Explore a Macy's historical timeline

Watch a video that details the full history of Macy's

From the first Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade to opening its flagship store in Herald Square, Macy's has a long and successful history despite its recent financial troubles.

Macy’s revolutionized retail with fixed pricing, pay-upfront policies, and marketing

The brand soon grew into a cultural icon, hosting the first in-store Santa in 1862, and launching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in 1924, now a holiday staple. Its flagship Herald Square store became the world’s largest, and its festive window displays set a new standard for holiday celebrations.

The first Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade took place in 1924

It was originally intended to promote Macy’s upcoming holiday sales. Although it took place on Thanksgiving Day, the parade was initially called the Macy’s Christmas Parade—the name didn’t change until 1927.

One odd Macy’s location is basically a museum

Here’s a list of things you wouldn’t expect to see at your average Macy’s store: a 19th-century French painting, a former midcentury children’s barbershop, nautical portholes, and the list goes on. Shoppers can find all those things and more in one unique Macy’s store in Pasadena, California.

Learn how the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade comes together each year

The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is essentially a huge theatrical production spanning several long blocks in New York City rather than a stage. Naturally, organizing it is a complicated process. This podcast episode explains how the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade comes together each year.

Go behind the scenes at the Macy’s Parade Studio

With dozens of balloons and floats, and thousands of costumes, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade requires year-round planning to pull off. Go behind the scenes with the designers and builders who make the magic happen. See how the floats come together and what makes this annual spectacle a reality.

Dry goods stores sold products such as textiles and linens

RH Macy started Macy’s as a dry goods store in 1858. At the time, the store was located on New York City’s 14th Street. Dry goods stores later rebranded themselves for the future of retail around the 1930s.

In 2006, Macy's was worth $20B—but as of 2024, its market cap was just under $5B

Macy's went from roughly 800 to 500 stores within the same time period. Macy’s has spent the recent years since the pandemic closing swaths of stores.

There’s a solid argument to be made that Macy’s was the inventor of the retail Santa

The Macy’s website claims that retail Santas—the Christmas icons who invite children to meet them at department stores and malls around the holidays—have been visiting the store since the 1860s.

See historic Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade photos

Snoopy and Bullwinkle and Clifford, oh my! This slideshow has photographs of all those characters (and more) from when they debuted as balloons at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. These photos span from the original parades in the 1920s through the early 2000s.

As of 2024, Macy’s wanted to monetize its store closures through real estate deals

In a 2024 earnings call, Macy’s noted that while it’s remodeling and investing in some of its brick-and-mortar locations, it seeks to shutter other stores in lower-performing locations. It’s estimated that Macy's will close 150 locations through 2026.

Scroll through a Sears historical timeline, starting in the year 1886

The Sears story starts with railroad worker Richard Sears purchasing a declined shipment of watches for a discounted price. An interactive historical timeline chronicles the history of Sears from then onwards.

Explore a Sears historical timeline

Sears has existed for over 130 years, and is remembered for much more than its 2018 bankruptcy, from the Sears and Roebuck’s catalog to Discover Card and Allstate Insurance.

A Nantucket woman helped build Macy’s

Margaret Getchell, an early Macy’s superintendent, was among the first female executives in the American retail industry. Getchell (who was distantly related to Macy’s founder RH Macy, although it’s unclear if the pair knew that when she was hired) helped shape Macy's as an early employee.

Macy’s doesn’t own its flagship location because of the 'million dollar corner'

When Macy’s moved to the Herald Square location, it reached a verbal agreement to acquire that corner of land—but at the last minute, it was sold to a rival store for roughly $1M.

Macy’s announced a series of pandemic-era store closures in January 2021

Specifically, as mall foot traffic declined, Macy’s sought to grow elsewhere (as did many other retailers around the same time).

In 1924, elephants from the Central Park Zoo marched in Macy's inaugural parade

Enormous balloons didn’t make an appearance until 1927, and the parade wasn’t televised until 1948. But no matter the decade, a visit from Santa Claus has always been a highlight.

