The 1989 inaugural featured a bevy of giant floats, such as this eagle. Photographs courtesy of Hargrove Inc.
George H.W. Bush, 1989: This float was paired with another of the former World War II aviator’s planes.
The Statue of Liberty lives with a cootie.
Or rather, a model of the New York City landmark and a giant
rendering of the title character from the Milton Bradley game Cootie. The
two icons share space at the American Celebration on Parade, a curious
collection of rousing Americana in Virginia’s Shenandoah
Valley.
Inside the warehouse/museum are the products of a lifetime of
imaginative thinking—the floats that Earl Hargrove Jr.
has been sketching, building, and driving for more than 60 years, from
dragons to trains to an American flag as large as a theater
stage.
Visitors are greeted by 20-foot-high carousel horses, a
30-foot-tall grinning jester, and a 25-foot-high bust of a woman, crowned
and dazzling. A dragon that looks as if it could breathe fire is crammed
in with larger-than-life toy soldiers, an American eagle the size of a
small prop plane, and a pirate’s ship as long as a tractor-trailer.
Ringing the walls are the seals of every presidential inauguration from
Truman’s to Obama’s, the remnants of now-recycled floats made on-site by
the Hargrove team. Presidents and First Ladies stood on these floats—and
now the public can.
Harry Truman, 1949: Truman’s inaugural featured a much simpler float of his home state.
But there’s a reason the objects are in a museum. While
inaugural parades carry on, the golden era of floats has passed, and the
multi-level sequined and flashing mobile jubilations seem out of place
amid today’s more toned-down celebrations. Three of Obama’s six inaugural
floats in 2009 had been used previously, one in a non-inaugural
parade.
Blame balloons, which have become more popular, or the floats
themselves, which are increasingly expensive. “Back when we started, if
you had $1,000 or $1,500 for a float, that was a lot of money,” Hargrove
says. “Today they can run as high as $200,000 or $300,000.” Most, he
notes, cost $25,000 to $75,000.
Hargrove, known as “the President’s prop man,” built Hargrove
Inc. on the backs of floats, creating a thriving, Lanham-based company
that now manages myriad events for the inauguration, from balls to signs.
But floats remain his love, and when he passed the company to daughter Carla Hargrove McGill and son-in-law Tim
McGill in 2008, the octogenarian kept the American Celebration on
Parade museum for himself.
Presidential props: The American Celebration on Parade museum showcases various other floats and props.
Although he realizes the future of floats is uncertain,
Hargrove isn’t ready to give up on his life’s passion. (This year’s
inauguration was the 17th he has worked on.) “The past two or three
inaugurals, the floats have become less important,” he says. “But as long
as the inaugural committee wants them, we’ll build them.”
January’s floats, which were created in just weeks, might
eventually find their way to the American Celebration on Parade—just as
holiday ornaments gravitate to the attic—where they’ll remain available to
the public year-round.
“The float business really in many ways has changed,” Hargrove
says. “It’s just like the whole world has changed.”
This article appears in the February 2013 issue of The Washingtonian.
Inaugural Parade Floats Fade Into History
The head-turning showpieces that once reigned in inaugural parades are things of the past. The good news? Now you can stand on one.
The Statue of Liberty lives with a cootie.
Or rather, a model of the New York City landmark and a giant
rendering of the title character from the Milton Bradley game Cootie. The
two icons share space at the American Celebration on Parade, a curious
collection of rousing Americana in Virginia’s Shenandoah
Valley.
Inside the warehouse/museum are the products of a lifetime of
imaginative thinking—the floats that Earl Hargrove Jr.
has been sketching, building, and driving for more than 60 years, from
dragons to trains to an American flag as large as a theater
stage.
Visitors are greeted by 20-foot-high carousel horses, a
30-foot-tall grinning jester, and a 25-foot-high bust of a woman, crowned
and dazzling. A dragon that looks as if it could breathe fire is crammed
in with larger-than-life toy soldiers, an American eagle the size of a
small prop plane, and a pirate’s ship as long as a tractor-trailer.
Ringing the walls are the seals of every presidential inauguration from
Truman’s to Obama’s, the remnants of now-recycled floats made on-site by
the Hargrove team. Presidents and First Ladies stood on these floats—and
now the public can.
But there’s a reason the objects are in a museum. While
inaugural parades carry on, the golden era of floats has passed, and the
multi-level sequined and flashing mobile jubilations seem out of place
amid today’s more toned-down celebrations. Three of Obama’s six inaugural
floats in 2009 had been used previously, one in a non-inaugural
parade.
Blame balloons, which have become more popular, or the floats
themselves, which are increasingly expensive. “Back when we started, if
you had $1,000 or $1,500 for a float, that was a lot of money,” Hargrove
says. “Today they can run as high as $200,000 or $300,000.” Most, he
notes, cost $25,000 to $75,000.
Hargrove, known as “the President’s prop man,” built Hargrove
Inc. on the backs of floats, creating a thriving, Lanham-based company
that now manages myriad events for the inauguration, from balls to signs.
But floats remain his love, and when he passed the company to daughter
Carla Hargrove McGill and son-in-law Tim
McGill in 2008, the octogenarian kept the American Celebration on
Parade museum for himself.
Although he realizes the future of floats is uncertain,
Hargrove isn’t ready to give up on his life’s passion. (This year’s
inauguration was the 17th he has worked on.) “The past two or three
inaugurals, the floats have become less important,” he says. “But as long
as the inaugural committee wants them, we’ll build them.”
January’s floats, which were created in just weeks, might
eventually find their way to the American Celebration on Parade—just as
holiday ornaments gravitate to the attic—where they’ll remain available to
the public year-round.
“The float business really in many ways has changed,” Hargrove
says. “It’s just like the whole world has changed.”
This article appears in the February 2013 issue of The Washingtonian.
Most Popular in News & Politics
The Missing Men of Mount Pleasant
Another Mysterious Anti-Trump Statue Has Appeared on the National Mall
Muriel Bowser Defends Her BLM Plaza Decision and Looks Back on a Decade as Mayor
Yet Another Anti-Trump Statue Has Shown Up on the National Mall
Want to Search Donald Trump’s Truth Social Posts? A New Site Is Here to Help.
Washingtonian Magazine
July Issue: The "Best Of" Issue
View IssueSubscribe
Follow Us on Social
Follow Us on Social
Related
How Would a New DC Stadium Compare to the Last One?
The Culture of Lacrosse Is More Complex Than People Think
Did Television Begin in Dupont Circle?
Kings Dominion’s Wild New Coaster Takes Flight in Virginia
More from News & Politics
I Tried to Train for American Ninja Warrior
Trump Wants to Rename Soccer, the Nationals Chose a Shortstop, and Virginians Are the US French-Fry-Eating Champions
Guest List: 5 People We’d Love to Hang Out With This July
The Washington Nationals Just Fired the Manager and GM Who Led Them to a Championship. Why Has the Team Been so Bad Since?
FBI Building Now on Track to Leave DC After All, Whistleblower Leaks Texts Suggesting Justice Department Planned to Blow Off Federal Court Orders, and NPS Cuts Leave Assateague Island Without Lifeguards
Families of DC Air Disaster Victims Criticize Army’s Response, Trump Settles His Scores Via Tariff, and Police Dog Kicked at Dulles Returns to Work
This DC-Area Lawyer Wants More Americans Betting on Elections
Trump Threatens DC Takeover, Says He’d Run the City “So Good”; Supreme Court OKs Mass Federal Worker Layoffs; and You Should Go Pick Some Sunflowers