35 Photos That Take You Straight Back to the Late 1950s
In the late ’50s, America was in the thick of the Cold War and the Civil Rights movement, and tensions were high from more than one angle. TV dinners became popular, Elvis ruled the radio, and street lights told kids when it was time to head home and sit down for Mom’s famous pot roast. These pictures offer a look into the years leading up to the swinging ’60s, showing just how much times have changed.
1. Volvo Model Demonstrating the Three-Point Seatbelt (1959)
2. Transporting a 5MB IBM Hard Drive (1956)
3. Jackie Kennedy With JFK (1959)
4. A Bride on Her Wedding Day (1958)
5. ‘Somewhere in Times Square’ (1957)
6. Swedish High Jumper Gunhild Larking at the Melbourne Olympic Games (1956)
7. Elvis Eating Breakfast With His Family (1959)
8. Elizabeth Taylor (1956)
9. Riding the Bus to School in Texas (1957)
10. Pot Roast for Dinner (1959)
11. Miss Georgia, a National Archery Champion (1958)
12. A Boy With His Veterinarian Mom and a Lion Cub (1959)
13. Listening to Music and Playing With Tinker Toys (1958)
14. Christian Dior’s Successor Yves Saint Laurent After Attending Dior’s Funeral in Paris (1957)
15. Balancing the Baby (1958)
16. BYU Student in Her Dorm Room (1958)
17. Kids at Oklahoma’s Birthday Party for the World (1957)
18. Elizabeth Eckford, One of the First Black Students To Attend Little Rock Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas (1957)
19. Little Sis Admiring Her Big Brother (1959)
20. Mama and Her Baby (1958)
21. Grandma Spoiling Her Granddaughter on Her Fifth Birthday (1958)
22. A Boy and His Dog Beating the Heat (1958)
23. 25-Year-Old Future US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Playing With Her Daughter and Husband (1958)
24. Middle School Friends in Illinois (1956)
25. 17-Year-Old Pelé in Sweden Before the World Cup (1958)
26. Streets of San Francisco (1959)
27. David Isom Breaking the Color Line in a Segregated Pool in Florida (1958)
28. Miss Latin America (1958)
29. Swing Dancing (1958)
30. Pablo Picasso in His Studio (1956)
31. Coretta Scott King Kissing Martin Luther King Jr. on the Cheek After Leaving Court in Montgomery, Alabama (1956)
32. If You Look Close Enough, You Can See the Tree Beneath All that Tinsel (1958)
33. Third Grade Classroom (1958)
34. Pink Poodle (1958)
35. JC Penney Could Never (1959)
More ’50s content:
- 17 Vintage Menus From the 1950s Dining Scene — We rounded up some of our favorite vintage menus to show what dining out was like during the 1950s.
- 33 Vintage Photos From the 1950s That Just Make Sense — These pictures capture the decade in all of its glory, from 1950 to 1959.
- 15 Valuable Collectibles From the 1950s — Whether it’s a rusty Coca-Cola sign or a classic car gathering dust in the garage, the ‘50s left behind a legacy of nostalgia that’s worth serious dough today.