The 2025 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade floats include Camp Snoopy, POPCITY, and more

Whether you want to see the floats in the parade or prefer to learn more about the balloons, performers, and more, this interactive website has it. Click on each of the visuals to see details about the float or balloon. The Beagle Scout Snoopy balloon, for instance, has a giant hat that is as long as 17 beagles lined up end to end.

The history of the Met

From a single sarcophagus to a collection of more than a million artifacts that span nearly the entirety of human civilization, the Met and its importance have grown significantly over the last 150 years. This history of the museum hits all the highlights, including important acquisitions, new wings and galleries, and the importance of the buildings that hold and display all of the incredible artwork.

The Black Friday Archive collects Black Friday ads from the past 25 years

The archive features advertisements from notable retailers such as Bath & Body Works, Gap, and The Home Depot, among others. These ads span from the years 2000 to 2024, in addition to some from early holiday sales at Macy’s in 1963.

See a timeline of American Express' history

Since its founding in 1850, American Express has evolved from a mail delivery service to a multinational financial services company. Small additions to the company over time, such as taking money orders and inventing traveler's cheques, were key drivers of the company's transformation.

A timeline of Wall Street's history

Wall Street's historical timeline starts with Wall Street getting its name in the 1600s and ends with details about the Occupy Wall Street movement in 2011.

A stock market timeline

The stock market has come a long way since the 1600s, when the first version of a stock exchange was created in Amsterdam. Mile markers along the way include everything from the Dow Jones Industrial Average's creation in 1896 to the stock market woes during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

Amazon has experienced relentless, if occasionally bumpy, growth since its founding

From its founding in 1994 to a slew of acquisitions and new products and services launched in the decades since then, Amazon has experienced relentless, if occasionally bumpy, growth. This timeline from The Verge lays out some of the major events in the company’s story, including its IPO, rollout of its lucrative cloud-computing division, and much more.

The history of the McDonald's Happy Meal

The McDonald's Happy Meal is the quintessential fast food kids meal, serving up child-appropriate portions and prizes all within a portable, fun container. So where did this pop culture icon begin? Watch this quirky 13-minute history of the Happy...

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, explained

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, founded in 1870, houses 1.5 million works spanning centuries—from ancient Egyptian artifacts to impressionist masterpieces. Its iconic Fifth Avenue building, designed by architect Richard Morris Hunt, and tranquil Cloisters location reflect its dedication to showcasing global creativity.

Tiptoe, an adorable blue reindeer, became Macy’s new mascot in 2021

Move over Rudolph—there’s a new reindeer in town. And just like the red-nosed reindeer, this one was also created by a department store. An article explains Tiptoe’s origin story, and the business implications of the new mascot.

The early years of the Met

The Met didn’t start out in the grand, sprawling grounds that it currently occupies. This episode of Hometown History, a podcast about lesser-known historical places and events, covers the early years of the venerable institution. Learn about how the vision and planning of a group of 19th century artists and philanthropists took the Met from a small collection in a humble brick building to the cultural powerhouse that it is today.

The evolution of New York City

Originally founded as New Amsterdam, this interactive timeline lists out and provides deep dives on the major events that shaped New York City as it became America's foremost cultural and economic hub.

100 years of passenger air travel: a visual guide

This interactive timeline covers the first 100 years of passenger air travel, which was created in 1925 when the U.S. Post Office allowed private airlines to start delivering mail.

The history of Mother's Day in the US

Mother’s Day is a holiday honoring motherhood that is observed in different forms throughout the world. Learn about the origins of the official holiday in the US with this in-depth breakdown of the holiday, from the 19th-century women's movement to the commercialization of Mother's Day sales.

Explore Sears’ holiday Wish Book catalogs dating back to 1930

The Sears Wish Book was a holiday-themed version of its catalogs that helped people make Christmas gift wish lists and more from the 1930s until the early 2000s. See what they looked like with editions in this archive.

America's oldest companies still operating today

Did you know that the Ticonderoga pencil company dates back to 1795? Or that Baker's Chocolate started in 1765? This visualization depicts the oldest American companies that are still in operation today in a timeline—see it here.

