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.
Dayton’s Bluff in the early twentieth century. Hays’s body was found near the barge on the left. Used with the permission of Gary Brueggemann, in whose book, Minnesota’s First Murder Mystery (Beaver’s Pond Press, 2013), the map originally appeared.
For 1956’s parade, Dayton’s created a 167-foot long float depicting fashion trends by decade from the 1860s to the 1950s with live models. This ten-car display briefly held the world record for the longest parade float. Used with the permission of the Hennepin County History Museum.