Casper, Wyoming.
Phoenix, Arizona.
Sheridan, Wyoming.
Michigan City, Indiana.
Williams, Arizona.
Banning, California.
York, Pennsylvania.
Eugene, Oregon.
Yakima, Washington.
Van Nuys, California.
Council Bluffs, Iowa.
Reseda, California.
Vintage Postcards: Downtowns And Main Streets Across The US – 1950s-1960s
– Posted on November 22, 2024
What a difference Sixty years make! Living 20 some miles from Michigan City, Indiana, even by the late 60s it was far from the thriving metropolis shown . Marquette Mall on the south side killed almost all of the remaining stores and restaurants in the CBD. An attempt to revitalize involving closings the main street to traffic was a total disaster. NOW Marquette Mall is closed and I believe scheduled for demolition. I’m not sure exactly what is happening since I haven’t had occasion to visit for over several years 🤔! Ĺike so many of the cars shown in all posts, Michigan City is GONE, while our own local government is currently destroying a once nice town, trying to turn it into a Megalopalas! PROGRESS? 🤣
At least there’s the prison? Not the kind of steady employer you want for a city when everything else is struggling.
Though I was very young, I recall many of these almost ‘junky-looking’ downtowns. Never appealed to me, when my parents asked if I wanted join them shopping or eating. You consistently smelled the street-level pollution, as a child. Plus, most of the businesses, seemed somewhat tacky, in appearance, and merchandise. And all the crowds. I felt downtowns back then, were best appreciated by passing through, in the backseat of my parent’s station wagon. lol
Wow! Now while I am no expert on downtowns, being only 1-9 years old in the 50’s, these downtowns look alive to me compared to how some may look today. I do have experience with downtown San Diego and San Francisco in the late 60’s to early 70’s. Broadway, in San Diego, looked like those above for a big city though. Dead quite at night. San Francisco, at Market and Fifth or Union Square, was packed and alive. Not as much today since Covid really upset the apple cart pulling a ton of office workers out of The City.
Lots happening, from a sensory point of view. Debatable, whether everyone enjoyed it. I recall regularly smelling pollution, plenty of litter, and the infrastructure (sidewalks, roads, buildings) were frequently pretty beat up. Plenty of signs of neglect. Lots of crowds, would get annoying/intimidating as a little kid. More atmosphere… but often, not pleasant. I don’t have idealized views of that era. Different strokes, for different folks.
On the other hand, people in the streets were “dressed to the nines,” as they said (why?). Starched shirts and hats for the men, dresses matched to the season for the ladies. Today’s most fashionable downtowns are like sleek, minimalist, curated artists renderings, but they’re filled with folks dressed in the most self-consciously casual and edgy fashions, or no fashion at all. There’s a mismatch somewhere…
True, folks were “better dressed”, but those old more “formal” clothes were mighty uncomfortable…
Women mostly wore dresses (“slacks” were frowned upon, or even forbidden in some “nicer” places), tight foundation garments, nylon hose with garters…
Men wore uncomfortable suits and ties…
People sweltered in summer in those largely pre – AC days, and the constricting garments added to the misery…
I’ll take “comfortable” over “more formal” any day, just sayin’…
😉
I’m 70 and well remember these downtowns of old… I grew up in rural West Central IL, we’d shop in the IL/IA Quad Cities, Galesburg/Monmouth IL, Muscatine IA, in addition to our county seat of Aledo IL… these were not big crowded places, so pretty pleasant overall…
And sure, lots of small and “personal” shops/stores, many “mom ‘n pop” places…
But those were the days of very high “MSRP” prices for even the most basic items, no discounting in general except for maybe twice – yearly sales… any “discount” stores that did exist were truly crummy, they could have been in the old Soviet East Bloc…
I was just on a forum where a 27 year – old kid was lamenting “the good old days”, when everything was “Made in the USA”… lamenting the fact that he could not today buy a US – made TV…
I recounted when my mom c. 1960 saved Green Stamps for a whole *year* to get a mid – range West Bend percolator, in today’s money that was like $300.00+ or so… today you can get a decent coffeemaker for $20.00… not to mention that in the 60’s a cheap color TV from the local “appliance store” would be at least $5K in today’s money… and vastly worse in every way… an LP record was about $30.00 or so in today’s money, a cheap box fan over $100.00, etcetera…
So no, I don’t miss these old downtown stores with their high prices, “take or leave it” attitude, and very limited selections…
I love the old vehicles in thise pics, but would anyone today (except a car buff) put up with a normal c. 1958 car as a “daily driver”… these were very primitive/unsafe by today’s standards…
These pics are fun to look at, but I don’t long for those “good old days” any more than I long for the “good old days” of the 1880’s… I truly enjoy life *today*…
Malls replaced many of these old downtowns, and now malls are extinct, as we move to online or “big box” stores for many purchases – life moves on…!!!
