The Cadillac Day Parade

The Cadillac Parade was the brainchild of the late Garnett “TV Tank” Budd, a man who made his name selling televisions and cars.  The parade began in 1946 and was annually sponsored by the Cadillac Club, a loose confederation of black men who drove such cars and socialized at the Avenue’s nightclubs.  It was a “Who’s Who” of community leaders, celebrities and entertainers. The community would come together annually to watch a parade of Cadillacs along the route  accompanied by performances of local university marching bands and dance troupes. The parade started at Pennsylvania and Fulton Avenues and moved down Pennsylvania Avenue to end at Dolphin Street. 

This annual event spanned 75 years until it was interrupted by COVID in 2021. 

New celebrations will be created in collaboration with the next generation of Black entrepreneurs in Baltimore who will make Pennsylvania Avenue Main Street their home.