These Rare Vintage Photos Will Show You What Life Was Really Like In The ’50s
Back in the 1950s, life was a lot different than it is now. There were no iPhones, computers, streaming services, or internet providers. The world was torn between capitalism and communism, people listened to Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennet, and television was just starting to take off in America.
While some people look back at this decade through rose-colored glasses, we can't forget how difficult life was in the 50s, especially for women and people of color. It was a complicated time, and these rare vintage photos give us some insight into what life was really like all those years ago.
Kids Had Paper Routes And Rode Their Bikes Everywhere
Biking is still popular with kids today, but in the '50s, more kids were spending their time outside riding bikes than inside playing video games (because video games didn't exist). IN this photo, you can see a typical American suburban street in Fairfax, Delaware. If you looked outside on any given sunny day, you would see the neighborhood kids riding their bikes down the street.
A lot of kids also had paper routes. They would ride their bikes from house to house delivering newspapers so they could earn some extra pocket money.
People Dressed Up For Flights (And Smoked On Planes)
Nowadays, getting onto an airplane is no big deal. People put on their comfiest sweatpants, grab their neck pillows, and snooze away. Back in the '50s, air travel was a much fancier affair. People would wear their best suits and dresses when they were traveling by airplane.
Also, smoking was totally okay on airplanes, as you can see in this photo. That is definitely not the case today. In the '50s, people weren't aware of the damaging effects of cigarettes on people's lungs.
Women Got Married At 20
This is a photo of a typical 1950s bride on her wedding day. This girl was likely no more than 20 or 21 years old. In 1950, the average age of marriage for women was 20. On average, men got married at 22 years of age. Couples who got married very rarely got divorced. There was a lot of social stigma surrounding divorce in the '50s.
Today, women typically get married around age 26, and men around age 28.
Roller Skating Was Extremely Popular
Roller skates may have been invented a couple of centuries earlier, but the sport became quite popular in the 1950s. In this photo, you can see two young girls strapping on their roller skates before heading out on the open road. The skates were just wheels that they strapped on to their sneakers.
Rollerblades wouldn't come into popularity until 1979. When they weren't roller skating, kids int he '50s would play limbo, hula hoop, or pin the tail on the donkey.
Fashion In The '50s
This is a photo from an issue of Vogue that was published in 1958. You can clearly see two models dressed in red against the backdrop of New York City. These models are wearing fur muffs, velvet dome hats, and baby-waist dresses in wool plaid (on the left) and wool tweed (on the right).
Women always accessorized their outfits in the '50s. Some common accessories included gloves, a waist-cinching belt, chiffon scarves, and red lipstick.
A Pretty Pink Cooktop
While during the second world war, women were pushed into the workforce, in the 1950s, many of them returned to the home. They worked as housewives cooking, cleaning, and caring for their families.
A lot of women enjoyed being in the kitchen, and a lot did not, but advertisers did everything they could to sell their kitchen appliances to American women. This screenprint from 1957 reveals a stereotypical '50s home complete with a pretty pink stovetop.
This Robot Was The Toy Of The Decade
Back in the '50s, this toy robot that was powered by an air pump was as about as high tech as toys got. The boy in the photo would have been the envy of little boys everywhere. The toy in this photo is a toy called Robert the Robot, which was manufactured by the Ideal Toy Corp.
Robert the Robot was first released in 1959. This think could walk and talk and it even had a remote control. You could get this sought after toy for just six dollars.
Families Had Bomb Shelters In Case Of A Nuclear Attack
After World War II ended, the Cold War began. No guns were ever fired and no bombs ever went off, but people lived in constant fear of a nuclear attack. The Societ Union had atom bombs, and apparently, they weren't afraid to use them. It turned out that they were afraid to use them, but that didn't stop Ameican families from building bomb shelters like the one in this diagram in their backyards.
The American government even encouraged families to invest in bomb shelters and panic rooms.
