What Life Looked Like 100 Years Ago in America

Get a clear look back at the forgotten decade of the 1920s through this rare collection of carefully colorized photos.
When we think of the 1920s in America, we mostly remember it as, 'The Roaring Twenties,' or 'The Jazz Age.' And while the decade is definitely synonymous with the Prohibition era, there was so much else going on around the country that we don't often think about.
The 1920s was the decade when more Americans moved to cities than ever before; the decade when automobile mass production made cars available to the masses; the decade when consumer radio took over the airwaves; and the decade when women finally earned the right to vote.
In this week's video, I've combed through hundreds of sources to find the most interesting images I could find of this decade that reshaped America. I then spent hours carefully colorizing these pictures as best as I could achieve - (no more purples when the color should be blue or black!)
If you're a regular viewer of The History Lounge - Welcome Back! I'm glad you're here.
If you're just finding my channel for the first time, I invite you to take some time to look around and see what other interesting historical topics that have been covered here.
Please enjoy this look back into the 1920s!
- Kevin H.
#historicalphotos #lifeinamerica #nostalgia

[@teresastaalcowley8521]

My father in law, Charlie Gemora, immigrated from the Philippines in 1919, entering San Francisco. He was a brilliant artist. He sat outside the Hollywood studios in 1920 doing portraits. He worked as a make-up artist and set designer until his death in 1961. He was famously known as the gorilla in movies with Laurel and Hardy, Bob Hope, Dean Martin, and others. He created the gargoyles for the set in the Huntch Back of Notre Dame. He created monsters in movies such as War of the Worlds and others. He built his home in Hollywood Hills above the Hollywood sign. Thank you for creating these excellent historical videos.

[@Toddytoad7]

That's just an awesome legacy

[@daler.steffy1047]

Thank you for taking the time to revisit some family history, as it is definitely an example of oral history that has the power, as such stories are able to do when passed along to the next generation of interested people, to enlighten them in what some of life used to be like here in America many years ago. You are a very good writer, as well; and I appreciate how you pay close attention to accurate punctuation.

[@alexw9373]

Thanks for sharing!

[@BLOXKAFELLARECORDS]

War of the world was created in 1983 nice try.

[@AFMMarcelD]

@@BLOXKAFELLARECORDS100% incorrect!

[@mistermystery1999]

4 years ago I briefly lived in a very rural area, I befriended a 94 year old lady from down the road and visited her often. What struck me the most was how she was always happy to turn on the radio for me, it felt like it was still an exciting new technology for her

[@davehughesfarm7983]

I still listen to talk AM radio. I am 48 years old

[@mistermystery1999]

@@davehughesfarm7983 me too in the car, I guess the reason I made the comment was she had a special sparkle in her eye when it was radio time

[@vibes1680]

I love that

[@rickysig]

Many in that generation were happy and content with very little. The amount of downtime and lack of technology would be unbearable for so many of us.

[@doreekaplan2589]

My Dad was born 100 years ago in Los Angeles, living 96 years. One day sitting on the couch he simply passed. No pain, no fear. Btw, he never exercised, drank lots of water or watched what he ate except he liked eating fresh foods, and didn't choose junk or fast food ever.

[@everettamador9870]

May He Rest in peace😞

[@geraldek4948]

Glad he went peacefully

[@billm.819]

You are blessed.

[@lizzapaolia959]

God bless your dad 🙏. Have faith in our Savior Jesus Christ 🙏. You will see him again.

[@daler.steffy1047]

His long life could also have been attributed to the good "genes" he was wearing, and certainly further contributed to by the fresh food he had chosen to eat. I stay away from fast-food. Occasionally, I will buy a box of frozen breaded shrimp from the grocery store and chrisp it up in the oven; however, when I'm washing the glass flat Pyrex container in which I heated up the shrimp--now I'm still thinking I'm eating healthy here, because it's shrimp--well, the amount of grease left behind in that glass Pyrex container was just unbelievable! So even if we think we're avoiding eating crappy food by not going out to fast-food restaurants, "this vile food" can still sneak in through such devious means as I have just illustrated.

[@someguy4911]

The one photo of the car deep in the tire ruts in Iowa reminded me of my late grandfather's stories of how when he was a kid in the 1920s, his dad would drive the family from Omaha to Iowa City. He said at the time, you followed the tire ruts in the dirt that traveled along telegraph lines connecting Omaha and Iowa City. You also carried many inner-tubes as a few tire blowouts were guaranteed. There was no car radio and no A/C or heat.

