABRAM S. HEWITT 1887-1888
HUGH J. GRANT 1889-1892
THOMAS F. GILROY 1893-1894
WILLIAM L. STRONG 1895-1897
ROBERT A. VAN WYCK 1898-1901
SETH LOW 1902-1903
GEORGE B. MCCLELL AN 1904-1909
WILLIAM J. GAYNOR 1910-1913
ARDOLPH L. KLINE 1913 (acting)
JOHN PURROY MITCHELL 1914-1917
JOHN F. HYL AN 1918-1925
JAMES J. WALKER 1926-1932
JOSEPH V. MCKEE 1932 (acting)
JOHN P. O’BRIEN 1933
FIORELLO H. L AGUARDIA 1934-1945
WILLIAM O’DWYER 1946-1950
VINCENT R. IMPELLITTERI 1950-1953
ROBERT F. WAGNER 1954-1965
JOHN V. LINDSAY 1966-1973
ABRAHAM D. BEAME 1974-1977
EDWARD I. KO CH 1978-1989
DAVID N. DINKINS 1990-1993
RUDOLPH W. GIULIANI 1994-2001
MICHAEL R. BLO OMBERG 2002-
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This publication is a joint effort of the New York City Municipal Archives
Department of Records and Information Services and the Alliance for
Downtown New York.
THE NEW YORK CIT Y DEPARTMENT OF RECORDS & INFORMATION SERVICES
Michael R. Bloomberg, Mayor
Brian G. Andersson, Commissioner
Senator Glenn and his wife Annie
198
NOVEMBER 16, 1998 ★
SENATOR JOHN GLENN AND FELLOW
CREW MEMBERS OF THE U.S. SPACE
SHUTTLE DISCOVERY Mayor Giuliani
189 MAY 7, 1985 ★ VIETNAM WAR
VETERANS “It’s Time” was the
theme of this parade, held ten
years after the last American forces
had returned home from Vietnam.
190
OCTOBER 28, 1986 ★ NEW YORK
METS, WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONS
“I asked the Mets to come here
today for a very special reason, so I
could present them with a bill. The
bill is for 72 million cases of nervous collapse,” declared Mayor
Edward I. Koch at the City Hall ceremony. He was referring to the cliffhanger series against the Boston
Red Sox that the Mets finally won in
the seventh game.
applauded Glenn for demonstrating “that there are new and exciting
frontiers opening up for older
Americans.” It was 77-year-old
Glenn’s second trip up the Canyon
of Heroes (see no. 162).
Located in the landmark lobby of 31 Chambers Street (Surrogate’s Court/Old
Hall of Records), the Agency’s Library and Municipal Archives preserve and
make available to the public the extensive historical and contemporary
information about the City. The Archives collection dates back to 1647, comprising 150,000 cubic feet of manuscript material, photographs, moving
images, sound recordings, maps and vital records.
The Library houses an expansive unique collection of city governmental
reports, rules and regulations, as well as minutes and proceedings of past City
legislative bodies. There are also extensive biographical and neighborhood
files, a street name index, and civil service material.
31 Chambers Street (corner of Centre Street)
(212) 788.8580
199
OCTOBER 29, 1999 ★ NEW
YORK YANKEES, WORLD SERIES
CHAMPIONS The Yankees defeated
www.nyc.gov/html/doris
the Atlanta Braves in a four-game
sweep, winning their 25th World
Series trophy, by far the most of
any team in Major League
baseball history.
200 OCTOBER 30, 2000 ★ NEW
YORK YANKEES, WORLD SERIES
CHAMPIONS When two New York
teams battle for the championship,
it’s called a “Subway Series”—
and this showdown was the first
since 1956. The Yankees beat the
Mets in five games, losing only
the third game.
Downtown New York—birthplace of New York
City and the nation—is one of the most
historic and intriguing neighborhoods in the
United States.
Downtown has long been the heart of
the nation’s financial industry, and the home
of Wall Street. In recent years, however,
Downtown has also emerged as an
around-the-clock community for working,
living and entertaining—an elegant
residential neighborhood, a home to worldclass cultural institutions, and a center for
music, dance and visual arts events.