Everyone Who Was Anyone Had A TV
Television sets rose in popularity during the 1950s. Very quickly, the TV went from something that only the rich could afford to an amenity that was present in every middle-class American household. Families would eat dinner in front of the TV so they wouldn't miss the news or their favorite programs.
Some popular TV shows during that time were I Love Lucy, Father Knows Best, The Honeymooners, Leave it to Beaver, and Gunsmoke. It was a new era of entertainment.
Teenagers Listened To Music On Record Players
In the 1950s, people of all ages, but especially teenagers, would buy large records and listen to them on record players that they had in their own homes. Pictured above is radio DJ Dean Calgano. He introduced teens to some of the best songs of the decade.
Popular music of the '50s included Dean Martin, Perry Como, Ray Charles, Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, Johnny Cash, Nina Simone, and Harry Belafonte. Today, people still listen to music on records, but they also have access to digital music technology.
The Way Teens Dated In The '50s
Much of the '50s brings to mind one word: innocence. Check out these two teenagers sharing a milkshake in 1958. They look like they were on a date. While it was very innocent, it was also an intimate moment. It was common for teens to go on double dates, particularly for people who were a little shy. Eventually, couples would start single dating and eventually "go steady."
In the '50s, going steady meant a couple was exclusive but didn't necessarily mean they were on the road to marriage. Often boys gave their girlfriends a class ring, letterman sweater, or an ID bracelet to wear.
Greasers Had Their Own Sense Of Style
Some teenagers, like this group of young men, passed the time by hanging out on their motorcycles in parking lots. This group of San Francisco teens was known as greasers. They were young people with rebellious attitudes who liked rock and roll music, rockabilly, and doo-wop.
Greasers were characterized by their rebellious attitude and working-class attire (t-shirts, jeans, and boots). They greased their hair back with products such as petroleum jelly in order to style it into various shapes, such as the pompadour. Female greasers wore leather jackets and tight, cropped pants such as capris and pedal pushers.
High Waisted Two-Piece Swimsuits Were All The Rage
The young women pictured above are wearing swimsuits in Palm Springs, California. Fifties swimsuits were often made of nylon, taffeta, and cotton. They hugged a woman's curves and were more about making a woman look attractive than making her swim well. Bright patterns and tropical themes, such as flamingos, were common.
Most women preferred the one-piece swimsuit, but the bikini was starting to gain momentum. However, they didn't reveal much more skin than a one piece. The bottom half often featured ruching and came up to the natural waist, never revealing the navel. Tops were typically either strapless, a bra-like top, a tube top, or a halter top.
Women Learned How To Type
Pictured above is the typing pool at the offices of the London retailer Marks and Spencer in 1959. If a woman worked outside the home, one of the most popular jobs she would have held was a secretarial or typist position. Prior to the digital age, men often employed women who knew shorthand or could type.
Shorthand-typists took dictation and typed letters and documents, often working in a pool alongside other typists. Secretaries answered phones, took care of files, typed, and did her boss's bidding. Similar positions exist today, but the jobs are referred to as office administrators or personal assistants.
The ideal nuclear family of the '50s is very different from today's modern family.
The Ideal Nuclear Family
The ideal nuclear family of the 1950s included a mother and father and at least two children. The white picket-fence family represented the American dream with a working dad, stay-at-home mom, two happy kids, and a dog. TV shows such as The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet and Leave it to Beaver waxed poetic on how wonderful life was like for these families.
The picture above is an example of a nuclear family (although how happy they really were is hard to decipher from the photograph). The family of four is settled in a Mercury Monterey in the driveway of their home in 1959. Their pet dog sits next to the car.
People Protested Against "Race Mixing"
Racial tensions ran high in the 1950s. The photo above shows a rally at the state capitol in Little Rock, Arkansas. A group of people held up signs and American flags to protest the admission of the "Little Rock Nine" to Central High School. The Little Rock Nine consisted of nine African-American students who went to the school in 1957.