[@user-jn2wx7db1c]

A very old woman back in 1980s said when asked about changes in her lifetime said, “ The roads became so much better.” Meaning asphalt.

[@riverwildcat1]

The great concrete freeways we have now didn’t exist before 1954 or so. They were still being built into the’70s. Only Route 66 ran from coast to coast and a lot of it was rural and crude.

[@tajmulhall]

I’m very sorry for your loss, but on the other end the stick I love your story I so hope that’s how my daddy gets to go

[@joobn8r]

My mom said the weed got better!

[@kevinmontgomery1383]

@@riverwildcat1 Chicago to Santa Monica!

[@jenniferlloyd9574]

​@@joobn8r I guess your Mom's priorities are a bit lacking.

[@riverwildcat1]

Excellent work. Very nostalgic. My grandparents bought a house in Hollywood, and it was situated in a neighborhood right below the Hollywoodland sign and the huge white mansion in your 1927 photo. Charlie Chaplin lived in the white mansion, and my mother said everyone called it the Elephant House. Stan Laurel lived across the street from them. The neighborhood still stands.

[@thestu7066]

The house is still there

[@jerrymail]

Now, we are used to seeing asphalt roads everywhere, but in my village, at the end of the 1950s, all streets were still dirt.

[@doreekaplan2589]

Never were villages in California.

[@jerrymail]

@@doreekaplan2589 I live in the south of France.

[@davehughesfarm7983]

My village in Missouri has gravel and dirt roads.

[@BabyBugBug]

@@doreekaplan2589I like how you assume the commenter lives in California. Nice one.

[@user-ow3xu3go1g]

I wish times wouldn't change so much , that we could still be living this way, but it always gets more technical and the natural disappears more and more.

[@cashinn7490]

Rich people are lazy. They want to get these instantly. Natural things take work and they are slowly beginning to not need the "working class" much longer due to AI making these cheaper then paying people to do it.

[@moderatedoomer2945]

What strikes me about the 1920's is how modern and recognizable it is. The 1920's see the introduction of or popularization of cars, home mortgages, a consumer culture, a distinct youth culture, mass communications like radio and Hollywood blockbusters, we get Mickey Mouse, we get Oreo cookies, we get college and professional sports on the radio, and above all Americans really see themselves as part of a shared national culture. And if that were not enough, it was the first time that majority of American did not live in rural areas.

[@jimmerhardy]

This is beautiful work. More than a collection of upgraded photos, this is a thoughtfully produced documentary. Well done.

[@akjdhajkdjhaghjkadh9804]

its ai

[@sunsetsarsparilla]

lmao it's AI

[@jimmerhardy]

@@sunsetsarsparilla Nah. Enhanced archival pics is my guess.

[@davidbryden7904]

The Los Angeles basin was a beautiful place 100 years ago. A veritable Garden of Eden. Then "they paved paradise and put up a parking lot." 🎵🎶

But we never got that tree museum.

[@UmmYeahOk]

They paved that river.

[@riverwildcat1]

Yes. Utopia is farther away than ever.

[@shaunsteele6926]

Los Angeles was great until the 60s-70s when liberal hippies and illegals took over.

[@kevinmontgomery1383]

@@riverwildcat1 But, worth the trip!

[@Davett53]

Both of my grandparents came to America in the late 1890s. From Russia & Germany. My Pop was born in the USA in 1911, and my Mom was born in 1922. Her father began his life in the USA working as grocery store clerk and eventually he opened his own delicatessen. I cherish the old black & white photos I have of him from 1905 and later from the 1920s. My mother shared her stories about growing up after 1922. Horse drawn vendor carts, were still on the roads in the early 20's. Even though she was born in the "big city" of Cleveland, Ohio. Blocks of ice, which were harvested from Lake Erie, during the winters, were then stored in (unrefrigerated) Ice Houses. Ice houses were tall, windowless, brick buildings, lined with thick cork, and the ice was covered in sawdust. In that setting, the ice didn't melt. The "ice men", cut the large blocks into smaller blocks, (manually with hand saws), which were then transported by large, horse draw carts, to people's homes and apartments. The Ice men, hand delivered the ice and moved the blocks manually using steel tongs. The men wore protective, leather coats, & gloves and slung the ice blocks over their shoulders, which they hand delivered, to each dwelling. They hadn't invented refrigerators yet. People kept their ice blocks in cork lined ice boxes. The ice was always slowly melting. Then the home dwellers, would by hand, chip the larger blocks of ice into smaller chunks, & chips, manually with an ice pick. There was no such a thing as a home-use, ice maker. Food had to be purchased daily, and it didn't last as long, in those home use ice boxes.

