Dayton Company Paddleboat float, ca. 1958

Dayton’s Department store was regarded among Aquatennial organizers and attendants alike as regularly sponsoring the most lavish floats of the Grande Days and Torchlight Parades for decades, ranging from full-size paddleboats to scale replicas of the Taj Mahal led by elephants. Aquatennial Parade Floats[graphics], Sound and Visual Collection Call #I:3. Used with the permission of the Hennepin County History Museum.