For over 25 years, this photographer had a window seat at the Macy’s Parade

CNN
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When photographer Elizabeth Kahane’s husband asked where in New York they should live after their engagement in 1998, she had a very specific request for their marital home: A view of the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

“It’s so fun to look back at why it was so important to me and why it was my answer. But believe me, it was,” Kahane, a self-proclaimed parade enthusiast, said on a video call. “I love it so much.”

The couple moved into a third-floor apartment on the corner of Central Park West and 64th Street. Its street-facing windows offered the perfect vantage point to watch — and photograph — the procession, which travels down through Midtown Manhattan to Macy’s department store on Thanksgiving morning. The photographer has captured the spectacle almost every year since, missing the parade just twice in over a quarter of a century.

Kahane’s pictures, 160 of which are in her new one book “Come join the parade,” depict marching brass bands, pom pom-waving cheerleaders, themed floats and some of the millions of spectators lining the streets. These small human figures give a sense of scale to the real stars of the images: the iconic giant balloons.

SpongeBob SquarePants looks down manically at the crowd below him; The Grinch, accompanied by his loyal dog Max, stares menacingly ahead. Thomas the Tank Engine, the Kool-Aid Man and Boss Baby are just a few of the dozens of other big characters Kahane has imagined floating slowly past her home — often at eye level.

The images are made possible by a daring technique that the photographer describes as “one foot in, one foot out.”

“You’re not going to get that shot of Kermit if you’re not hanging out the window,” she said, explaining that windy conditions can actually be beneficial, as the balloons are lowered and thus “look like they’re walking on the street. ”

“I’m careful – and I have a window box there, so it gives me a certain sense of safety and security,” she added.

Watching the parade go by is something of a family tradition in the Kahane family.

In the days leading up to Thanksgiving, the photographer orders a window cleaner to ensure an unblemished view, and orders lox and bagels from her favorite deli. When her son was younger, she invited his friends and their families over to enjoy the show. But Kahane would always hide in the bedroom, careful not to set a dangerous example for her child (who is now 23 and contributed an essay to her book) with her risque photography style.

“I have a separate room, so I would hang out the window there and then run back in (to the living room), because I’m just north of them, to announce who’s coming next,” she explained.

Some pictures were taken from inside the apartment, where children were seen enjoying the surreal view of parade characters – from Sonic the Hedgehog to Pikachu merrily riding a Poké Ball-inspired sled – looming outside.

They weren’t the only ones getting excited. “I’m like a kid,” Kahane said of his enthusiasm on Thanksgiving morning. “I’ve had friends come over and look at me like I’m a crazy person.”

The annual parade was first organized in 1924 by Macy’s employees, many of whom were first-generation European immigrants, to celebrate the company’s new flagship store. It is now a staple of both New York life and national television, attracting a record television audience of 28.5 million last year.

Although 2024 will be 100 years since the inaugural parade, the department store is treating this Thursday’s parade as its 98th due to several postponements during World War II.

The Covid-19 pandemic couldn’t even stop the parade entirely, though it was reorganized as a televised-only event in 2020. A shortened route meant the floats didn’t pass Kahane’s apartment that year, when the rare break prompted her decision to trawl her archive and curate a selection for publication.

But the photographer emphasizes that she had not taken the photos with this in mind. “All the years I’ve done it, it wasn’t because I planned to do a book or a show or anything,” she said. “It’s just what I do.”

Her archive showed that the parade is something of a who’s who of pop culture. The balloons are retired every few years – and although classic characters often return in new guises, like Snoopy and Ronald McDonald, new favorites are added every year. Kahane said having children around often helped her identify some of the more zeitgeist additions to recent lineups, like the Australian animated dog Bluey, who debuted in 2022.

“Photography can capture a moment,” she reflected on the changing culture that the images document. “It’s a moment, and it’s a nice, beautiful way to enjoy it, because it won’t happen again.”

New balloons this year’s parade includes Gabby from Netflix’s “Gabby’s Dollhouse” and Marshall, a Dalmatian firefighter from “Paw Patrol.” As always, Kahane will be there dangling out of his window as they pass.

“I just noticed the building to my left has scaffolding up, so that will interfere (with the view),” she said. “Now I have really gotta hang out!”

“Come and join the parade” is available now.