Step Back into 1950s Manhattan with Stunning Colored Photos

The 1950s in Manhattan was a blend of glitz, glamour, and groundwork for the future. From the diners’ delightful comfort food to the stages of Broadway, from the fashion displays of Fifth Avenue to the first whispers of social revolution, the decade was as multifaceted as the city itself.

Diner Delights and Soda Fountains

Picture this: chrome-trimmed diners with neon signs glowing in the twilight. Inside, you’d find red leather booths and checkered floors, jukeboxes playing the latest hits, and waitresses on roller skates serving up milkshakes and burgers. Manhattan’s diners were the social hubs of the ’50s, where teenagers gathered after school and families enjoyed weekend outings, all while savoring that quintessential American fast-food experience.

Broadway’s Golden Era

The Great White Way shined even brighter in the 1950s. The stages of Broadway were alive with some of the most iconic performances ever. Musicals like “West Side Story” and “My Fair Lady” debuted, introducing audiences to tales of love, conflict, and transformation. With stars like Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison taking center stage, theatergoers were treated to unforgettable nights of drama and song.

The Rise of the Silver Screen

While TV was making waves, movie theaters in Manhattan were palatial wonders, drawing huge crowds for the latest Hollywood releases. The city boasted ornate movie palaces like the Roxy and the Paramount, where seeing a film was an event in itself. The red carpets, the glitzy premieres, and the allure of celebrity made these venues hotspots for entertainment.

Fashion and Fifth Avenue

The 1950s was a defining decade for fashion. With the war behind them, designers embraced luxury and opulence. Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue became synonymous with style, as high-end stores showcased the latest trends. Women donned elegant dresses with cinched waists, while men looked dapper in tailored suits. Window shopping was an art form, and the mannequins of Fifth Avenue set the standards.

As the decade progressed, Manhattan began to witness the initial stirrings of social and political movements. The Civil Rights Movement gained momentum, and voices of change resonated in the city’s streets and squares. While the 1950s is often remembered for its carefree spirit, it was also a time of awakening, setting the stage for the transformative decades that followed.

#1 Times Square, 1948.

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#2 United Nations buildings under construction, 1951.

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#3 Ambassador Hotel on Park Avenue, 1950s.

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#4 Washington Square Park Arch, 1956.

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#5 Lower East Side, 1956.

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#6 Park Avenue north from 58th Street, 1956.

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#7 Playing in the street, 1956.

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#8 Sutton Place neighborhood, 1956.

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#9 Public housing development, 1956.

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#10 Stuyvesant Town residential development, 1956.

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#11 Macdougal Alley, 1956.

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#12 Near Herald Square, 1956.

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#13 Broadway near Herald Square, 1956.

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#14 Children Playing on Seesaws at Central Park, Manhattan, 1952.

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#15 Various Advertisements Illuminated at Night in Times Square, Manhattan, 1957.

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#16 Madison Avenue Advertising Executive Makes a Client Visit, Manhattan, 1950.

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#17 Theater District, Loew’s State Theater and Criterion Theater at Night, Broadway, Manhattan, 1950s.

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#18 Various Advertisements and Planters Peanuts Illuminated at Times Square, Manhattan, 1957.

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#19 Group of Boys Outside the Lunch Box Diner, Lower Manhattan, 1952.

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#20 Owners Groom Their Dogs at Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, Madison Square Garden, Manhattan, 1957.

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#21 Theatre Director Carmen Capalbo at Theatre de Lys, Greenwich Village, Manhattan, 1957.

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#22 View of the Hound Group at Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, Madison Square Garden, Manhattan, 1957.

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#23 View of United Nations Secretariat Building, FDR East River Drive, Midtown Manhattan, 1955.

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#24 View of Skyscraper Office Buildings from Queens, Midtown Manhattan, 1955.

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#25 View Towards the United Nations Secretariat Building, FDR East River Drive, Midtown Manhattan, 1955.

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#26 Paper Clutter Near Roosevelt Hotel Wall, Manhattan, 1950.

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#27 Advertisements for Camel Cigarettes and Pepsi-Cola in Times Square, Manhattan, 1957.

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#28 Camel Cigarettes Advertisement Illuminated at Night in Times Square, Manhattan, 1957.

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#29 Portrait of Helen Hayes in Times Square, Manhattan, June 17, 1959.

