Fun Maps: Revisit NYC’s 1915 Suffrage Parade Route

On October 23, 1915, tens of thousands of women marched up New York City’s Fifth Avenue demanding the right to vote. This momentous suffrage parade changed the lives of countless women, whether they directly participated in the march or not. In the new book, Stories from Suffragette City, a fun illustration of the parade route highlights special stops along the way and depicts scenes of the historic event.

The suffrage parade of 1915 marched from the Washington Square Arch, north up Fith Avenue past the New York Public Library on 42nd Street where there was a reviewing stand, and continued on to the corner of Central Park at 59th Street. The three-mile parade route is illustrated in the book by Laura Hartman Maestro. In the illustration, Maestro depicts scenes from the parade and famous New York City landmarks along the route. We see a group of suffragettes carrying a banner that reads “New York City Women Have No Vote at All,” depictions of the library’s famous lion statues, a group of suffragettes on horseback, and a street cart full of pretzels and apples. Other New York City landmarks including the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges, City Hall and Grand Central Terminal. You can also the Pennsylvania Railroad Tunnel which crosses under the East and Hudson Rivers.

Illustration by Laura Hartman Maestro

“We spent a lot of time looking at maps of the 1915 Manhattan parade route when we were researching Stories from Suffragette City,” says author Fiona Davis. “When we saw the illustration by Laura Hartman Maestro, M.J. and I were thrilled at how perfectly it captured the feel of the period. What’s more, the insets, which feature various scenes from the book, visually relay the overall arc of the anthology.”

Photograph via Library of Congress

It is estimated that upwards of 25,000 to 60,000 suffragettes took to the streets that October more than 100 years ago. It was the largest suffrage parade ever held in the city. Women, men and children from all five boroughs marched in the parade. The marchers were mostly clad in white with yellow banners, the colors of the Woman’s Suffrage Party. Women nationally would not get the right to vote until five years later with the passage of the 19th amendment.

In Stories from Suffragette City, thirteen bestselling authors including Fiona Davis. M.J. Rose, Dolen Perkins-Valdez and Katherine J. Chen tell the stories of New York women from a young woman who came to New York just to sell apples, to the high society figure of Alva Vanderbilt. Each story stands on its own, but together Stories from Suffragette City becomes a symphony, painting a portrait of a country looking for a fight and ever restless for progress and equality.

On Wednesday, October 28t at 5:30pm, joined Untapped New York and Shakespeare & Co. Bookstore and Cafe for a special virtual book launch event celebrating the release of Stories from Suffragette City with authors Fiona Davis, M.J. Rose, Dolen Perkins-Valdez and Katherine J. Chen!

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Next, check out Women’s Rights Pioneers Statue Unveiled in Central Park and The Nation’s First Unofficial Suffragette March Took Place in NYC