
Incredible colorized shots capture the jubilant New York atmosphere during the popular parades and marches of the early twentieth century.

Despite dating back a century, these colorized photographs demonstrate the exuberant spirit that has always surrounded the Big Apple and has become a key element of the city's character.

The carefully colourised images show the patriotic celebrations for the annual Independence Day parade on July 4th.

Police officers escort cars on the streets of New York during a Lafayette Day parade held in New York in 1919, one of the many held throughout the year in the city at the time

A biplane with its propeller spinning is towed down 5th Avenue by a car for the July 4th parade in the city, seemingly without much concern for the safety of the men at the back

Elephants make an appearance on the city's streets for a circus parade with ringmasters balanced finely on their heads. This picture was taken looking north on 8th Avenue at West 48th Street around 1915

A biplane is seen being towed through the bustling Fifth Avenue in preparation for the big parade.

Another fascinating colourised photograph gives a glimpse into times gone by as a circus parade marches down 8th Avenue, a now heaving street, with the ringmasters seated on the backs of elephants.

In a nod to the famous city's great history, one particularly eye-catching shot captures a team of three fire horses pulling Engine No. 39 as they leave the Fire Headquarters on East 67th Street in February 1912.

This would mark the final time a horse-drawn fire carriage was to be used before being replaced by motor fire engines.

New York's famous Fifth Avenue on Easter Sunday 1913. The city's population was beginning to expand rapidly at the time and it went on to overtake London

Looking north on the corner of West 51st Street and 5th Avenue, reveals crowded streets with pedestrians and automobile traffic in the mid 1910s including a bus of the Fifth Avenue Coach Company

A woman dressed as the Statue of Liberty and a man as Uncle Sam are joined by a nurse for a show of patriotic spirit in a parade of 1912. The parades characterized New York's exuberant spirit

Horses pull Engine No.39, as it leaves the Fire Headquarters at 157 East 67th Street, for the last time before it was replaced by a motorized fire engine in 1912. Horse drawn engines first appeared in 1865 and were phased out completely in 1922

Young children play in makeshift carts in a New York City playground, possibly in an early so-called 'Soap Box Derby' . The races involved children going downhill in gravity powered homemade carts. The pictures provide a fascinating glimpse of the Big Apple of yesteryear

A New York man attempts to repair his broken down vehicle while his companion watches on. Cars became a more common sight around this time, though the city's famous gridlock traffic would take a few years to take hold

A man carts his goods away in a hand cart as he smokes from his pipe on the streets of New York. Carts were a common sight on the city's streets at this time and were used to sell goods from

Buses on 5th Avenue, including one made by De Dion-Bouton from France (right) with the Washinton Square Arch in the background, New York was the first city to use 'motor omnibuses' for public transit, and the earliest fleet hit the streets in 1902

Members of the Woman's Land Army of America (WLAA), a civilian organization working in agriculture to replace the men called up in the military. The WLA a was set up in forty states and the District of Columbia. Historians estimate between 15,000 and 20,000 women took part across the country

New York City is famous for its lavish and flashy parades which are held to mark numerous events, including Thanksgiving, Easter Sunday, Veterans' Day and Independence Day.

These impressive pictures were colourised by Royston Leonard from Cardiff.

During the 1920s, New York City became the most populated urban area in history playing home to approximately five million New Yorkers, overtaking London,

Its population later reached ten million inhabitants by 1930, making New York the world's first megacity.