1976 festivities included elaborate
fireworks in the skies above major US cities. President Ford presided over the display in Washington, D.C., which was televised nationally. Celebrations in cities and towns across the nation opened into full effect including celebrations such as
Operation Sail (Op Sail), a large international fleet parade of tall-masted
sailing ships gathering first in New York City on
Independence Day and then in Boston about one week later. Other large-scale events, such as reenactments, parades, and booms in commercialized commemoration, spread across the nation as the year went on.
New York In addition to the presence of the 'tall ships', navies of many nations sent warships to New York harbor for an
International Naval Review held the morning of July 4. President Ford sailed down the
Hudson River into New York harbor aboard the
guided missile cruiser to review the international fleet and receive salutes from each visiting ship, ending with a salute from the
Royal Navy guided-missile destroyer . The review ended just above
Liberty Island at around 10:30 am.
Washington, D.C. , with President Gerald Ford, Queen Elizabeth II, and Prince Philip in the
President's Dining Room in conjunction with a 1976 state visit during the US Bicentennial
Johnny Cash served as the Grand Marshal of the US Bicentennial parade. The event was attended by
Queen Elizabeth II and
Prince Philip. The royal couple made a
state visit to the United States, toured the country, and attended other Bicentennial functions with President and Mrs. Ford. Their visit aboard the British royal yacht
HMY Britannia included stops in Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Virginia, New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts. The
Smithsonian Institution opened a long-term exhibition in its
Arts and Industries Building replicating the look and feel of the 1876
Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, including artifacts from earlier exposition. The Bicentennial
Festival of American Folklife, a collaboration of the Smithsonian with thousands of national and international scholars, folk artisans, and performers, hosted programs in the western part of the National Mall five days a week for twelve weeks in the summer of 1976. The Smithsonian also opened the new home of the
National Air and Space Museum on July 1, 1976.
Government celebration George Washington was posthumously appointed to the grade of
General of the Armies of the United States by the congressional joint resolution
Public Law 94-479 passed January 19, 1976, with an effective appointment date of July 4, 1976. This restored Washington's position as the
highest-ranking military officer in US history. NASA commemorated the Bicentennial by staging a science and technology exhibit housed in a series of geodesic domes in the parking lot of the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) called
Third Century America. An American flag and the Bicentennial emblem were also painted on the side of the VAB; the emblem remained until 1998, when it was painted over with the NASA insignia. NASA planned for
Viking 1 to land on Mars on July 4, but delayed the landing to July 20, the anniversary of the
Apollo 11 lunar landing. On the anniversary of the
signing of the Constitution, NASA held the rollout ceremony of the
first Space Shuttle (which NASA had planned to name
Constitution but was, instead, named "Enterprise" in honor of
its fictional namesake on the television series
Star Trek). of
Overseas National Airways in US Bicentennial special livery.
Delaware crossing reenactment On November 20 and 21 of 1976, participants immersed themselves in the era by donning period-accurate uniforms and equipping themselves with the tools and weaponry characteristic of that Christmas night over two centuries prior. The reenactment unfolded as a grand spectacle, featuring a flotilla of boats navigating the icy currents of the Delaware River. Since then, the
Crossing the Delaware reenactment has occurred every year to relive and recognize this moment.
Philadelphia While in Philadelphia on July 6, 1976, Queen Elizabeth presented the Bicentennial Bell on behalf of the British people. The bell is a replica of the Liberty Bell, cast at the same foundry—
Whitechapel Bell Foundry—and bearing the inscription "For the People of the United States of America from the People of Britain 4 July 1976 LET FREEDOM RING."
Los Angeles Disneyland and the
Magic Kingdom at
Walt Disney World presented
America on Parade, an elaborate parade celebrating American history and culture, and featured the
Sherman Brothers' song "
The Glorious Fourth". The parade featured nightly fireworks and ran twice daily from June 1975 to September 1976. Los Angeles observances included the Bicentennial Parade of 1976 on Wilshire Boulevard, and the Los Angeles City Schools Bicentennial Pageant at
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, broadcast as part of
Happy Birthday, America (NBC), hosted by
Paul Anka,
Pacific 21, a bicentennial exhibition and conference center, and Knott's Berry Farm bicentennial celebration.
