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PRG Scenic Technologies Brings to Life Macy's Christmas In The City

Christmas in New York City is a magical time of year, when both young and old can be found peering into store windows, letting their imaginations run wild. Following in a tradition that has spanned over a century, Macy's has again created breathtaking holiday display windows at their Herald Square location. This year's Christmas windows feature giant children's pop-up books that come alive, thanks to PRG Scenic Technologies, a division of Production Resource Group, LLC (PRG).

PRG Scenic Technologies provided automation, control systems, scenery and lighting for the six automated display windows, each themed around ‘It's Christmas in the City’. The Macy's windows celebrate the season (Nutcracker), New York City (Rockefeller Center, Radio City Music Hall and Times Square) as well as the venerable store itself (Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and Shopping). The holiday windows recently earned the platinum award (first place) in the 2005 DDI Winning Windows Contest, given out by Design and Display Ideas Magazine. "Winning the DDI Award is like winning the Oscar for best picture in our industry," remarks Paul Olszewski, Macy's director of windows, who hired PRG Scenic Technologies for the project. "It's the first time Macy's has won the award, and to win the top award is just amazing."

Creating the magic in the windows was no easy task. "I wanted to take the windows to a new level and do something that the city hasn't seen before. Consequently, these are probably the most complex windows Macy's has done, especially because of the technology involved," explains Olszewski. Macy's hired Michael Allen Designs, Ltd to help him realize his artistic vision and due to the complexity of the automation, to help him locate a company with specialized engineering capabilities. "Normally with other automated windows, it's just figures moving back and forth, and I don't think most companies would be able to produce the kind of complex automation that came from PRG Scenic Technologies," Olszewski adds.

Overall, the completely customized project had inherent design challenges. "The mechanics and structures barely fit within the physical structure of the windows. It was challenging to package in the tight spaces and also to work with much smaller scale components than on our typical projects,. explains Jim Kempf, PRG Scenic Technology's mechanical designer on the project. "Working under a tight schedule and requiring multiple approvals on design and execution were also factors we had to consider during this project," Kempf adds. "But, despite the obstacles, I have to commend Rob Ward (PRG Scenic Technology's team leader who supervised the fabrication) for playing a key part to making the project happen."

The most amazing part of the windows is the complex automation that not only opens each pop-up book, but creates motion inside the books as well. The automation in each window is controlled by identical, but separate control packages, custom created by PRG Scenic Technologies. "A control package consists of a small programmable logic controller, up to six indexing AC Servo drives with matching AC servo motors. The drives have positioning capabilities which allow the storage and activation of multiple position profiles," notes John Hennessey, PRG Scenic Technologies. control engineer. Each of the elements from the skaters in Rockefeller Center to the high kicking Rockettes in Radio City to the dramatic drop of the New Year's countdown ball in Times Square, truly capture the spirit of the holidays in New York.

"The programming, along with the lighting and sound, were all done simultaneously in our shop at New Windsor with each of the respective designers." notes Troy Atkinson, PRG Scenic Technologies. project manager. Each window is run on a separate control system and may be used again independent of the other windows, possibly even in different cities. "The control for the automation system was fully programmed ahead of time", Atkinson adds.

Reliability of the mechanical and control systems was critical. Although the windows are only on display for a limited time, the pop-up books in each window will open and close about 500 times a day from 7:00 AM to 11:00 PM. "Each part moves at least 24,000 times over the run. It was challenging to design components that would not fatigue or wear out over time with minimal or no maintenance," describes Kempf.

Macy's Christmas windows will be on display until January 3rd. "It has been a great experience working with PRG. They truly interpreted my vision and brought it to life," comments Olszewski.

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PRG Scenic Technologies Brings to Life Macy's Christmas In The City

22nd December 2005

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