Those blocks of Eugene look very different today. Every business is gone; the Newberrys is now a day care center, but still called “The Newberry” and has one old sign still on the building.
I think I like the one for Eugene, OR the best. Mostly, this is for the beat-up ’57 Ford on the far right. But I need to know why they felt that quotation marks were necessary. Is Eugene a nickname? Is the town’s real name something else?
People did funny things with punctuation back in the day. Yes, it really is and always was called Eugene, after the towns first white resident and one of the founding fathers, Eugene Skinner. And that’s Skinner Butte in the distance. His little log cabin was on the west side of the Butte.
I forgot to point out the green bus, a conventional school-bus type thing, with the words “City Bus” written on the front. Eugene struggled to keep bus service (which was private back then). In 1958 the bus company collapsed and the driver formed their own little collective providing service with VW buses and presumably a couple of converted school buses:
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/history/vintage-snapshot-eugenes-vw-bus-transit-system/
Interesting – I’ve seen you mention Skinner Butte plenty, but never realized that Eugene Skinner was who the City was named for.
People did funny things with spelling back in the day too, and one of the other cities here, Casper, Wyoming is a great example. Casper was named for Caspar Collins, an army lieutenant who was killed in an Indian battle there. However, his name was spelled wrong when incorporating the town and the error was never corrected.
Lovely .
Winslow, Az. is still a nice town if much quieter than it appears in the postcard .
-Nate
The postcard is from Williams, which is west of Flagstaff. Winslow is east of Flagstaff. Both are pretty quiet compared to the Fifties, with Interstate 40 bypassing the towns, though Williams does get Grand Canyon traffic and Winslow gets Jackson Browne and Eagles fans who want to check out the flatbread Ford. I drive through both of them this fall but don’t recall stopping, unless it was for freeway interchange fuel.
’61 Dodge just entering the shot in Yakima.
It’s fun to find the newest auto in each photo, and to see how much “new car shine” it still has.
In Banning, CA, the Disney “Sleeping Beauty” had its final showing on 23 June 1959, providing a pretty narrow window for the photo’s actual date:
I see my car ! ( again). 1960 Valiant, light blue, left side of the Reseda photo. Must’ve been a Spring Special, since light blue wasn’t listed as a color in the brochure. My ’60 Valiant was the same color, and not a repaint, since it was behind the heater core housing on the firewall. An identical car appears in Albuquerque in 1973.
’61 Fury just entering the shot in Council Bluffs.
America was a different world sixty years ago ! All of those automobiles you saw pictured in those old postcards would now be collector items ! I’m sure the landscape has changed as well , with most of those old departments stores long gone . Today , we live in a modern computerized world with information at our fingertips . In 1964;for instance , we didn’t have cellphones , laptop computers , the internet , few people had color television sets ! We certainly have come a long ways !
Don’t forget party lines and renting a frozen food locker.
I’m always fascinated to see the then and now shots.
Phoenix, Arizona
https://maps.app.goo.gl/eXjDxZ2uEakw1iEc8
Sheridan, WY
https://maps.app.goo.gl/Qkp7dtEDb3c9zCyc9
Michigan City, MI (I think this one is correct)
https://maps.app.goo.gl/8yAmNq9ZcjbB3Keo9
Williams AZ—can’t find a good one for this
Banning, California
https://maps.app.goo.gl/5uHmcSXa7fEdbnAE8
York, PA
https://maps.app.goo.gl/3rzE7oh4zeLsDPEo6
Eugene, OR
https://maps.app.goo.gl/N5S8r4DgsegqHqhn8
Yakima, WA
https://maps.app.goo.gl/BbisbbLygRLFYCAU7
Phoenix is massively different from the postcard. The Phoenix, I saw in 1970, was closer to the postcard. When back in 2012 to get my father it was unrecognizable to me.