Professional sports celebrations The overall theme of the entertainment of
Super Bowl X, held on January 18, was to celebrate the Bicentennial. Players on both teams, the
Pittsburgh Steelers and the
Dallas Cowboys, wore a special patch with the Bicentennial Logo on their jerseys; the Cowboys also added red, white, and blue striping to their helmets throughout the 1976 NFL season. The halftime show, featuring the performance group
Up with People, was entitled "200 Years and Just a Baby: A Tribute to America's Bicentennial". The
United States Olympic Committee (USOC) initiated bids to host both the 1976 Summer and Winter Olympic Games to celebrate the Bicentennial. Los Angeles bid for the
1976 Summer Olympics but lost to
Montreal.
Denver was awarded the
1976 Winter Olympics in 1970. Still, concern over costs led
Colorado voters to reject a referendum to fund the games, and the
International Olympic Committee awarded the games to
Innsbruck, Austria, the host of the 1964 games. As a result, there was no Olympics in the United States in 1976 despite a last minute offer from
Salt Lake City to host. However,
Lake Placid would host the
1980 Winter Olympics, Los Angeles would eventually host the
1984 Summer Olympics, and Salt Lake City would also eventually host the
2002 Winter Olympics. and
Sparky Anderson during ceremonies at the 1976 Major League Baseball All-Star Game As site of the
Continental Congress and signing of the Declaration of Independence,
Philadelphia served as host for the
1976 NBA All-Star Game, the
1976 National Hockey League All-Star Game, the
1976 NCAA Final Four, and the
1976 Major League Baseball All-Star Game at which President Ford threw out the first pitch. The
1976 Pro Bowl was an exception and was played in New Orleans, likely due to weather concerns.
Other Local observances included painting mailboxes and fire hydrants red, white, and blue. A wave of patriotism and nostalgia swept the nation, and there was a general feeling that the era of the
civil rights movement, the
Vietnam War, and the
Watergate constitutional crisis of 1974 had finally come to an end. , circa 1976 In the summer of 1976, the city of
South Bend, Indiana, embarked on a unique project to commemorate the United States Bicentennial: painting its fire hydrants in vibrant colors and patriotic designs. Over four decades later, many of South Bend's painted fire hydrants still stand as reminders of America's Bicentennial celebration.
Bell Telephone Company commissioned
Stanley Meltzoff to create a cover for its 1976 directory to commemorate both the Bicentennial and the centennial of the invention of the
telephone. Based on
Norman Rockwell's
The Gossips, Meltzoff depicted America's great historic and iconic figures using the telephone. It became the biggest-selling directory in Bell's history. Many national railroads and
shortlines painted locomotives or rolling stock in patriotic color schemes, typically numbered 1776 or 1976, and model railroad manufacturers quickly released bicentennial locomotives, which were popular among children and adults. Many military units marked aircraft with special designs in honor of the Bicentennial.
John Warner served as ARBA director. The
New Jersey Lottery operated a special "Bicentennial Lottery" in which the winner received $1,776 per week (before taxes) for 20 years (a total of $1,847,040). The Bicentennial Wagon Train Pilgrimage began a journey from
Blaine, Washington on June 8, 1975, concluding at
Valley Forge, Pennsylvania on July 4, 1976. The
wagon train pilgrimage traced the original
covered wagon trade and transportation routes across the United States. The
Conestoga wagon overland pilgrimage encompassed the
Bozeman Trail,
California Trail,
Gila Trail,
Great Wagon Road,
Mormon Trail,
Natchez Trace Trail,
Old Post Road,
Old Spanish Trail,
Oregon Trail,
Overland Trail,
Santa Fe Trail, and
Wilderness Road. Karen Steele was the first baby born on July 4, 1976, 12 seconds after midnight, and was referred to as the "Bicentennial Baby". She was featured on
The Today Show and
Good Morning America, and received commemorations from President Ford, New Jersey Governor
Brendan Byrne, and a host of other notables. Many commercial products, including sports, apparel, and collectibles, appeared in red, white, and blue packages in an attempt to tie them to the Bicentennial. Liberty, a brand of Spanish olives, sold its product in glass jars that replicated the Liberty Bell at the time. Products were only permitted to display the trademarked Bicentennial logo by paying a license fee to ARBA. ==Ceremonial coinage==