Vintage Snapshots: Vintage Traffic And City Streets In 1950s-70s America

Text by Patrick Bell.

We are going to travel around today, checking out some towns and cities from the past.  Not all locations are known, perhaps some of you can help identify them.  So join in as we get this caravan underway.

Our lead image today is a small town business district in a hilly and wooded area.  The location is unknown as a search did not provide any reliable results.  There are at least two different license plates, with both dark and light backgrounds.  But none of them are readable.  The date is at least 1969, as the Ford Custom 4 door police car on the left is a ’69 model, and the Chevrolet K-5 Blazer to the right of center could be a ’69 or ’70.  To the right of it was a ’52-’59 Jeep Utility Wagon, and to the left a ’68 Chrysler 2 door hardtop, possibly a New Yorker.  Heading this way in the street was a ’67 Chevrolet Chevy II wagon and a ’66-’69 Ford Bronco with a snow plow attachment.  And in the right lower corner was the left rear of a ’66 Plymouth Belvedere.

Now we are on Hull Street in Boston with the Old North Church in the distance.  I am going to say in 1957, as that fits the license plate and there was a ’57 Mercury down the street with the men around it.  Beginning in the foreground on the left side a ’55 Buick Special 4 door sedan, V8 powered ’55 Chevrolet Bel Air Sport Coupe, ’52-’54 Ford Ranch Wagon, and the Mercury.  On the right side a sharp ’55 Studebaker President V8 State Hard-top, black over grey ’53 Plymouth Cranbrook 4 door sedan, and another ’55 Chevrolet, this one a six cylinder and it does look like a Bel Air.

This is the State Capitol Building in Des Moines, Iowa.  The street was likely East Locust, but it is hard to tell as that portion is no longer there.  And the year appears to be 1962.  On the right edge lower corner begins with the quarter panel of a white ’62 Ford Fairlane, then an aqua and white ’55 Ford Fairlane Town Sedan, a black over blue ’54 Mercury 4 door sedan, and a white ’60 Chevrolet.  On the left lower corner was part of a green car I am not sure of, while the wagon was a ’56 Pontiac 870 with a license plate that looks like a ’62 Iowa issue from Adams County.  Ahead was a green ’59 Buick, and to the left a ’58 or ’59 Chevrolet Fleetside or GMC Wide-side.

Let’s head west to Omaha, Nebraska, for a shot of downtown in about the same time period, August of 1962.  From the right a green ’55 Ford Country Sedan, a tired looking ’50 Studebaker, and a white ’61 Ford Falcon Tudor Sedan.  Parked ahead of the Falcon were two Buicks; a black ’54 convertible and a white ’62 Special.

Heading east to Claremont, New Hampshire, to Pleasant Street near the corner of Opera House Square.  The image was dated July 1969.  The first thing that caught my eye were the two Opel Rallyes.  The yellow one looks like a ’66 or ’67 model, and was at home with a ’69 license plate issued in Sullivan County.  The orange one was a ’68 or ’69 1900 model, which had the larger engine.  Others include a tan ’62 Mercury Comet 4 door sedan at the curb, and a blue Plymouth Valiant 200 4 door sedan at the intersection that could have been a ’67 or ’69 going by the taillight and side molding styles.  For a good read on the Opel Rallye see HERE.

Another unknown location, with likely a war memorial statue on a triangle shaped median.  I see a white and an orange license plates, and neither are readable.  On the left a black ’62 Ford Galaxie Club Sedan, a red Ford Anglia 105E, and a ’65 Mercury Comet 202 wagon, the newest car shown. Further back was a white ’57 Plymouth Fury, and hiding in the group behind it was a 23 window Volkswagen Type 2.  Up on the hill a white over red International Scout.  On the right side a blue ’64 Buick LeSabre convertible, and in the driving lane a black first gen Chevrolet Corvair Coupe.

Here we are in Chicago, on the 4700 block of West Belmont Avenue.  The trolley bus was going by, and the Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton movie “Boom!” was playing at the Luna.  It appears to be 1968.  At the curb on the left waiting for traffic was a ’63 Dodge Polara 4 door hardtop, and behind it a ’68 Oldsmobile full size.  Following the bus was a brown ’63 Plymouth, and on the right side was the nose of a ’63 Ford Galaxie 500 and a ’66 Pontiac Grand Prix.

And now we are back in New Hampshire, in the city of Hanover, home of Dartmouth College.  This is Lebanon Street near the corner of Currier Place, not too far from the campus.  The year was likely either ’69 or ’71, as NH license plates were white in the odd years and dark green in the even during this era.  From the left a beige Dodge Sportsman van, beige ’63 Chevrolet full size, blue ’66 or ’67 Ford Econoline SuperVan, maroon V8 powered ’64 Ford Falcon Futura hardtop, black ’65 Chevrolet Bel Air 4 door sedan, and the newest of all, a red ’68 or ’69 Volkswagen Type 1 Sunroof model with a back seat full of stuff.  Perhaps it was college move in time.

We have jumped in a southwest direction to St. Louis, Missouri, and were parked on Market Street looking towards the Old St. Louis County Courthouse, the Gateway Tower on the right, with the Gateway Arch in the background.  The building on the left has since been removed.  The photo date appears to be ’69 or ’70, going by the ’69 Cadillac parked in front of the photographer’s car.  On the left a ’68 Buick Electra 225 Custom 4 door hardtop, ’68 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham, red ’68 Plymouth GTX hardtop, and heading away was a ’64 Ford Custom 500.

Our final stop is even further west in Silverton, Colorado, where the Grand Imperial Hotel on Greene Street was in view.  In the left lower corner a ’65 Ford Custom or Custom 500 4 door sedan, and on the street an orange ’67 GMC flatbed.  Parked in front of the hotel from the left perhaps a phone utility truck, ’65 Plymouth Fury II wagon, two ’73-’80 Chevrolet’s; a Blazer and a C-10 long bed pickup, plus a ’71-’80 International Scout II.  On the end were two Volkswagen Type 1’s, both look like ’68 or ’69 models.

Thanks for riding along and have a great day!

More Vintage Photos Here