Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Christmas at Macy's Herald Square, 1962

Hope that everyone is having a great Christmas Eve! Today was unusual (read: awesome) for me in that I didn’t have to do any last-minute Christmas shopping, save for a few items from the grocery store.

One thing’s for sure, though – if I could shop in a store like the one pictured above, I wouldn’t have minded a bit!

This, of course, is the renowned R.H. Macy & Co. flagship store in New York’s Herald Square, as it appeared during the 1962 Christmas season, depicted in a set of original 3D slides (sure wish I knew how to show you that effect on the web!) I bought a while back.

The “World’s Largest Store”, a Big Apple fixture since 1907, remains a must-see attraction for anyone visiting New York City, and certainly there’s no better time to see it than during its “full holiday regalia” mode. Over the last year it has undergone a controversial revamping, with years of neglect now swept away by renovations that, in the opinion of some, have gone too far. At least the famous fluted columns are still in evidence, even if their golden crowns are no longer visible. As I’ve said before, I’m always grateful that pictures like these exist.

And I’m very grateful for you, Pleasant Family Shopping readers. My best to you and yours this season!

5 comments:

  1. As long as they don't mess with the wooden escalator tops.......

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  2. Macy's seems to reeeeally hate downtown stores. In 2013 alone, they axed the former Foley's in downtown Houston, and as little as 8 years before it was closed and demo'd, it still had Foley's offices there. St. Louis also lost the old Famous-Barr, but not before it was cut from 7 to 3 floors, losing a bunch of old escalators in the process.

    Department stores seem to be in a pretty sorry state these days: JCPenney's future is uncertain, Sears is continuing to deteriorate, and so forth. Speaking of JCP, love to hear more of that, such as their grocery stores in a few stores.

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  3. It's a crime what they've done to the Herald Square Macy's. Those pillars have recently been covered over. The whole main floor looks like an H&M now. Everything is white from floor to celling. All the character and history is gone. I think the wooden escalators are gone… or going. I'll check the next time I'm in there.

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