Surrounded by water on three sides,
Downtown continues to enjoy breathtaking
views of the harbor from its parks, plazas,
and esplanades. And we still boast some of
the city’s best shopping destinations,
diverse dining, and superb hotels.
Come discover Downtown and learn about
our past and become part of our future.
For more information, please visit
our website at www.DowntownNY.com.
City Hall Park
MAYOR JOHN V. LINDSAY
183
JUNE 8, 1962 ★ ARCHBISHOP
MAKARIOS III, PRESIDENT OF CYPRUS
STREETSCAPE CONSULTANTS
195 OCTOBER 29, 1996 ★ NEW
YORK YANKEES, WORLD SERIES
CHAMPIONS The Bronx Bombers
©Bettmann/CORBIS
169
Digital rendering: 3dmedia
St. Paul’s Chapel
and Graveyard
©Bettmann/CORBIS
L–R: Mrs. Wagner, Archbishop Makarios III,
Mayor Wagner
Granite strip marking Broadway’s first ticker-tape parade
and women from the “Forgotten
War” were applauded in a subdued
event 41 years after American
troops had been sent to fight in
Korea.
Park was a member of the military
junta that overthrew the civilian
government in 1961. Censorship,
repression, and torture of political
prisoners were the hallmarks of his
administration. He survived several
attempts on his life (one of which
killed his wife in 1974), but was
177
Street, to be filled in with the names of future celebrations.
JUNE 25, 1991 ★ KOREAN WAR
VETERANS More than 9,000 men
eled down Broadway (reversing the
traditional parade route) to the
Battery where he made a special
address to New York and the nation.
176
less-steel letters. Blank strips will be included north of Vesey
JUNE 10, 1991 ★ PERSIAN GULF
WAR VETERANS “Operation
L–R: Lt. Col. Borman, Lt. Col. Anders, Mayor Lindsay,
Capt. Lovell, Governor Rockefeller
175
168 MAY 25, 1962 ★ FÉLIX
HOUPHOUËT-BOIGNY, PRESIDENT OF
THE IVORY COAST Many spectators
marched up Broadway, from the 1886 dedication of the Statue of
193
182
L–R: Mrs. Houphouët-Boigny, President
Houphouët-Boigny, Mayor Wagner and his wife Susan
commemorating all the ticker-tape parades (200 to date) that have
to 30 feet, marking the name and date of each historic parade in stain-
ANN ST
114
struction will be its formal re-creation as the “Canyon of Heroes,”
the new sidewalks eight-inch-wide black granite strips set every 20
185
FUL TO N ST
112
JOHN ST
107
MAID EN LN
105
L IBERTY ST
103
CEDAR S
T
101
PI NE ST
99
nary history as the route of New York’s and the nation’s
1978 – 1989
195 Broadway
AT&T Building
150 153 154 157 159 161 163 165 166 167
Downtown’s “Main Street” and because of its extraordi-
unrivaled ticker-tape parades. Part and parcel of Broadway’s recon-
MAYOR EDWARD I. KO CH
MAY 19, 1965 ★ PARK CHUNG
HEE, PRESIDENT OF SOUTH KOREA
Mohammed Zahir Shah became
King in 1933, after his father was
assassinated. He remained on the
throne until 1973 when a cousin
Broadway a top priority, both because of its role as
lighting the Downtown Alliance’s Streetscape Program will install in
180
174 SEPTEMBER 10, 1963 ★
MOHAMMED ZAHIR SHAH AND
HOMAIRA, KING AND QUEEN OF
AFGHANISTAN Born in 1914,
DOWNTOWN A LLIANCE is making the reconstruction of
York Yankees. Along with Broadway’s new curbs, pavement, and
L–R: President Park, U.S. Chief of Protocol Lloyd N.
Hand, Official Greeter Richard C. Patterson
Mayor Wagner and King Zahir
HE
Liberty to the 2000 celebration of the World Series champions New
B RO ADW AY THE CANYON OF HER OES
97
T
JUNE 20, 1990 ★ NELSON
MANDELA, AFRICAN NATIONAL
CONGRESS LEADER Jailed for 28
©Bettmann/CORBIS
Chiari, who served as president
from 1960 to 1964, presided over a
period of rising tensions with the
U.S. over Panamanian sovereignty.
