(Editor’s note: This story originally appeared in 2016.)
In the early 1940s, the William H. Block Company started sponsoring a downtown Christmas parade with the hope of enticing shoppers into the store. The first mention of such a parade in the Indianapolis newspapers came in November 1942, when both the Indianapolis News and the Indianapolis Star carried stories about a parade featuring large toy figures.
Some eastern cities had similar spectacles, the Indianapolis News reported, but this would be the “first time a parade featuring so many gigantic figures would be shown in Indianapolis.”
Held in the middle of World War II, the 1942 Christmas parade had a patriotic flavor with a balloon train, dubbed the War Bond and Stamp Special, Santa Claus and Uncle Sam. While area newspapers ran stories about other Indiana cities holding Christmas parades throughout the 1940s, there are no more mentions of a parade in Indianapolis.
To the south, the town of Seymour had been holding a popular Christmas parade for many years as well and that tradition persisted. Some years Santa even arrived in a plane at the local airport, where he was greeted by thousands and handed out toys to the children in the crowd.
Other Indiana cities adopted the tradition for their own downtowns but it would take several more years before the parade returned to Indianapolis.
In 1959, the Downtown Merchants Association and the Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce resurrected the Christmas parade for the Circle City, again in an attempt to lure shoppers downtown in a time when suburban sprawl was beginning to draw customers away.
The first parade drew an estimated 250,000 spectators — far more than anticipated. People lined the streets and watched from office windows. The 90-minute spectacle featured 40 giant balloons, the Shrine Horse Patrol, a parade queen, 19 bands, and more than 1,400 participants. The procession ended at Monument Circle, where a lighting ceremony was held.
High school girls competed for a chance to serve as the Queen or Princess of Light and lead the parade through the streets. Parade planners adopted the concept from Sweden, where each Christmas “Queen Lucia” leads merrymakers in festivals, according to a 1963 Indianapolis Star story.
In 1962 the four downtown theaters opened their doors for free showings of the film “Tom Thumb.” According to anIndianapolis News article, these free movies gave parents a place to “park” their children while snuck away for a few hours of Christmas shopping.
No parade was held in 1963 after President John F. Kennedy was killed the day before the scheduled parade. The following year, the parade came back, drawing thousands even though temperatures that day hovered just below 15 degrees Fahrenheit.
Despite its success and growing crowds, the downtown parade did not last past the 1966 Christmas season. A brief story in the Indianapolis News in November 1967 noted that the executive division of the Merchants Association had voted not to hold the Christmas parade that year, adding no reason was given for the decision.
Local communities hosted parades of their own, some of which continue to this day. Lawrence, for instance, held a parade on November 30. Broad Ripple and Noblesville will host parades December 7.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Retro Indy: When Christmas parades kicked off the holiday shopping season
Reporting by Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
