Spectacular New York, 1956

A tour of New York in 1956 in color.To purchase a clean DVD or digital download of this film for personal home use or educational use contact us at [e-mail]. To license footage from this film for commercial use visit: www.travelfilmarchive.com

[@califgirl11]

I love watching the old footage of Americana. New York looks very clean back then, and am amazed at how everyone was dressed.....even on the Sunday outting at the park. My how times have changed! This is the America that some of us miss.

[@augustus331]

It's probably an idealised image of how America used to be. But you are right, I was shocked when I went to New York. The homelessness, the filth, everything's expensive... I live in a small town of 200K people called Groningen. We have no homeless people, electric mobility, so the air is clean, no trash as we invest heavily in a clean environment. Nevertheless, I thought New York was the centre of wealth and prosperity. And well, it is, it's just centered at the folks working in Wall Str.

[@Em-hz7tg]

Is it you Lana ?

[@honeydew2907]

@@Em-hz7tg lol

[@Em-hz7tg]

@@honeydew2907 no but i think it was her 😂

[@craigusselman546]

The Empire State building and The Chrysler building were 23 and 24 years old here they are in their 90s now and still look fresh and amazing

[@TheRedfire555]

The cars from this era were really cool.

[@timothysdog6130]

TheRedfire555 yes really cool !

[@Melinda8162]

The THUNDERBIRD when it was soooo neat!!!

[@dondressel4802]

Nothing like Chevrolet’s back then

[@cindylawrence1515]

I saw two HUDSONS amazing! We had a Hornet when we were kids...

[@timothysdog6130]

1950s New York is fascinating

[@motherfuckerjones3854]

Well there you go, I just gave your comment it's 50th like.

[@the_gilded_age_phoenix8717]

@@motherfuckerjones3854 I just down-voted his comment, so your up-vote was negated. How you like dem apples, bro?

[@motherfuckerjones3854]

@@the_gilded_age_phoenix8717 I'll get you for this!

[@mml1426]

2020 New York is still fascinating

[@bandombeviews6035]

The_Gilded_Age_Phoenix It only works like that on Reddit. KZbin dislikes don’t do anything

[@darioespino2063]

I take New York in 1956 one million times before New York in 2019...

[@ewilliams2268]

Wait tell you see 2020 New York

[@studentjohn35]

Ah. Such memories. I was a toddler living on a boat in Flushing Bay at the time of this film. There's a microscopic particle of the 4-year old me in there somewhere.

[@VinylToVideo]

When New York was actually spectacular.

[@bawoman]

NY IS spectacular

[@the_gilded_age_phoenix8717]

@@bawoman *WAS

[@mml1426]

New York IS spectacular, and STILL is the World’s Capital. London still 2nd.

[@WitchKing-Of-Angmar]

@Kahinur Nessa oh ya, those nifty bland glass sticks are the real cats pajamas aren't they..oh and those alien plastic cars we call luxury that now cost double the price with less material than the 50s, 60, and 70s. At least Manhattan still resembled New York City back before the 2000s; what is it now, I'll tell ya: A dystopian hell

[@jamesmcinnis208]

"actually"

[@helloruiz]

It's crazy how the New York still looked very modern back then, despite the huge lack of technology to power it compared to today.

[@lisathuban8969]

My mother, her two brothers, and her parents (my grandparents) went to NYC during 1956. My mom was about 22. They were all well dressed and groomed, and looked like your typical prosperous 50's family. They were basically from the country, although they had seen cities. But of course, they had never seen a city like NYC. As they walked around looking up, pointing, and marveling at the view, an old bum staggered out of an alley. He was filthy, unshaven, and his clothing was torn. He looked at them with truckloads of contempt, spat on the ground and loudly said "HAYSEEDS!!!!" Then slouched back into the dark side street. They laughed for days, and told the story for years.

[@saeedurrahman2056]

Your mother is now 85/86 year old

[@lisathuban8969]

@@saeedurrahman2056 She would of been. I wish she were still with us.

[@smike-lz8uf]

Ah, just at the end, the famous Marlboro 'smoking' sign. As an 8 yr-old, taken down to NYC from Vermont by my wonderful Nan, that smoke, puffing out at intervals was THE coolest thing I ever saw in my little life. :-)

[@adamhand4017]

born in 1948?

