Welcome To A Christmas Festival – New York Style!
This is Macy’s department store, located at 34th and 6th avenue in New York. Yes, they sponsor the annual Thanksgiving Day parade in New York – and oh yeah:
The building’s 2.5 million square feet, which includes 1.25 million square feet of retail space, makes it the largest department store in the United States and among the largest in the world.
This building, comprising an entire city block, was completed in 1902 and attracts massive crowds throughout the year, especially in the holiday season because of this!
This is the main entrance to the massive store, impressively decorated for the season. When I arrived, the entire staff lined the aisles and chanted and clapped as the shoppers filed in! And here is what they were there for:
There is one special area designated only for holiday decor!
This is where I found incredible food ornaments, like Bazooka Joe and Mike & Ike candy!
Check this tree out:
The store is literally packed with fun – and one really cool surprise!
One of the wildest things you’ll discover is that, in the back of the massive store, they still have their original WOODEN ESCALATORS!
That’s Right: WOODEN ESCALATORS!
These escalators run all the way to the top of the building: wooden railing, wooden siding and yes even wooden steps! Here’s a look:
Macy’s does an amazing job celebrating the season: their holiday store is packed with everything you could possible want!
Further north, you will find another department store that really gets into the holiday spirit in a big big way as well:
Bergdorf Goodman’s holiday windows are iconic, and you can see them up close by clicking on my story here!
Back to Macy’s – here’s a fascinating fact:
Isidor Straus (born February 6, 1845, Otterberg, Rhenish Palatinate, Bavaria; died April 15, 1912 on board RMS Titanic at sea in the North Atlantic) is best known as an owner and manager of the R.H. Macy department store in New York City.
I am toasting him – even more, I am cooking what may have been his last meal!
Here’s a menu from the Titanic!
Click here for more detail on what they served onboard the doomed ship!
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Categories: Art, Exotic Travel, Memoirs, New York, Pop Culture, Real Estate, Travel, Travel Adventures, Travel Memoir
johnrieber 
Wow! Way to go, Macy’s. I knew they were big, but now I know they’re the biggest. May their history and tradition continue to thrive.
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That’s the way to do ‘Department store at Christmas’!
Best wishes, Pete.
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Pete, I shared the photo you sent me and gave you credit for just another reason that “Die Hard” is indeed a Christmas movie! Cheers!
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I’ve only been to that Macy’s a few times, but it’s been packed every time we’ve gone. I can only guess at the numbers it attracts at Christmas.
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I worked with them for 10 years and yes, Christmas is magical!
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Interesting, thanks, John
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I loved Macy’s the one and only time I was in New York. I bought two business suits there that lasted forever. The decorations are amazing. New York is so Christmassy!
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Yes, Macy’s really captures the spirit – and it was PACKED! Thanks for the comment!
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That’s so cool! One of my co-workers has been in New York this week. I’ll have to ask him if he made it there when he’s back in the office tomorrow. And that’s a nice tidbit about Isidor Straus. My wife is somewhat obsessed with the Titanic, and took me to the Titanic exhibit in Branson, MO. a few years back.
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I am going to make a 3 course dinner from that old menu and try to make the most retro dishes they offered up! Thanks for the comment!
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love it! reminds me of the old j.l. Hudson’s department store in downtown detroit, that was an incredible place to visit in the christmas season
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How fun to see it all decked out in holiday cheer! I love the nostalgic candy and bazooka ornaments! Wished I’d had more time to explore Macy’s while we were there!
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