In 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its historic Brown v. Board of Education verdict, which called for desegregating all American schools. Not everyone was happy with the decision. Over 60 years later, some people still have issues with African Americans, and incidents frequently make the news.
You Could Get A Burger At McDonald's For 15 Cents
While the fast food giant first launched in 1940, the iconic Golden Arches logo wasn't introduced until 1953 at a location in Phoenix, Arizona. The photo above shows a McDonald's drive-in in 1956. The restaurant advertised hamburgers for just 15 cents. Due to inflation, things cost considerably less in the '50s than they do today.
The average price for a gallon of gas was 18 cents in 1950 and 25 cents by the end of the decade. In 1959, a new car cost on average $2,200. A one-carat diamond ring was $399 (compared to $4,125 today). A woman could buy a basic dress for just $3.29.
NASCAR Enthralled The Public
The 500-mile-long Daytona 500 held its inaugural race in 1959. Pictured above is the famous Richard Petty alongside his 1957 Oldsmobile at the first event in Daytona Beach, Florida. Petty lost that race due to engine failure. Over the course of his career, Petty ended up winning the NASCAR Championship seven times.
Today, the Daytona 500 is considered to be the best and most important race on the NASCAR circuit. Many may forget that NASCAR has its roots in bootlegging. Some '50s racers also had entertaining names: Chicken Boggs, Peanut Brown, Pee Wee Jones, and Shorty York, for example.
Leo Robert Was America's Most Muscular Man
Bodybuilder Leo Robert was originally from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He's pictured above posing next to some dumbbells with his son, Norman, who was four and a half. At one point, Robert was considered "America's most muscular man." He won the Mr. Universe contest in 1955.
Bodybuilders such as Robert increased the popularity and social acceptance of the sport. Steve Reeves played Hercules in a film in the '50s and made people aware of bodybuilding. Muscle Beach in Santa Monica, California, was a popular spot for men wishing to build muscle, and most of the guys were all natural without using the drugs some used in later years to bulk up.
Drive-In Movies Reached Peak Popularity
While drive-in theaters first launched in the '30s, they became super popular in the '50s among teens and families. In 1958, the number of drive-ins peaked at over 4,000. "Drive-ins started to really take off in the ‘50s," Jim Kopp of the United Drive-in Theatre Owners Association told Smithsonian Magazine.
"They offered family entertainment. People could sit in their cars, they could bring their babies, they could smoke. Drive-ins offered more flexibility than indoor theaters." Drive-ins showed B movies because the theaters could only show one film a night, versus five or six times at an indoor theater.
The Television Premiere Of Gunsmoke
Although Gunsmoke started out as a radio series in 1952, lasting until 1961, it's popularity led to the development of the television show of the same name. Gunsmoke first aired on television in 1955 and ran for 20 whole seasons until the series came to an end in 1975. In total, there were 635 episodes by the end of its run.
Los Angeles Times columnist Cecil Smith wrote Gunsmoke was the dramatization of the American epic legend of the west. Our own Iliad and Odyssey, created from standard elements of the dime novel and the pulp Western [...] It was the stuff of legend."
People Started Using Credit Cards
In 1951, Franklin's National Bank issued the first charge card. The New York institution issued cards in order to loan customers. At the time, it was only available to Franklin's account holders although it was similar to previous charge-it cards.
Then, in 1955, the first United States patent was granted containing the phrase "credit card." The patent, (2,717,049) was granted by a trio who invented the first gas pump that could accept credit card.
Almost Anybody Could Buy A House
Back in the 1950s, unlike today, buying a home for your family wasn't entirely out of the question for most people. While homes cost lifetime amounts of money these days, forcing many people to rent, in 1950, the average home only cost around $14,000.
Most families were expected to own a home as well and would probably be beside themselves if they heard the average price of homes today. Not only could people afford houses, but they could also pay them off relatively early and not spend their whole lives paying their mortgage.