[@LuxuryTV777]

I want to live THEN so bad...

[@MaYeRsNoLife]

No1 no stop it

[@arturo2792]

Me too :(

[@coinsmith]

I did . It was worth it! Vote Republican and make it great again!

[@superemepwr]

No you don’t 😂😂😂

[@natevic1867]

Lmao you’d be complaining if you did. Less money, worse healthcare, less freedom, technology wasn’t that advanced. Literally nothing compared to everything we have today.

[@mitchellsteven6189]

I was born in Brooklyn, New York on Jan 10 1956, always wanted to see how it looked while i was a new born infant..now I see. Dont remember any of it lol

[@axiomist1076]

Welcome to your world !

[@deekaye25]

@Gpooky If you think 60 is old then you have a lot of living to do! Btw how do you know "old" people don't use, lol?

[@deekaye25]

Gpooky Fair point! I actually know people of that age who either use the internet frequently, barely ever or never at all. In fact, there were free government programs where I live, to teach the use of computers and the internet. Majority of attendance was by seniors, pensioners and the various unemployed.

[@CalebTheFew06]

Gpooky See. You just assume. My grandma was also born in 1956. And she uses a phone and watches TV on a flatscreen. They can use the internet as much as we can.

[@sarahmahlangu890]

@Gpooky ok zoomer

[@davechristian7543]

I grow up in Australia listening to this voice when watching a documentary at school in the 70's n even 80's lol 'yep #Truestory.

[@u.s.a.1957]

I WAS BORN IN 1957 IN NYC .. HOW I LOVE TO WATCH OLD NEW YORK..

[@ilikevines]

This was the zenith of America.

[@darrell5721]

the 50s, was when America was at its best. It would be nice to go back to that time. People had class and respect. Just look how everyone is dressed.

[@coinsmith]

I used to have one of those automobiles... My 1956 Oldsmobile was the sweetest car I've ever owned. G-d, those were the days!

[@coinsmith]

@HackerGamer3838 70 this June.

[@boblackey1]

This was really interesting! I was impressed with how many classic cars, trucks & buses they were able to located & get running for this film. I would have never guessed that many vehicles from the 1940's & 1950's were still out there & still running.

[@OBXLOVER]

My father was 21 and working at the AVON company in Suffern, NY before joining the Army in 58. He loved going to NYC and listening to all the Jazz clubs back then.

[@mitchdakelman4470]

I love these wonderful Castle Travelogue shorts. I just bought the standard 8mm sound black and white version!

[@AndersonSilva-bz5uh]

i would so love to time travel, just walk down the street in a fresh pair of Nike's, headphones on. just watching everyone gaze at me like im from the future, that would be so epic.

[@chadbailey30]

Looks so nice and so much more a simpler time.. I would love to live in NY during the 40-50s. NY kinda sucks now!!! Is crowded, angry, and expensive!!!!

[@jerrypatterson1394]

The voice over of the entire video ends with “New York the Wonder City”, a moniker that I never heard. A quick online search shows a number of prints from the 30’s and 40’s with that as the headline for NYC.

[@aggierowe9574]

Thank you for this time capsule! I was born in NYC in the late 60s and watching this is bittersweet, full of its innocence and racist undertones, but this is my home and I love it now, as I learn more about its history and grow older. NYC just gets better and better. Truly the greatest city in the world!!!

[@kevinmadden1645]

It has gone downhill in four years.

[@aggierowe9574]

@@kevinmadden1645 alas, that is true :( get out if u can!!

[@tornmask1]

dagnabbit, what ever happened to those good old days of New York?

[@the_gilded_age_phoenix8717]

They probably all went up in crack pipe smoke.

[@bob733333]

Fascist Communism. Corporate take over.

[@PKBL2010]

VERY, VERY THANKS FOR THIS SPECTACULAR FILM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@chem100]

We take this Great City for granted today.

[@kevinmadden1645]

You can keep it!

[@terrell112]

wow 1956 is the year my grand father come to NY from Jamaica

[@brunorossibonin788]

The skylinne is so fascinating, so much less crowded than today

[@azncommie97]

While I love today's constant new gadgets, technologies, and discoveries, I hoenstly would rather live in Amrica between the years 1945-60. That was when music, cartoons, style, and class were at its finest; society and other aspects of American culture's golden age. When America's reputation and promise for people around the world was unparalled. When our fighting cause was just. When the American dream was actually being lived... Unfortunately, those days are behind us...