SEPTEMBER 11, 1959 ★
BEATRIX, PRINCESS OF THE
NETHERLANDS Princess Beatrix
entered New York harbor 350 years
after Henry Hudson had claimed it
for her Dutch forebears. She came
to commemorate Hudson’s historic
voyage on the Half-Moon, but
sailed in substantially greater comfort as a passenger on the maiden
voyage of the new HollandAmerican ocean liner, the
Rotterdam.
CELEBRATING BROADWAY AS
“THE CANYON OF HEROES”
191
JUNE 14, 1962 ★ ROBERTO F.
CHIARI, PRESIDENT OF PANAMA
146
139 JUNE 23, 1958
GARCIA, PRESIDENT OF THE
PHILIPPINES In post-parade
1990 – 1993
170
A military escort greets Princess Beatrix
★ CARLOS P.
115 Broadway
United States
Realty Building
111 Broadway
Trinity Building
109
L–R: King Baudouin, Mrs. Wagner, Mayor Wagner, Official
Greeter Richard C. Patterson
137
MAYOR DAVID N. DINKINS
Mrs. Dinkins, Mrs. Mandela, Nelson Mandela,
Mayor Dinkins
152 MAY 2, 1960 ★ MAHENDRA BIR
BIKRAM SHAH DEV AND RATNA RAJYA
LAKSHMI DEVI SHA, KING AND QUEEN
OF NEPAL Throughout their visit to
JUNE 20, 1958 ★ THEODOR
HEUSS, PRESIDENT OF THE FEDERAL
REPUBLIC OF GERMANY “Never
described himself as a direct
descendant of King Solomon and
the Queen of Sheba. During his
reign, he established a national
108
L–R: Queen Ratna, King Mahendra, Mrs. Wagner, Mayor
Wagner, Official Greeter Richard C. Patterson
138
EMPEROR OF ETHIOPIA Selassie
Trinity Church
and Graveyard
106
Durocher singled out center fielder
and league batting champion Willie
Mays as “the greatest player I have
ever laid eyes on.” Though given
only a slim chance of beating the
Cleveland Indians, the Giants swept
the series in four games.
goal was $85,000,000, and New
York City had the largest quota,
$5,730,000.
Mayor Vincent Impellitteri saluted
the 62-year-old Pennsylvanian for
his 45 years of honorable service,
and especially his four and a half
years in New York, the longest tour
of duty he ever had in one port.
104
SEPTEMBER 27, 1954 ★ NEW
YORK GIANTS, NATIONAL LEAGUE
CHAMPIONS Club manager Leo
116
division, which went into action in
Korea during the Inchon landing in
December 1951, engaged in combat
for 429 days.
102
120
MARCH 1, 1955 ★ NEW YORK
CHAPTER OF THE AMERICAN RED
CROSS TO KICK OFF THEIR 1955 FUNDRAISING CAMPAIGN The national
JANUARY 30, 1953 ★ VICE ADM.
WALTER S. DELANY, COMMANDER OF
THE NAVY’S EASTERN SEA FRONTIER
AND THE ATLANTIC RESERVE FLEET
Admirals William F. Halsey and
Chester W. Nimitz were among
those honored at the parade and
reception. In his remarks, Mayor
Wagner pointed out that the Navy
had stationed men in New York City
since at least the 1801 opening of
the Brooklyn Navy Yard.
Mayor Wagner and the Giants at City Hall
the parade included an 1820 pump
and a hose reel of 1810 pulled by
firemen dressed in old-fashioned
red shirts and helmets.
APRIL 22, 1954 ★ VETERANS OF
THE 45TH “THUNDERBIRD” INFANTRY
DIVISION ON THEIR RETURN FROM THE
KOREAN WAR The “Thunderbird”
103
100
were known as “Vamps,” after
vamps, the brightly colored socks
they had worn in bucket-passing
days.