Celebrations for America's 150th birthday in 1926 were a poorly organized mess that nearly bankrupted the host city of Philadelphia.

Amazon is the most-loved brand among baby boomers

Macy's ranked at number five for the oldest generation alive today, whereas Gen Xers have Apple in their number one slot. This data visualization outlines the most-loved brands among baby boomers.

The architecture of the Met

Curious how the Met came to occupy its incredible campus? This video, which was produced in association with the exhibition “Making The Met, 1970-2020,” tracks the history of the museum through the evolution of its architecture. From its temporary location in a private residence to its intended home in Central Park, the building now reflects the many different eras of design, including Victorian Gothic and Modernism, that have influenced its facade through the years.

See a collection of Valentine's Day cards from the past century

Hallmark helped popularize (and commercialize) the holiday in the early 20th century, largely through its greeting cards. This digital collection includes cards from the 1910s through the 2000s, allowing you to see how the holiday—and our popular understanding of romance—has evolved. Below is a card from the 1930s.

Scroll through a Budweiser historical timeline

From Eberhard Anheuser’s purchase of the Bavarian Brewery in 1860 to the Anheuser-Busch and InBev merger that created what became the world’s largest brewer, this historical timeline highlights the most significant moments in Budweiser’s more than 150-year story.

Experience over 100 years of basketball history with a visual, interactive timeline.

The rise of the museum gift shop

While museum gift shops are commonplace now, they weren’t when the Met opened in 1870. Nevertheless, the museum was one of the first to offer copies of several of their paintings for visitors to display in their own homes. Read about how the museum gift shop has evolved and how they decide what to carry with this look behind the scenes from Artsy.

Explore a visual timeline of fintech’s history and growth

From the debut of the world’s first ATM in 1967, to Apple Pay launching in 2014, financial technologies have come a very long way in a relatively short historical period. A colorful visual timeline highlights some of the most important milestones along the way.

See the original websites for companies like Google, Facebook, and Apple

Explore archived images of homepages on websites dating all the way back to 1991.

The history of Reddit, the front page of the internet

The hyperactive online forum and social media platform has transformed since 2006 from a simple link-sharing site to a behemoth in digital media. Topping off its ascendancy, Reddit went public on the New York Stock Exchange in 2024, solidifying its future amid a shifting technological climate. Dive into Reddit's nearly two decades of growth with this detailed timeline.

The history of the Met Gala

Learn how the famed Met Gala went from a small fundraising dinner to a star-studded event that brings in millions of dollars in donations every year. The gala has always centered on fashion. It’s a fundraiser for the Costume Institute dreamed up by one of the founders of New York Fashion Week. Over the years, that relationship has grown even closer and more creative.

A brief history of Christmas tree design

A celebration of the Christmas tree in all its festive glory. Get a glimpse into its intriguing background and the lore that accompanies it.

The Walt Disney Co. has existed for over 100 years

October 16, 2023, marked the 100th anniversary of The Walt Disney Co. In that time, it has evolved from a modest animation studio called the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio to a massive, billion-dollar conglomerate.

The agricultural history of the pumpkin

Pumpkin pie holds a special place in Thanksgiving traditions, but its journey from everyday produce to a seasonal treat spans over 10,000 years. Trace the history of this oversized fruit with this fascinating dive. Pumpkins belong to the species...

LVMH's history can be traced back to 1854, the year Louis Vuitton was started

Louis Vuitton was founded by a craftsman's apprentice who specialized in trunk-making. Since its merger with Moët Hennessy in 1987, which created LVMH, the conglomerate has been considered a powerhouse in the business world. "I would argue that next to Apple, no other company on the planet dominates their industry as completely as LVMH," one financial expert said.

Explore the history of American restaurants through an archive of menus dating back to the early 1800s.

See 10 of the artifacts on display at the Smithsonian's America at 250 exhibition

From Thomas Jefferson's portable writing desk to a first-generation iPod, the National Museum of American History is showcasing 250 objects across all three floors to mark the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.