[@howie9751]

Fake news...

[@osvldoarrudadecarvalhoarru4415]

Que maravilha ver imagens daquela época

[@adalbertosanchez3051]

Wow, the year I was born, I love NEW YORK ❤❤❤, I miss my block in Delancey housing

[@arturo2792]

Back when America was great ....

[@PickleRicksFATASSCOUSIN]

@GEREMIA GIL quit blaming him

[@emilys3458]

Simply wonderful!

[@GeorgeVreelandHill]

I love NY. The way it was in 1956. George Vreeland Hill

[@chrisnord5078]

The apex of the American empire. 50% of global manufacturing capacity and currency backed by gold.

[@shangli8641]

Chris Nord it’s also the era where rivers light up on fire, smog made day seem like night, and local politics almost exclusively controlled by political machines. It’s truly a fascinating time to look at, from any perspective. But romanticizing it is kind of ignoring a lot of the social realities of the time.

[@wewuzvikangz4829]

@@shangli8641 did you ever stop to think that maybe we could have solved those issues without abandoning the good parts of the era along the way? America today is a shadow of what it was back then.

[@bandombeviews6035]

WE WUZ VIKANGZ Like what good parts. I’m not trying to say there weren’t any good parts, but many of the solutions to the problems in the 50s came with downsides today. The smog came primarily from manufacturing, which for a variety of reasons, isn’t really done in America anymore. Look at china today. That’s where most of America’s smog went.

[@cindylawrence1515]

Well, BEFORE the nonsense 1965 up, you could walk from the Bronx to Coney Island without fear, The streets were Clean, People SLEPT in Central Park and many rooftops on hot summer nights, The Church's has were FULL every Sunday, divorce was rare it would end a politician's career. The mail was promptly and cheerfully delivered. The clothes and music were wonderful. And the CARS..this is '56 but the NEXT year was 1957 and the Chrysler cars with the tail fins came out... case closed!!!... it was Super America back then folks.....

[@TheReviewSpace]

Beautiful footage of an older New York. I wish I can see what it would look like in a thousand years.

[@jimmyhd1969]

Even when New York City was at it's worst it still remained an exciting city.

[@dariusdark2773]

beautiful video from that time, and the city of new york is still beautiful!!

[@sammyiyi7136]

decently dressed women even at the beach.... great times...

[@vitosanto3874]

In 1956 I was 17 years old and my first full time job was a messenger boy for 20th Century Fox Film co.located at 444west 56th street ,and I literally walked the length and breath of Manjattan. I.

[@fglantern]

The 1950s were pretty good for most people, black or white, in New York City. Families were intact, hope for the future was strong, and there were things to strive for. Elegance and refinement ...and striving toward those ....were valued then. Yeah, we had to move forward, there were plenty of subtle issues then, but the hope and energy that came out of that era allowed us to dream for better, including on the racial front, since you injected that in your comment.

[@gonzalogauna46]

fglantern No most people, Gays were still very discriminated and mistreated, and they had no freedom at all.

[@rascal211]

So were blacks. Blacks did not have the same opportunities and there was more racism in the 1950s.

[@tommytruth7595]

Yeah, they are better off today. Especially in Chicago. Much safer for them than back then.

[@christorpher84]

fglantern and then welfare and Government dependency and the slow destruction of the education and liberal politics started its accent and allowing people into our country who don’t want be Americans

[@christorpher84]

Gonzalo Gauna should have stayed that way

[@chesterthawkins7510]

enjoyed this!

[@NKsEntertainment]

This is truly amazing 👌. At present we are in New York City, now it's different. Loved your video and enjoyed it 👍

[@TheNewYorkerRailfan]

A time in NYC for "I Love Lucy" and "The Honeymooners"!

[@susanb2015]

Two of the best comedies ever!

[@aliciaracimo9159]

2020 in here

[@laurentgriffon698]

C'est vraiment une superbe vidéo, avec en plus, la voix typique du commentateur. Une vraie visite touristique de la Big Apple de la fin des années 50.

