A Time Travel Guide to 1950s New York

The release of 1950 federal census records has genealogists happily exploring newly available family history records. Currently available through the U.S. National Archives, the census can tell us a lot of information about our relatives’ lives. You can learn where they were living and working, and important details about the other people in the household. But can the census tell us anything about what life was really like in the 1950s?

Let’s hop in our census time machine and spend a day in 1950s New York, exploring city life.

First, let’s grab some breakfast. We can pick up a dozen donuts for 23 cents and brew some coffee for five cents a pound. We’ll need our energy to explore everything the city has to offer.

As we head to the subway, pick up a copy of The Village Voice. New York’s iconic counterculture paper launched October 26, 1955.

We have a couple of options to choose from for our morning excursion. Maybe you’d like to tour the United Nations Headquarters, built in 1952? Or we could head over to the Guggenheim Museum, which opened at the close of the decade, in 1959.

For lunch, I’m partial to the fabulously futuristic automat, a staple of New York dining from the 30s through the 50s. With wait staff replaced by self-serving vending machines, you can enjoy a high-tech dining experience with only a handful of nickels.

There’s even a Horn and Hardart Automat across the street from a Census Bureau Regional Office for all those hungry census-takers!

Now seems like a great time to smarten up with some formal evening wear. After all, a night on the town calls for our finest. Dior’s iconic “New Look” dominated the era, so with a fitted bodice and a wide circular skirt, you should fit right in. A double-breasted blazer is also an excellent sartorial choice; top it off with a fedora and the look is complete!

We have our choice of shows for the evening. Maybe you’re a Gentleman Prefer Blondes fan?

Or we could head over to the Winter Garden Theatre to see the original 1957 Broadway production of West Side Story.

Let’s retire for the evening to the luxurious Hotel Astor, before it’s ultimately demolished in 1967. We can have a nightcap in the Belvedere Room. May I suggest an after-dinner coffee and a selection of petit fours?

After a whirlwind day in the big city, I recommend a good night’s rest and dreams of mid-century research.

In need of some additional ideas for your trip to 1950s New York? Try some of our guidebooks for all the best information about shopping, dining, and sightseeing.

Hagstrom's Pocket Atlas of the City of New York: Five Boroughs: Manhattan, Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, Richmond, Staten Island

New York Places and Pleasures; An Uncommon Guidebook

New York on a Dollar Allowance; A Practical Guide for the Visitor with Limited Dollars

New York City Guide and Almanac