[@Davett53]

@@Diana-yn2ho Indeed. Younger people have no idea how hard life was before refrigeration was invented. I was born in 1953,...we enjoyed all the modern inventions & conveniences. In the 50s we had milk delivered to our house, air conditioning existed, but my Pop didn't like it, so we survived our hot Summers, with room and window fans. A great irony,...my father's business was installing air conditioning.

[@Diana-yn2ho]

​@@Davett53 - No doubt, life was tough for our parents' generation and even more so for our grandparents' generation. I lived in a major American city so I don't recall the iceman coming; we already had a refrigerator and a couple years later, in the mid-60s, an air conditioning unit was fitted into a living room window. Did you live in a rural area?

[@Davett53]

@@Diana-yn2ho I grew up in a middle class suburb of Cleveland, Ohio. Our house was built in 1946. The surrounding houses were mostly built in the late 1930s through the 40s. All them were brick clad, versus all brick construction. They all had slate roofs, copper downspouts, and a exterior flagstone detailing. Usually on the first story, or just around the front entrances. All were 2 story, with attics that could be finished. Before I was born, coal was still being delivered, to much of the housing for the furnaces. Though I recall the coal deliveries, continued after 1953 when I was born. Soon all the heating was converted to natural gas. There were no icemen, by that time period. A milkman drove a van to most of the houses. Shortly afterwards, a shopping center was built, a mile from our house, with two grocery stores, bakeries, restaurants, etc. Our neighbors all owned cars, many had two of them.

[@Davett53]

@@Diana-yn2ho I'm kind of retro-man. I liked my world before computers and cellphones. The 60s, 70s, & 80s were my favorite decades. In the 60s I was coming of age, the 70s in college and grad. school, the 80s becoming me, great early Art jobs, rewarding successes. I was a creative kid, always made art,...Studied it, earned 2 art degrees, was awarded an art scholarship. Rented a huge art studio and produced sculptures, and exhibited them, won awards and grants, sold my stuff too. Taught art, worked in art galleries, then 20 years as a picture framer. Freelanced & consulting.

[@Diana-yn2ho]

@@Davett53 - I agree. I prefer the simpler times. I too, enjoy art and have some ability to draw. I decorated at least five or six 18 inch albums and filled them up with old family photographs. I hope my relatives will appreciate them. I made a copy for myself and that is good enough for me. We are not going to live forever so might as well distribute family heirlooms or souvenirs when we are still able to.

[@brucestaples4510]

Kevin, I'm guessing you don't get tired of hearing it, and at the risk of being redundant, I must, once again, compliment you on another outstanding collection of photos, informative narration, and music befitting the subject and era. Kudos! 👍 Bruce

[@philliplaplante8086]

My dad was born in LA in 1918 and my mom in Hollywood in 1925. Pre-WWII LA was a great place to grow up before there were freeways, smog and too many people. Hollywood was in its heyday.

[@lolabunny7788]

& now here we are, over worked, overwhelmed, mentally exhausted and missing the simple farm days

[@The_best_days_are_yesterdays]

Just gorgeous! Well done and VERY MUCH appreciated. Thank you

[@daler.steffy1047]