^^^^Thanks a bunch for taking time to assemble and post these—much appreciated!
I missed the last three:
Yakima, WA
https://maps.app.goo.gl/BbisbbLygRLFYCAU7
Council Bluffs, Iowa
https://maps.app.goo.gl/BNSPTbtvJyTZvkBk8
Reseda, CA (this is an educated guess)
https://maps.app.goo.gl/N3u6C96tTa2ksGaH7
Excellent finds! Here’s the missing one for Williams, AZ:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/5Cw5hTb8kjsRYEMs6
And I believe your educated guess for Reseda is correct – the Reseda Theater (on the left of the postcard) is still standing, and it’s hidden behind a street tree in the modern view.
Yeah, I went back and forth on the Williams shot—I didn’t think that left-side building matched up, but it was my closest guess.
That building on the left was tough because it’s been refaced, but the two-story building beyond it (just beyond the intersection) is a perfect match. Stone on the ground-floor, brick on the upper story, and that same unique roofline.
So I figured between the kind-of-sort-of building in the foreground, and the strong match in the background, that it’s probably the right shot.
Please help identifying a car. Sheridan, Wyoming, the third photo in the set, has a red Ford Falcon station wagon with a white roof. Ahead of this is the mystery car. It is light blue, has a spare tire exposed, and has an interesting treatment to the rear fenders. Dear CC’ers, can one of you name this vehicle? I am at a loss. Tom
P.S. Don’t respond by saying, “It’s name is Charlie.”
It’s name is…Henry. Seriously, as in Kaiser Henry J. With a continental spare tire.
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/car-show-classic-1953-kaiser-henry-j-corsair-de-luxe-big-name-little-car-no-sale/
Fun postcards. Lots to see and absorb in these.
#1 Casper. The red license plates are from 1961. Left to right a two tone blue ’58 Ford Ranch Wagon 4 door, ’60 Oldsmobile Holiday Scenicoupe, red ’60 Rambler, ’48-’50 Ford F-series, ’51 or ’52 Buick, red Corvair, red and white ’56 Ford Fairlane Sunliner, ’61 or ’62 Pontiac Tempest wagon, ’59 Chevrolet, ’60 Chevrolet, ’57 Ford.
#2 Phoenix. This style plates were used from ’56-’58. Left driving lane foreground to background a black ’50 Chevrolet Styleline De Luxe 4 door, blue over white ’57 Chrysler New Yorker sedan, ’49 or ’50 Chevrolet 2 door sedan. Two lanes over a ’58 Plymouth 4 door sedan., Next lane to the right a ’57 Oldsmobile Starfire 98 4 door sedan, ’54 Ford. Next lane a white over green ’50 Oldsmobile Holiday Coupe, not sure about brown car, green ’51 Ford. Right curb a black ’51 Ford Custom Fordor. In the cross street left side a ’56 Buick 2 door Riviera and a ’55 Chevrolet Bel Air 4 door sedan turning the corner.
#3 Sheridan. Plates are 1960 issue. Left side against the curb a white over dark red ’57 Pontiac, ’57 Buick, ’54 Ford, ’57 DeSoto, ’59 Chevrolet, white over baby blue ’53 or ’54 Chevrolet, ’57 or ’58 Mercury, Dodge based mail truck, green ’47-’53 Chevrolet Advanced Design truck, green Willys Jeep Station Wagon. Next lane a ’55 Chevrolet Bel Air 4 door sedan. Next lane a white over blue V8 powered ’57 Chevrolet, a red ’46-’48 Plymouth further back. Next lane going away a grey ’46-’48 Ford, white ’56 Ford. Next lane a white over red first year ’60 Ford Falcon 4 door wagon, ’49-’51 Henry J, ’56 Ford, white ’60 Chrysler or DeSoto. At the curb a black V8 powered ’57 Chevrolet Bel Air 4 door sedan, ’50 Ford 2 door, blue ’51-’54 Chrysler or DeSoto wagon, ’59 Chevrolet wagon, two tone ’47-’54 GMC pickup, black ’59 Mercury, white ’58 Pontiac.
