The flagship store moved uptown to Herald Square at 34th Street and Broadway in 1902. Beginning with one building, and through expanded new construction or merging, eventually it grew into the world's largest department store, with some 10 million ft² (1 million m²) of selling floor. (Some claim that the GUM store is Moscow, Russia is larger.) Macy's now occupies the entire block from 7th Avenue to Broadway and 34th to 35th Streets -- except for one small brownstone on the corner of 34th and Broadway, which remains a separate property, though rented by Macy's annually for a legendary figure, and camouflaged with giant signs.

The same property problem presented itself when Macy's built a store on Queens Boulevard in Jackson Heights, Queens, New York, This resulted in a architecturally unique round department store on 90% of the lot, with a small privately owned house on the corner. It was a case literally of the "little lady who wouldn't sell."

Macy's has entered the popular psyche of the United States in a number of ways:

• The movie Miracle on 34th Street is set in Macy's, and remains a holiday season staple on US television.
• The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, the most famous and most watched Santa Claus Parade, has been sponsored by Macy's for over 75 years. Among New Yorkers it is often referred to as "the Macy Day Parade."
• The phrase "does Macy's tell Gimbels?" used in the USA as a put-off to inquiring people. Gimbels was the other large deparment store, directly across 34th Street from Macy's. It has since folded.
• Macy's has also been sponsoring fireworks displays in New York for decades.

R.H. Macy & Co. merged with Federated Department Stores on December 19, 1994, after which a number of stores already owned by FDS took on the Macy's name.

As of 2004, Macy's has 248 stores in Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Guam, Hawaii, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Virginia, and Puerto Rico. In addition, the rest of Federated's department stores, with the exception of Bloomingdale's, have now incorporated the Macy's name; for example, the Pacific Northwest's Bon Marche is now known as Bon-Macy's, and Florida's Burdines is now known as Burdines-Macy's.

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