Even though I was born in 1948, I was still fortunate to remember as a child seeing some of the "vestiges" reflected in a few of the images that showed up in these photographs. ~ I also got to experience a bit of "rural 1930s history" when, in 1969, at 20 years old, I hopped on an $89 Raleigh, 10-speed bicycle here in Sonoma County, in northern California, and rode it on a solo trip across America, concluding in Boston. A notable memory of that trip, one that speaks to our history with respect to our early-day road development, was that I purposely chose to bicycle on, what I think I still remember as US Route 30, which was then a narrow, two-lane concrete ribbon of highway that partly went through Nebraska and Kansas. It gave me a chance to feel, in this odd sort of way, intimately involved with the land I was passing through, which included corn and alfalfa fields.One of the greatest joys of that part of the travel was smelling the incredibly sweet, pungent air after an alfalfa field had been freshly mowed and the grass then bailed. And as a traveler on that sort of conveyance, it was always critical to know where the next town was for being able to eat and get fresh water. Riding my bicycle along that narrow, country highway, even though it had a U.S. route designation, it also enabled me to know where the next town was, because, against the backdrop of a (usually) brilliant blue sky, I could see a farm grainery rising up in the near-distance, and most often situated at the edge of a town. And thank goodness those towns were fairly close together, allowing me to continue to find sustenance in plentiful supply as I continued on down the highway. ~ As a side note, I had a small 9-volt transistor radio strap onto the gooseneck of my handlebars, and that was, of course, for companionship on the open road, as well as having the opportunity to listen in on local broadcast stations, thus allowing me to get a sense of the "flavor" of the kinds of things that were important to people in the given region I would be riding through (and also to hear different, albeit sometimes subtle, regional dialects, which were fascinating to listen to, especially "against the backdrop" of my harsh California vocalizations). I remember listening to the Arthur Godfrey show on occasion, which was a variety and talk show still on the radio in 1969 and still serving as an example of what some of old-time radio used to be be like. Also, I could listen in on farm reports, hearing the latest beef and corn prices, for example, that were set at the "present market rate" in the auction houses within the local farming areas; this observation being another example of giving a small sense of what rural America was like at that time. And some of these local radio programs included swap-shop call-in segments, allowing local people to call the radio host and say that they had this or that for sale and the price and then provided their phone numbers. (And just for the record, I never bothered to call in make any inquiries because...wait, this is 1969 and THERE WERE NO cell phones; also, how could I have carried anything more on my bicycle?!) So anyone listening to the program, if they wanted that item(s) being offered for sale, would have sufficient information to get in touch with the seller. The neat thing was, even at age 20 at that time, I was astutely aware of the historical significance of that listening experience. Of course, over those weeks that I traveled, there are many other vignettes I could presently share, and some of them would compliment this particular video presentation. But I'll say those stories for another time. Maybe in a book. ~drs (04/24/24)

[@daler.steffy1047]

I want to take a quick moment here in responding to my (own) "Comment" above, that because I take a certain pride in TRYING very hard to get syntax and grammar correct, I do find it often quite difficult to edit my work on a small computer screen, so I reread the comment text above, but this time AFTER I hit the "Reply" button, and I noticed a few rather obvious errors. Now I don't think most people who read the "Comments" sections really care, but I do; so if I annoyed anyone because of advertently making some grammar/syntax errors, I do apologize. (So now, in my present paranoia, I'm wondering where I might have screwed up grammatically in this reply! Yikes! I have to be careful or I'm going to drive myself crazy! Or maybe nuts...) [~ Signed, a Ret. H.S. Engl.Tchr...So maybe now it might come to light as to why I have a near-maniacal penchant for trying to get my writing as error-free as possible.]

[@TheHistoryLounge]

Wow - a bike ride across the country in 1968! That would've been really interesting. You should write your book!

[@larsedik]

I loved shopping at Sakowitz in downtown Houston 1968-1972 when I was living on campus at Rice. I could take any bus on Main Street to get downtown, where the best stores were back then, including Foley's and Neiman-Marcus.

[@jenniferlloyd9574]

Remember the Easy Listening Music that played in grocery and department stores??? Elevator Musik!

[@ram0166]

I had a history professor who used to say that Prohibition worked just fine. The drys had their law and the wets had their liquor.

[@manofsound9098]

5:18 The PPL Building in Allentown, PA. I Lived 1 block from it. My parents always shopped at Hess's Department Store and Allentown was a beautiful place back then. Even in the 70s and mid 80s. WOW I have never seen the PPL building under construction. Thank you for showing this!

[@peterselten500]

Great video the old gas stations are my favourite part . Cheers mate🇦🇺

[@Luiz-pt2bf]

that was the real name in the 20's Hollywoodland

[@David-yw2lv]

It was originally a promotion for a real estate development.

[@Dulcimertunes]

Now it’s Holly Weird

[@ry491]

Wonderful to see . Many thanks from the UK .

[@zazubombay]

Very Informative and wonderful to watch -- thanks.

[@ChuckoMountain-fv9yj]

Great story and pictures. Thanks!

[@TheHistoryLounge]

Thank you for your kind comment - I’m glad you liked it!