#4 Michigan City after dark. 1959 license plate. Left side against the curb a ’58 Edsel Citation 2 door hardtop, two ’49-’52 Chevrolet 2 door sedan’s, ’56 Mercury. Right driving lane a ’59 Chevrolet wagon, ’54 Buick, not sure of pickup, ’52-’54 Ford. Right curbside the two tone wagon looks like a ’56 Ford.
#5 Williams. Left side against the curb a ’51 Chevrolet wagon, further down a white ’49 or ’50 Mercury. Driving lane a ’54 Cadillac and a ’51-’56 Oldsmobile. Against the right curb a blue ’46-’48 Ford DeLuxe. In the parking lot possibly a ’55 DeSoto.
#6 Banning. License plates were issued from ’56-’62. Left to right the left rear corner of a ’59 Pontiac Bonneville, yellow ’49 Pontiac wagon, white over blue V8 powered ’58 Chevrolet, white ’57 Ford, three tone ’56 Chrysler 2 door Newport Hardtop, blue ’58 Chevrolet, grey and white ’56 Ford Customline Fordor.
#7 York. License used from ’58-’65. Left to right a green Corvair with a ’58 Ford in front of it, Checker cab, white Ford wagon probably a ’61, not sure of grey car, yellow Corvair, white ’57 Chevrolet, white ’60 Ford, light green ’61 Ford, black ’56 Ford wagon, blue over white ’58 Plymouth 4 door sedan, white ’60 Oldsmobile convertible, ’60 Ford Galaxie Club Sedan, red ’59 Oldsmobile Super 88 convertible, ’60 Oldsmobile Dynamic or Super 88 Holiday Scenicoupe.
#8 Eugene. ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ is showing at the Fox Theatre which came out in ’62. Left to right a first year white over red ’56 Pontiac 860 or 870 4 door Catalina, grey ’57 Ford, white ’62 Oldsmobile F-85 4 door sedan, ’64-’66 Chevrolet C series Fleetside, behind the bus a ’63 Chevrolet, red MGA, blue ’60 Plymouth, perhaps a white ’60 Pontiac, black ’59 Chevrolet, blue and white one eyed ’57 Ford Fairlane 500.
#9 Yakima. Eugene has a Newberry, Yakima has a Newberrys. In the foreground a pale yellow ’61 Dodge. Left to right a black ’57 Cadillac, green and white Willys Jeep Station Wagon, blue ’55 Chevrolet, tan ’64 Rambler Classic, red ’64 Impala Sport Coupe, blue ’62 Pontiac Catalina Convertible Coupe, white ’52-’54 Ford wagon above it, white over blue ’55 or ’56 Oldsmobile at the curb.
#10 Van Nuys. The black plate was first issued in ’63. Left to right a red first gen Corvair 4 door sedan, ’61 or ’62 Dodge Lancer at the far curb, red ’61 Impala Sport Coupe, white over blue ’55 Dodge, not sure about white wagon, white ’60 Ford Falcon, not sure of white car at the curb.
#11 Council Bluffs. Black plates were used from ’63-’65. Left to right a white ’64 Chevrolet, heading away a black ’61-’63 Thunderbird, blue over white ’65 Ford Galaxie 500 2 door hardtop, white ’64 Chrysler Newport 4 door sedan, white ’64 Chevrolet Bel Air wagon, white ’61 Plymouth Fury.
#12 Reseda. The Reseda Theater was a second run joint, those two films were released in ’54 and ’55 respectively. Left to right a ’57 DeSoto Firesweep or Firedome 2 door Sportsman making the turn with a limp hand signal, red ’55-’59 Chevrolet Task Force step side pickup, grey ’61 Buick Special wagon, white over green ’53 Buick, green ’61 Cadillac Coupe, white over coral ’56 Pontiac Star Chief 2 door Catalina, light color ’60-’61 Valiant, not sure of two black cars, blue one may be a ’56 Chrysler, white ’56 Chevrolet wagon, white ’60 Cadillac Coupe, white over blue ’56 Oldsmobile, white ’57 Nash turning on to the street, white ’61 or ’62 Oldsmobile F-85 at the curb, black and white ’56 Ford Fairlane pulling the driveway.
I counted four different Fox Theaters.
Thanks for the postcards.
Neon signs, beautiful cars and trucks, vibrant downtowns with lots of stores….how things have changed!
Thanks, Paul. Maybe in perspective with the Falcon, it looks like a full-sized car. So, I was fooled. Good Ol’ Henry J’s!