Lord & Taylor = Windows & Christmas

Lord & Taylor (New York) will use its always-noteworthy Christmas windows on Fifth Avenue to mark its 175th anniversary this year. The theme will be “Christmas Through the Years,” and will feature the first White House Christmas tree, introduced in 1856 by President Franklin Pierce.

The windows will open Tuesday afternoon, November 13, and will be on view through Monday, Jan. 1, 2002.

Other features this year will include: the home of Lord & Taylor's founder, Samuel Lord, on Christmas Eve in 1826, as he and partner George Washington Taylor celebrate their first holiday season in business with a string quartet, dancing and refreshments; a London street in 1843, when Sir Henry Cole — the first director of the Victoria & Albert Museum — asked British painter John Callcott Horsley to design a Christmas card that could be printed in quantity and sold; a U.S. family living room in 1927, when General Electric developed a large size base for its new outdoor Christmas light bulbs and sponsored a competition for the best color light decorations; backstage at Radio City Music Hall in 1933, with the theater preparing for its first-ever Radio City Christmas Spectacular starring the world-famous Rockettes; and a movie studio in 1970, as the animated classic Christmas film, “Santa Claus is Comin'to Town,” is being made with “claymation” and actors'voice-overs.

When Lord & Taylor moved into its present location at Fifth Avenue and 38th Street in 1914, it installed an innovative hydraulic lift system for its windows, so it could do the complex work below street level before it set its displays into place. In 1938, Lord & Taylor became the first store to devote prime display space to a seasonal celebration rather than merchandise. Its staff is led by visual creative director Manoel Renha. Since 1976, Lord & Taylor has partnered with Spaeth Design to execute the store's creative window themes. In addition to the production and animation, Spaeth artisans research historical accuracy.