TV Dinners Became A Thing
Although today, eating TV dinners may be looked down on, that certainly wasn't the case back in the 1950s. While most people currently might resort to fast food or other quick meals over TV dinners, back then, they were all the rage.
The term "TV Dinner" was first used as part of a brand of packaged meals developed in 1953 by C.A. Swanson & Sons, with its full name being TV Brand Frozen Dinner. Most TV dinners came in an aluminum tray that was then heated up in the oven. They typically contained some kind of meat, vegetables, potatoes, and a desert.
Advertisements Became Even More Targeted
Even though some advertisements in modern times bash on other companies, it is nowhere near to how ruthless beauty companies were in the 1950s. Back then, companies were not afraid to use fear to sell their products or throw other companies under the bus to get more customers.
Some beauty products might even threaten that a woman's husband might go so far as to leave them if they use one product and not the other. Although we know that's probably not true, in the 1950s, it very well may have affected the sales of a product.
Everybody Smoked
In the 1950s, for many people, smoking was about as natural as breathing. The cigarette had become a symbol for "coolness" and "glamour." Many famous individuals were never even seen without sporting one in their mouth or their fingers.
By the late 1950s, around half of the population of industrialized nations smoked since it was cheap, legal, and socially acceptable. Some cigarette companies even went so far as to claim that their cigarettes were even good for their smokers. it would take a few decades from people to learn the honest truth.
The Food Wasn't Particularly Exciting
Access to food and the variety of food changed drastically after World War II. This led to cookbooks being filled with recipes including ingredients such as canned fruit and vegetables, jello, boxed cereal, cake mixes, etc. Back then, there were few to no "foodies" like we have today.
Many families sat down to dinner to a cooked meal of meat, vegetables, homemade desserts, and food when in season. Nothing was too complex while making most of the food groups at the same time. Meals weren't entirely unhealthy but straight to the point.
People Cared About Interior Design
Considering that the 1950s were a time of relative peace and prosperity in the United States, individuals and families began turning their attention to making sure that they were comfortable. This led to a sweeping trend of the importance of interior home decor. Most of the typical styles were vibrant designs along with a focus on space, use of technology, and cleanliness.
Most 1950s homes actually looked like they were straight out of a magazine because most women spent their days tiding up and making sure that everything was in tip-top shape and working order.
Unique '50s Slang
Like all of the decades before and all of the decades after, the 1950s saw the invention of some slang terms and phrases among the youth and even the adults. However, back then, the slang can be described as a lot more innocent, some of the phrases can still be heard today.
Yet, many of those phrases have been lost and would leave many people clueless as to what most of them meant. For instance, the phrase "Big Daddy" today has a whole different meaning from what it meant back then which was used to describe an older man. Or if you wanted to say you were mad back then you might say you were "frosted," a term that's relatively unheard of in today's culture.
The Crime Rate Went Down
The crime was at an all-time low during the ‘50s. Specifically, in 1957. Even though you are less likely to get murdered now then you were in the last 20 years, you probably won’t be as safe as your grandparents or parents were in 1957.
The murder rate was at four people per 100,000, the lowest it’s been in 55 years. Even before that, it spent about three years hovering at 4.1, which is still phenomenal. For perspective, between Woodstock in 1969 and O.J. Simpson getting yanked back in prison in 1997, the rate stayed over seven.
People Had Greater Access To Education
Entrepreneurs debate this, but the bottom line is, the more you are educated, the more you should see your bank account increase. Studies show that those with degree level education see more money in their lifetime. The sad part is, college isn’t for everyone due to how expensive it is. Back in the ‘50s, this wasn’t an issue thanks to the G.I. Bill.
From 1944 to 1956, the bill raised a lot of funds to allow returning servicemen a chance at education. Thanks to this bill, around 7.8 million veterans were able to get their knowledge up. That’s more than the entire UK university population.