[@JaheSlim]

“Showtime at the Apollo” is first broadcast in 1955, taped before a live studio audience. Performers include Sarah Vaughn, “Big” Joe Turner, Herb Jeffries, the Count Basie Orchestra comedian Nipsey Russell, and the dancer Bill Bailey. Willie Bryant is the host.

[@marvel5able]

Excellent video, but they inexplicably left a few things out: Penn Station, Grand Central Station, Yankee Stadium, the Chrysler Building, Foley Square, for instance.

[@goldbullet50]

Times when people appreciated little good things in life and didn't whine for small things, like people do now. Back then, people worked hard and grew to a tough people. Todays kids are probably sissy, whining and weak when they grow up. The best movies, best music, best vehicles, best fashion, best furniture and best people were in the old times, like in the 60's. Only thing I want is a time machine, so I could go back to the old times. Too bad I born in 90's :(

[@slavoslav9175]

You just make me regret for being even born, Cause I’m from the mid 00s. Oh shit, I was like 6 years old when this comment was written.

[@vladimirprovotorov580]

Thank you for video ! Very interesting !

[@centoguzzi]

New York "The Wonder City". Times sure have changed. Its sad.

[@okturus]

Take notes children. This is when America stood for something. A father could pay the bills, wife stayed at home and took care of the kids, public education actually worked, crime was low, standard of living was high etc etc. This is what you'll NEVER have.

[@saurabhshah4879]

Wow USA looked like this in 1950s? What an advanced country!!

[@MDMario0199]

When I should have lived...

[@milla698]

Great film this is when life was good cars were simple and everyone was proud to be an American

[@kesharkhadkapunwar2029]

Thanks! Greeting from the top of the world ! Hail! Nepal !!!

[@thornimation5492]

1:15, it is a very true fact, that at the very beginning of the history of the USA, New York City was the capital of the country. It was moved to the recently constructed Washington DC, further to the south-west, in 1801 I think! It was in 1801 Congress passed the Organic Act of 1801, which officially organized the District and placed the entire territory under the exclusive control of the federal government, which made Washington DC the nation's capital. It is still very common for foreigners, especially of young age, who know little about America, to mistake New York City, for the capital of the USA. I was no exception, only becoming certain that Washington DC is the capital, when I was 8 or 9 years old in 2006, I think !

[@AntonioIndelicato]

Amazing video. All my love for NY

[@MrBarnabas09]

A wealth of information is included in this video.

[@tsnovak20]

I love the 50s

[@eisenjeisen6262]

Wow, Wow, 61 years ago, on my way to Las Vegas with my bride to another world in Los Angeles and to see America grow today 2017 and on the verge of the day of Reckoning!, (collapse of the dollar)!!!

[@toddtepper4150]

This was the year I was born. Fun watching this, but wow has city changed, not always for the best.

[@fifthgear93]

5:17 Park Avenue looks amazing.

[@TrumpetHero15]

@goldbullet50 "The reason people find it so hard to be happy is that they always see the past better than it was, the present worse than it is, and the future less resolved than it will be." - Marcel Pagnol

[@Myro11v]

NY of 1956 > now. Especially in terms of the prices.

[@timetowakeup6302]

@49jubilee You could rent an apartment in Manhattan in the 50's for $60 a month. It was affordable for practically anyone with a half decent job. Now, those apartments cost over $3,000 per month. You need to earn at least $5,000 per month to afford living in NYC as a single person. It's absolutely ridiculous.

[@yomamasapeach]

You can learn a lot from the past and use it in the present.

[@ВячеславБелолипецкий-р8ь]

Amazing video

[@s14sr]

I like these old films from the 50's era. New York looked great back then also. It's not the slum in some parts that it is right now. When the shit hits the fan in this country and it will, you don't want to be in New York City, you want to be in the country where there is more resources for less people.

[@TheViewingBox]

This is a great piece of archive - absolutely priceless footage! Thumbs Up! ☆☆☆☆☆.

[@oliverjohn5566]

Easily one one of the best Old New York City videos!!!

[@militaryhistorian67]

Great films...Keep them coming!!!

[@luisramon8322]

two years before in 1954 the USA had seen the highest economic growth after ww2, everybody was employed and productive, they could afford new cars and even a new home and the culture of saving money still prevailed and everything new seemed to be exciting, not to mention the quality of life that was better than today.