[@PraveenSrJ01]

My grandmother was born on January 14, 1928 and remembers the year 1930

[@reneevaz7848]

Great editing! Very professional.

[@user-jn2wx7db1c]

Right. Less fat people, maybe because way less processed foods

[@PraveenSrJ01]

Touché but makes plenty of sense

[@billsephton5932]

Wonderful photos tinged with sadness that the people have had their lives and passed on.

[@labridgers8264]

People didnt just leave farms, they were forced off so Big Brother could develop their land. They had no choice but to move to cities

[@estelleadamski308]

I loved the way the girls dressed in the 1930's. They were shaking the confines of dresses worn by the mother & grandmothers.

[@stoveboltlvr3798]

I like the fair skin ladies had then. Tanned is overrated. Even the less fortunate dressed nice. Ladies-dresses and men-suits were a standard. Now people go shopping in PJ's and flip flops.

[@estelleadamski308]

@@stoveboltlvr3798 Yes, the 30's ladies protected their skin. Tans can have a leathery look to them. The ladies dressed up to go to the grocery store, even Yes, no one dresses up anymore, dress like slobs.

[@nicklazarakis4837]

Wow, what an era, I have 12 old gas pumps from that era, built to last, look so cool. Nick Melbourne Australia

That blimp was at the same station where the Hindenburg blew up.

[@jonesy4588]

a lot better than it looks now

[@chanleo6659]

Going back to my olden days. Remembering my short stay in NEWYORK decades ago.

[@marybeck7594]

Please bring back the gold standard! Great pics, keep up the great work. 😊

[@TopHotDog]

Ft. Knox is empty.

[@duckduckgoismuchbetter]

Yes, absolutely we need the gold and silver standard back. ASAP!

[@kentbrokman2338]

Convert 30 trillions of US debt in the gold ?

[@duckduckgoismuchbetter]

@@kentbrokman2338 The true price of gold is vastly higher than the current very low manipulated price.

[@andrewleonardi3351]

Awesome video

[@bullwinkle2380]

People sure wore interesting and colorful clothes back in the olden days!!!

[@RENRAW111]

Very enjoable video! Thank you So much for all your efforts. Please make more. From Los Angleles

[@TheHistoryLounge]

Thank you!

[@jaydee975]

In 1926, a monumental event happened in American transportation history when the US Highway system was formed. It was around this time that those new US highways were paved with strong durable concrete. There are still many stretches across the country of the original roads that are still in existence and are still in great shape!

[@jasonrodgers9063]

At 6:35- The Levy brother's store in downtown Louisville KY! My parents took me there to buy me my first suit at age 11 (55 years ago), in the menswear dept. just inside the angled windows on the corner! THANKS for the memories!

[@stevenkaskus6173]

MY Mom had pictures of the house they lived in at one time in Quartz Hill, CA (the Antelope Valley) and in the picture the house was pink stucco and Sandy dirt roads. That was in the late 50's about 1958. We went for a drive one weekend out to the desert to look at New homes like we would do and My Mom told me where to go and turn and we ended up in Quartz Hill and right Next to the house in the picture and the only thing that changed was that the Sandy dirt road was now blacktop, the house still Pink stucco everything looked the same. This was in the early 1990's.

[@jaydee975]

Oh to go back into the 1920s and ride the Milwaukee Road’s Olympian Hiawatha passenger train between Chicago and Seattle and viewing the beautiful scenery from the Superdome observation car. ❤❤❤❤

[@johnwatson8323]

❤❤❤❤❤ Thank you!!!

[@cody3134]

Let's see. Fascinating stuff!! Interesting

[@lorewilhelm9182]

I love the 1920'S and 1960'S.

[@sjbock]

The names of the actresses sitting under an umbrella on the sand at 7:57 are reversed. The actress on the right is Joan Crawford.

[@jamesmccasland887]

My mother grew up during depression she. always had a fear of lack, despite my father had a steady income. She always would say "put it in the box", after grocery shopping. She grew up with "The Ice Box" with Ice man delivering.

[@rickintexas1584]

I especially liked seeing pictures from Houston in this collection.

[@james5460]

It was indeed a big decade for radios - and thus RCA stock. It was the first "tech" stock and rose astronomically. Then the 1930s hit, the stock plummeted with falling demand, and it didn't recover to previous levels until the mid-1950s. There's a lesson in there somewhere for current investors.

[@seancrouse9623]

5:17 Hey! That's my town!

