Date of Award
1-1-2019
Language
English
Document Type
Master's Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
College/School/Department
Department of History
Content Description
1 online resource (iii, 119 pages)
Dissertation/Thesis Chair
Kendra Smith-Howard
Committee Members
David Hochfelder
Keywords
Carnival, Celebration, Identity, Pageantry, Power, Spectacle, Cities and towns, Pageants
Subject Categories
United States History
Abstract
In July 1886, the city of Albany, New York celebrated the Bicentennial of the granting of its city charter, an event that synthesized and innovated existing forms of spectacle and celebration. Parades of municipal, fraternal, commercial, and military organizations joined orations and elaborate pyrotechnics to mark the occasion. Its central feature—a grand “historical pageant”—was one of the first times a city told the sequential story of its creation using dramatic and mechanical techniques, with expert assistance from Mardi Gras and Carnival float designers.
Recommended Citation
Erchak, Wyatt, "A glittering dream : celebration, spectacle, power, and identity in American cities, 1886-1924" (2019). Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024). 2273.
https://scholarsarchive.library.albany.edu/legacy-etd/2273