[@Zebred2001]

A good movie about early television production in NYC in this era is My Favorite Year with Peter O'Tool and Jessica Harper.

[@WhatMaxThinks]

first time in ages ive watched an 8 minute video all the way through! :)

[@mikehunt8997]

Looks like something I'd see, on a filmstrip, in school.

[@JaheSlim]

A year earlier... “Showtime at the Apollo” is first broadcast in 1955, taped before a live studio audience. Performers include Sarah Vaughn, “Big” Joe Turner, Herb Jeffries, the Count Basie Orchestra comedian Nipsey Russell, and the dancer Bill Bailey. Willie Bryant is the host.

[@nemospence2724]

1:52 HE IS SO CUTE!

[@Rrrr-yh9qz]

What a beauty 🇺🇸 ❤️ 🇮🇳

[@jazzmagaly1]

Beautiful time to be alive in NYC

[@Douglas-up2vh]

Now I'd live in NYC back then and love it. The 50's were the best times in America. Today I wouldn't even visit NYC. Its Terrible how a city that was Paradise ,turned into a Deadly Toilet Bowl ran by Criminals.

[@RoB_Revzz]

1956 is when my grandfather is born

[@latenightlogic]

Woolworth building doesn’t even make a dent these days on the skyline.

[@dogzillasquad9524]

Wow 1956 wow 👏👏👏👍👍 I was not even born

[@NJBellyDanceEvents]

WOW....love it....love it and love it....

[@georgerivera8834]

Awesome thank you

[@tec61]

BACK WHEN NYC WAS THE PEOPLES CITY.BEAUTIFUL!!💙❤️UNFORTUNATELY NOT SO MUCH ANY MORE 😔 I STILL(LOVE NY) BUT IT’S JUST NOT THE SAME ANYMORE. I PRAY IT RETURNS🙏🙏🙏❤️💙✌️✌️

[@stereotype5868]

I understand exactly what people mean when they wish they lived in those days.

[@Rikenrocker]

at 8:04 you can see that all the east-west & north-south traffic lights changed at the same time. it kinda makes you dizzy to see it.

[@erehwyrevekool]

I love New York! great video!

[@smeldogs]

Very educational & interesting !

[@Troghen]

I couldn't agree with you more. God what I wouldn't give to live back then.

[@clarkewi]

I lived on the upper east side in 1956 as a kid. Couped up in an apartment.

[@Scambush]

Nice to see the GW Bridge back when it had only one deck at 6:28 - the lower deck was added in 1961.

[@Scambush]

The submarine at 0:27 is the USS Nautilus - the first nuclear submarine built - it also made the first crossing of the Arctic Ocean. Its ID number is SSN-571 (hence the "571" you see on the sub) and you can tour it in Groton, CT.

[@Hanzey1966]

@DarthFastidious Thanks again for Radio Row....But annyway, back to the point. I do understand what Goldbullet says, and do Understand what you sayd about that. The only thing is that mostly the Older people are saying that about ,Their Era, like everything was better ,Back in our Days, Goldbullet born in the 90s and I think that makes a lil difference here. On the other side Im born in Mid 60s, and wish I was born in 50s to live as young adult in the SIXTYS, Although Im happy with my 80s youth

[@YaoFromChina]

@flawlessprodigy Not comparing, those two just came out of my mind from nowhere=)

[@HR5308]

That was the great time of New York! And was never ag

[@danielgolus4600]

This video should be shown at the standard 4 x 3 aspect ratio that it was originally shot at, not the 16 x 9 of this video which stretches and distorts everything here. There were no widescreen TVs in 1956; all were 4 x 3 standard definition.

[@axiomist1076]

This wasnt shot for TV. It was for the movie theatres. What was called a short. Probably came right after the cartoons and movies were already being shot in wide aspect ratios. By the late 50s/ early 60s they were even in 2:40/1. Sometimes when they were shown on TV and werent panned and scanned, there'd be two people talking and on each end of th screen youd see only their nose and mouth ! Remember? LOL.

[@luislaplume8261]

Greenwich Village was the center of the beatnik culture of NYC and the East Coast.

[@Daritto7117]

wow, just wow! I love this footage, definately a keep sake in the ever changing new york. I wonder how many of those historic ethnic neighborhoods are still around?

[@kevinmadden1645]

Keepsake is one word. Definitely does not have an "a" in it..