[@anony_mouse1]

Everyone a lot thinner then since soybean oil and artificial sugars weren't in everything.

[@user-qr7ee2cp4y]

Interesting stuff

[@jaydee975]

Now regards to the early vehicle transportation noted in this video. The US highways were the ones who got the concrete and improved road surfaces first. The other roads that were maintained by the state and county were improved later on. The US highways had a concrete surface that was 9 feet wide (considered a lane and a half by today’s standards) with no shoulders And definitely were made of durable concrete that in some places still exists to this day. I don’t know about your state but in Minnesota there are still original sections of US Highway 61 and US Highway 52 that still exist!!!

[@bluesharp59]

Always great videos and a thumbs up. You also remind me or sound like James woods. Pretty close I must say. Maybe you could play his double in a movie lol. Anyway, keep up the great work and I am subscribed to your channel. Peace!

[@diane1390]

I'll just call AAA mule, they'll get us out of this mud!

[@alexclement7221]

5:35: That is the Singer building in the background. torn down in the mid 1960's.

[@user-wh5ir4fo4r]

I love the '20s for fashion and hair. I don't have the time nor inclination anymore, but I used to do marcel waves in my hair. They were used to control curls.

[@shaunsteele6926]

I heard all about it from my grandma growing up. She grew up in Los Angeles in the 20s-30s and had all kinds of stories.

[@jesseserna8424]

Im 58 now but I always wanted to be a young man to join the military during WW2..But all the old timers I’ve ever talked to over the years has told me NO YOU DONT…my grandfather was in WW2 ,but I never met him even though I got his military discharge papers 🇺🇸.thank you for this.

[@user-ow3xu3go1g]

Trains have always appealed to me.

[@scotnick59]

@7:30 = NOT Fay Wray, but Mary Brian.

[@trishaself3187]

so much better back than. from the way of living, to the clothing styles, to the cars and shops and to there being no foreigners. to every little thing. so much better. unlike now.

[@andrewprior5080]

My 95 yo father says the oldest person he remembers having a conversation with was his great aunt Mary, born in 1846. She passed away went he was 13.

[@jaydee975]

A century ago, I would’ve ridden the Milwaukee Road’s Olympian Hiawatha between Chicago and Seattle or Santa Fe’s Superchief between Chicago and Los Angeles.

[@jaydee975]

Road crews must’ve surely known how to build exceptionally good roads back then. Many US highways from the mid 1920s were built using concrete that in a few locations is still in great shape to this day despite being a century old! 😮 there are many good examples of this road surface along US Highway 61 in Southeast Minnesota.

[@randymente80]

Good vid

[@davidmiller4078]

With G in the bass makes it Gmajor9

[@ishaaqpeters8808]

Funny thing that women where the same beautiful creatures.and we men love them so.

[@jamesmccasland887]

Radio was very effective. FDR during depression was a run on banks. FDR made changed, bank holiday, banks reopened and people lined up to redeposit money. You would not see that today.

[@brentcowan8077]

Coolest ever are the electric street cars.

[@VR-yd1kq]

Wow, we’ve really gone downhill.

[@jessemacias2]

Great images, takes you back to a simpler better life.

[@H4TTOR1_H4NZO]

Imagine the USA if the prohibition stuck around? The courts would be broke lol.😂

[@user-jn2wx7db1c]

What I found to be rather rare was a nicely painted house/ building

[@MarlinWilliams-ts5ul]

Cities were sparkling; 100 years later, look at our cities now.

[@UmmYeahOk]

Seeing horses being used to pull a stuck motor carriage is a bit reminiscent of how people today envision EVs being towed by a gas powered tow truck after running out of electricity. These horses probably did the same whenever a car ran out of fuel, not just got stuck in the mud, with people wondering why on earth anyone would buy a car, when a horse and cart works “better.”

[@Davett53]

Excellent!.....Been exploring my city's history for decades, though old photos. Friends share stories about where "Speak Easies" were located in the remaining old buildings, and how "candy shops" supplied sugar to bootleggers. (Sugar was used in the making of booze) Family histories include tales of "just folks",....not criminal enterprises, who aided in smuggling booze, in false bottom cars, and even in early 1900s automobile's spare tires, that were either filled with beer, or other booze. I live in Columbus, Ohio, but I grew up in Cleveland, Ohio. Cleveland had gangsters and rum runners, who traversed Lake Erie up to Canada, to buy liquor and the ingredients to make booze. I'm presently 70, but my life and times, I was involved (smuggling) & buying marijuana, just from a network of friends, we weren't apart of organized crime, either. In the late 1960s, the 1970s, & 80s, & 90s "weed" could be easily purchased on every college campus, from coast to coast. Business was conducted safely in student campus housing, and privately rented homes.

