San Francisco's forgotten Thanksgiving Day Balloon Parade

150,000 people attended the San Francisco's holiday balloon parade on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 27, 1952. 150,000 people attended the San Francisco's holiday balloon parade on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 27, 1952. Photo: The Chronicle Archive Photo: The Chronicle Archive Image 1 of / 39 Caption Close San Francisco's forgotten Thanksgiving Day Balloon Parade 1 / 39 Back to Gallery

Did you know almost 60 years ago, San Francisco held a giant balloon parade that rivaled the grand Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade in New York?

At its peak, over 200,000 people would fill the streets of downtown San Francisco to get a peek of giant inflatable balloons marching down Market Street on Thanksgiving Day.

Although the parade was commonly called the Thanksgiving Day Balloon Parade, its official name was the Chronicle's Christmas Parade. The San Francisco Chronicle conceived it as a holiday gift to the city.

1952 was the inaugural year for the parade and it consisted of 33 giant balloons and performances from the Drum and Bugle Corps of the Boy Scouts and the Weldonian Band of Oakland. Balloons included a vegetable parody of King Arthur's Court: Lady Carrot, Sir Tommy Tomato, Lady Beet, and Colonel Cob.

Other balloons included one of Al Capp's fictional cartoon creature Shmoo, a pegasus magic horse trying to jump over the moon, a man smoking a pipe, a football player, an 18-foot elephant, Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater, Puss'n Boots, an 80-foot sea serpent, and a train with a 65-foot locomotive, a 45-foot coach and a 45-foot boxcar.

Over 150,000 people lined up to watch the parade that started at New Montgomery and Howard streets. The procession, which was two hours long, turned up Market to Taylor, then over to Post and back down to Montgomery Street.

"We expected a crowd, but nothing like this," parade director Charles P. Teevin told the Chronicle.

"We held it on Thanksgiving, so Mother could get Dad and the kids out of the house while she cooked the turkey," he added. "But it looks like Ma came along and left the turkey to grandmother. And there are a lot of grandmothers here too!"

The final float held Santa Claus, drawn by reindeer and ringed by giant candy canes.

The next Thanksgiving Day balloon parade in 1953 attracted over 200,000 people, and the route changed. That year it started at New Montgomery, up Market Street, before ending at the Civic Center. The grand marshal for the 1953 parade was no other than San Francisco's Emperor Norton I. During the ceremony, Norton handed out over 100,000 Gold Crown Notes, which entitled children to a free ride at Playland-at-the-Beach amusement park.

According to an article in the next day's Chronicle, the crowds were so thick along Third and Market, people stood on top of newsstands and hung from Lotta's Fountain. The most spectacular balloons in the parade included a two-headed cat and a roaring lion.

Unfortunately, the 1953 edition of the parade was its high point. It returned as a much smaller affair in 1954, and the march took place along Mission Street in the Mission District. Some 18 giant balloons, bands and drill teams treated an estimated 7,000 spectators to a holiday spectacle under inclement weather.

After the 1954 parade, there is no more mention of the parade in the San Francisco Chronicle. It's believed the annual event ended after only three years due to funding issues.

__________

Online Photo Editor Douglas Zimmerman oversees SFGATE's Instagram and covers the Bay Area soccer scene on SFGATE's Beautiful Blog. View his latest stories and send him news tips at dzimmerman@sfgate.com.