An Economic Boom
Were you aware that after WWII and before 1970, purchasing power exploded? A single man working a blue-collar job was able to take care of his entire family. Paul Krugman (Nobel Prize-winning economist) said this was largely due to a third of America’s workforce being unionized.
You could stretch your money further as well. Anybody working on a minimum wage budget could pay for rent with a little over a week’s full-time work. Even those at the bottom of the food chain had money to spare.
Life In The Suburbs
We don’t know what you think about the suburbs these days, but in the ‘50s they were a great place and symbolized everything that was amazing about America. For a large portion of American citizens, the suburbs meant a chance to get away from the inner city and into your own home.
Before WWII, the younger folks were renting apartments with horrible conditions and focused on saving up. Children from the ‘40s knew the suburbs were a huge improvement. All of a sudden you had space, light and a place to call your own. They also gave the growing middle-class something to strive for.
Living The American Dream
When you think of the American Dream, what comes to mind? Anyone who works hard will be rewarded handsomely at the end, right? That’s pretty much what’s been embedded into our systems and during the ‘50s, this theory couldn’t have been truer. It’s like that dream was on steroids back then.
Children born in America after WWII had more than double the chances of achieving this. This trend would continue right up until the early ‘70s. Today, we’ve gone from being the best to the absolute worst.
People Weren't In Debt
The second war had us falling severely into debt, but by the time the ‘50s came rolling around, that same debt was highly under control. At the start of the ‘50s, the debt was around 70% GDP. Then, by 1960, it fell to about slightly above 40. Moreover, it kept falling.
This was more than just some brief dip and was more of an on-going trend that Congress can only dream about. To put it in perspective, America has spent the last few years adding back the debt like the pounds your aunt gains back after the holidays.
New Architecture Was Popping Up All Over The Place
The Lever House is a glass-box skyscraper at 390 Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Constructors built it in the International Style following the design of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. This building finished in 1952.
What’s so significant about this you ask? It ushered in a huge change. Other corporations started mimicking this and it marked a transition to the International Style. Basically, the trend of skyscrapers became more popular after this.
The Beginning Of The Academy Awards On Television
Tuning in to catch your favorite actors and actresses win an Academy Award is always fun to do. As the announcers read the nominees you start to get butterflies in hopes that the person you want to win takes home the award. Everyone is dressed up in their best outfits and it’s an overall good time.
Did you know that we weren’t able to watch this until 1953? That’s right, March 19 was a new tradition for TV watchers as it was the 25th annual Academy Awards and the first that got broadcasted on TV.
People Were Generally Happy
As of the end of 2018, it’s like half of America is either depressed, full of anxiety or hopeless. It’s become a trend in music, the television we watch, pretty much all the media we consume, and we all have at least one or two friends that love self-deprecating. Rewind the clock and this was not the case in the ‘50s.
According to the book Economics & Happiness, the ‘50s saw a huge cast of people claiming they were extremely happy. This peaked between 1955 and 1960 at around 40%, which is the highest it’s ever been.
The Beginning Of Disneyland
Today, if you live in America, California especially, you had better hope you don’t have any kids, wife, or girlfriend. Speaking to the men, if you’re lucky this won’t be the case. However, many of those titles just mentioned won’t stop bugging you until they are treated with a trip to Disneyland, the happiest place on Earth.
This all thanks to Walt Disney himself. The theme park opened on July 17, 1955, maybe this is why happiness was at an all-time high? Whatever the case, it cost around $17 million to build at first.
Soda Fountains Were The Place To Be
Although today, soda fountains refer to the drink dispensers at most fast-food chains, they had a whole other meaning in the 1950s. Back then, soda fountains were establishments that offered a variety of soft drinks, ice cream, and sometimes light meals.
They were incredibly popular among teenagers and young adults who used them as their base camp when meeting up or hanging out. However, soda fountains decreased in popularity with the rise of fast-food chains which were seen as more convenient.