[@GreyMarano]

1936 in Lakeland Florida ABC liquor started or what ever they named themself specifically. Brilliant move!

[@publiusvalerius8934]

I was looking through my genealogy awhile back and found out that I had a relative that competed in the Miss Universe pageant ... it was in Galveston, Texas and of course had a swimsuit competition on the beach -- in the 1920s. I think I read that 70,000 people showed up for the event!

[@burnacco]

*comment romantizing those times even though I never lived to experience them*

[@yamil.343]

What a cool video! If I’m not mistaken the cars when they first came out cost $100 & not everyone could buy one. Imagine that. 😮

[@TheHistoryLounge]

Thanks, Yamil - I’m glad you liked the video! Your comment prompted me to look up the numbers, and here’s what I found. In 1920, the average income in thee US was around $3,200.00, and a new Ford Model T ran around $300.00 - so about one tenth of an annual income. Interesting…🤔

[@yamil.343]

@@TheHistoryLounge Interesting indeed. Thanks for the info!

[@stoveboltlvr3798]

@ 3:30 that price of $37.50 in 1920 is $581.86 in 2024 money. A model T Ford was $575.00 which is $8,921.87 today. Amazing to compare. According to Inflation calculator.

[@ShesooBreezy]

I’d be so mad if I just bought a car, and it got stuck in the mud. 😩😩😩

[@cynthiataylor2092]

The vineyards survived probation by providing wine for the Catholic churches for mass. Today there is a vineyard right next to Farmer's Market on 3rd in LA

[@kencarole8415]

Now thats a tall ladder.

[@completesalvation1755]

The music is too loud

[@scottstambaugh8473]

We had better citizens then.

[@MarinCipollina]

We had a less fascist society then too.

[@scottstambaugh8473]

@@MarinCipollina what is fascist about our society now?

[@MarinCipollina]

@@scottstambaugh8473 You have to ask? Look around.. We have RW billionaire capture of government.. We have absurd RW cartoon figures elected to congress.. We have a deranged criminal nazi running for president instead of rotting in jail where he belongs.

[@johnward6699]

Ppl had pride in themselves back then,not walking around looking like crazys. Dressed properly and everyone had a job

[@mutombosays780]

People were able to purchase homes at Sears

[@BradThePitts]

1:58 I wonder what the "NOT BOOTLEG" sign means?? 🤔

[@joesielskisr4911]

My mom was born 1924

[@PraveenSrJ01]

My grandmother who is still alive today was born in 1928. Is your mom still alive at age 99 going on 100 💯

[@andrewjones4774]

Your old lol

[@jons.6216]

I often joke about church steeples and other types of electrical looking towers as being like the radio programs being "broadcast from the Starlight Room of the Roosevelt Hotel in downtown...." in reference to the way old programs used to be done due to the better reception that would have come from a higher public location like that! Haha!

[@OldWorldNewYork]

Is that Thoma Shelby from "Peaky Blinders" at 1:00 ??? It looks identical to him!

[@JacobDean88]

Man do I wish I was there

[@johnnyjensen8805]

I would go back anytime

[@onlythewise1]

more simple times

[@lifelongbachelor3651]

so, all things being equal, much nicer...

[@twinsonic]

Yeah, awesome times to be black and/or a woman

[@lifelongbachelor3651]

@@twinsonicexactly. who do you think advanced hunter/gatherer folk to their present capabilities...

[@rollitupmars]

@@lifelongbachelor3651wtf is wrong with you

[@lifelongbachelor3651]

@@rollitupmars do you mean my penchant for the truth...

[@rollitupmars]

@@lifelongbachelor3651 where’s the truth WERIDO

[@user-oq3er1hg2y]

この時代が一番カッコいい👍

[@tdkz72]

The World was a much better place in spite of war and a depression era..... I'd take those days anytime over what we have now!

[@danielhackleman2140]

Heavy on music

[@user-zh8kd9vk3m]

What would happen if a 70 year old from 1920 was brought in a time machine to 2024. What would they say about the world😮