Macy's Herald Square is the flagship store of the Macy's department store chain, as well as the corporate headquarters for Macy's, Inc. It is located at 151 West 34th Street in Manhattan, New York. Once billed as the "World's Largest Store," the building takes up an entire city block, totalling 2.5 million square feet, 1.25 million of which is retail space, making it the largest department store in the United States, and one of the biggest stores in the world.
The store serves as a backdrop for NBC's annual broadcast of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, with performances taking place just outside the store's memorial marquee entrance on 34th Street. The Herald Square store also serves as the home of the Macy's Flower Show, Macy's Holiday Windows, Santaland, and other, smaller events throughout the year.
History with the Macy's Parade[]
Since the inception of the Macy's Parade in 1924, the Macy's Herald Square store has served as the culmination point of the Parade. Originally, once the entire Parade has passed through 34th Street, the animated Holiday Windows would be unveiled with the help of Santa Claus. It was also the location where the giant helium balloons were released between 1928 and 1932.
The store is oftentimes decorated for the Parade, displaying inflatable characters on its marquees and adding garland and lights to certain areas of the store.
See also[]
- Macy's Parade Studio, the production facility where everything for the Parade is created.
- Macy's Parade Warehouse, the storage facility that houses Parade elements in the off-season.