Battle of Flowers Parade, 1952
Float of Her Imperial Majesty Kitty West of the House of Nelson, Queen of the Court of Make-Believe, in front of the reviewing stand in Alamo Plaza.
In honor of today’s Battle of Flowers Parade, we’re looking back at the parade that took place sixty years ago. The United States was in the middle of the Korean War in 1952, a year that also saw the
- premier of the Today show on NBC (January 14),
- proclamation of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II (February 7),
- first flight of the B-52 Stratofortress (April 15),
- Treaty of San Francisco go into effect, officially ending World War II (April 28),
- first publication of Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl (June 15),
- establishment of Puerto Rico as a self-governing American commonwealth (July 25),
- performance of the first open-heart surgery (September 2),
- debut of television in Canada (September 6),
- successful detonation of the first hydrogen bomb by the U.S. (November 1), and
- first election in which a computer was used to predict results, Dwight D. Eisenhower over Adlai Stevenson in the presidential race (November 4).
The photographs of the parade shown here are from the DRT Library’s archival collection of Battle of Flowers Association records. Many show floats in front of the Majestic Theatre as they made their way down Houston Street.
Enjoy, and Viva Fiesta!
Kelly Air Force Base float.
Brooks Air Force Base float.
Randolph Air Force Base float.
1st Armored Division Band from Fort Hood, Texas.
MFSS Battalion in front of the reviewing stand, Alamo Plaza.
From left to right, Texas Governor Allan Shivers, Battle of Flowers Association President Henrietta (Mrs. Chester) Kilpatrick, Gen. William M. Hoge, and an unidentified man in the reviewing stands.
Click here for a full citation of the documents and images included in this entry.