113
The New York Journal American
and affiliated Hearst Newspapers
arranged for the ticker-tape parade
and a luncheon at the WaldorfAstoria for the wounded soldiers.
They also presented each veteran
with $200 worth of Christmas presents and checks to cover personal
expenses. The veterans’ parade
was the last hurrah for Grover
Whalen, who had been the city’s
official greeter since 1919. Mayor
Robert F. Wagner named Richard C.
Patterson Jr. to the unsalaried position on January 1, 1954.
O’Kelly described himself as the
president of a very small island.
132 MAY 2, 1957 ★ 62 U.S. NAVY
AND MARINE VETERANS OF WORLD
WAR II AND THE KOREAN WAR Fleet
CEDAR ST
Commodore Manning and Chief Engineer Kaiser
According to the Department of Sanitation (the people responsible for sweeping up after ticker-tape
parades), astronaut John Glenn’s  parade was the largest, resulting in , tons of ticker tape.
Douglas MacArthur ranked second with , tons in . Both parades, however, extended
throughout the city, well beyond the traditional route from Battery Park to City Hall. Of parades
confined to lower Broadway, Douglas “Wrong Way” Corrigan and Howard Hughes, both in , were the champions at , and
, tons, respectively. The fabled Lindbergh parade created , tons of ticker tape. Recent parades average about  tons.
THE
BIGGEST PARADE?
VESEY ST
JULY 21, 1953 ★ BEN HOGAN,
BRITISH OPEN CHAMPION The man
MARCH 20, 1959 ★ SEAN T.
O’KELLY, PRESIDENT OF IRELAND
FULTON ST
107
Harvard-educated Rhee became
the first president of the republic in
1948. Student-led demonstrations
protesting government corruption
forced him from office in May 1960.
144
LIBERTY ST
L–R: Official Greeter Grover Whalen, Mayor Impellitteri,
Ben Hogan and his wife Valerie
131 AUGUST 30, 1956 ★ 3,000 VOLUNTEER FIREMEN ATTENDING THE
84TH ANNUAL CONVENTION OF THE
NEW YORK STATE FIREMEN’S
ASSOCIATION The volunteer firemen
DEY ST
Eisenhower appointed Doolittle to
coordinate celebrations throughout
the U.S. commemorating the 50th
anniversary of Wilbur and Orville
Wright’s 1903 airplane flight at Kitty
Hawk, North Carolina.
119 AUGUST 2, 1954 ★ SYNGMAN
RHEE, PRESIDENT OF SOUTH KOREA
CORTLANDT ST
112 NOVEMBER 5, 1953 ★ LT. GEN.
JAMES H. DOOLITTLE AND MARCHING
UNITS FROM THE ARMED FORCES IN
OBSERVANCE OF THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY
OF POWERED FLIGHT President
CREDITS
Photography Corbis: 1, 2, 4, 6, 16, 28, 38, 47, 48, 49, 53, 54, 55, 63, 66, 135, 136,
155, 183, 184, 189; AP/Wide World Photos: 21, 35, 88, 118; TimePix: 137; all other
photographs courtesy of the New York City Municipal Archives
Research and writing Kenneth R. Cobb, Director, New York City Municipal Archives,
Department of Records and Information Services
Design Bob Stern, 2b Group
© 2002 Alliance for Downtown New York, Inc.
The Alliance for Downtown New York, Inc. manages the
Downtown-Lower Manhattan Business Improvement District
(BID). The Downtown Alliance serves an area roughly from
City Hall to the Battery, from the East River to West Street,
for which it provides supplemental sanitation and security,
economic development, streetscape and transportation
improvements, marketing, and enhanced tourist services.
It is the mission of the Downtown Alliance to create and
promote a safe, clean, live-work,totally wired community,
which showcases the nation’s most historic neighborhood
and serves as the financial capital of the world for the
twenty-first century.
Alliance for Downtown New York, Inc.
120 Broadway, Suite 3340
New York, NY 10271
212 566-6700 Fax 212 566-6707
www.DowntownNY.com
above: October 21, 1957, Parade for Queen Elizabeth II
below: January 30, 1981, Parade for the U.S. hostages released from Iran