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#30 People Walking on Third Avenue, Manhattan, 1953.

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#31 Portrait of G Keith Funston in Bowling Green Park, Manhattan, May 18, 1959.

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#32 Skyline of Skyscrapers in Manhattan, 1950s.

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#33 Traffic & Pedestrians at Fifth Avenue, Midtown Manhattan, 1950s.

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#34 Cars Traffic in Times Square, Manhattan, 1950s.

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#35 Traffic Jam around Grand Central Station, Manhattan, 1950s.

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#36 Heavy Car and Taxi Traffic in Park Avenue, Manhattan, 1950s.

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#37 Sunken Plaza, Rockefeller Center, Manhattan, 1950s.

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#38 Male Hot Dog Vendor in West Street, Downtown Manhattan, 1950s.

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#39 Flatiron Building, One of the First Skyscrapers in Manhattan, 1950s.

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#40 Night Times Square, Neon Signs and Ads, Manhattan, 1956.

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#41 Times Square at Night, Neon Lights and Ads, Manhattan, 1950s.

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#42 Wall Street View Towards Statue of George Washington, Manhattan, 1950s.

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#43 Model in a Yellow Wool Suit Stands Nearby as a Truck Is Unloaded on a Lower Manhattan Street, Manhattan, 1958.

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#44 Woman and Child Posing in Front of St Thomas Church at 5th Avenue and 53rd St, Manhattan, 1955.

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#45 Crowds in Rockefeller Center Plaza During NYC Easter Parade, Manhattan, 1955.

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#46 Woman Posing with Poodle at NYC Easter Parade, Manhattan, 1955.

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#47 Woman and Children in “Mambo Style” Clothing at NYC Easter Parade, Manhattan, 1955.

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#48 View of City Hall and the Courthouse in Lower Manhattan, Manhattan, 1955.

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#49 American Legion Parade down 5th Ave, Fred R. French Building, Manhattan, 1955.

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#50 Rockefeller Center Employee Decorating the Promenade for Christmas, Manhattan, 1956.

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#51 Street Corner Near Grand Central with Various Signs, Manhattan, 1955.

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#52 WPIX Cameras Filming Crowds at St Patrick’s Cathedral, NYC Easter Parade, Manhattan, 1955.

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#53 Visitors Posing at Circle Line Tour Boat Docks, Manhattan, 1955.

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#54 Aerial View Facing Down onto 3rd Ave Near 43rd St, Manhattan, 1955.

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#55 Christmas Decorations Outside W and J Sloane’s Furniture Store, 5th Ave, Manhattan, 1956.

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#56 General View of Genie Monrovia Being Pushed into Harbor, East River, Roosevelt Island Background, Manhattan, 1950s.

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#57 Outdoor Restaurant in Plaza of Rockefeller Center, Manhattan, 1950s.

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#58 Skyline, Financial District and Battery, View from Hudson River, Manhattan, August 1959.

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#59 High Angle View of Queens, Bronx and Manhattan, East River and Hudson River, Manhattan, August 1959.

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#60 Ferry Maneuvers the East River in Front of the Manhattan Skyline, Manhattan, 1957.

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#61 Construction Workers Laying Concrete on the Roof of Skirball Center, Greenwich Village, Manhattan, 1958.

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#62 Aerial View of Cooper Village and Stuyvesant Town, Tenement Housing Projects, Empire State Building in Background, Manhattan, 1951.

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#63 Train Track Passing by Third Avenue, Manhattan, 1953.

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#64 Traffic Traveling North on Bowery, Manhattan, May 1956.

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#65 Columbia University Medical Center, Manhattan, August 1952.

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#66 Nun Sitting on Sidewalk Seeking Charity, Manhattan, August 1958.

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#67 Police Officers Carrying Man on Sidewalk, Manhattan, August 1953.

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#68 View of Columbia University in Upper Manhattan, Manhattan, 1950.

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#69 Panoramic View of Times Square, Hells Kitchen, Chelsea, West Side of Manhattan, 1957.

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#70 Times Square, Neon Signs on Times Square at Night, Manhattan, 1956

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#71 Panoramic View of the Upper East Side of Manhattan and Astoria, Queens Including the Seagram Building and Queensboro-59th Street Bridge, Manhattan, 1956

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#72 Boxer Sugar Ray Robinson Leaning on His Pink Cadillac Convertible in Harlem, Manhattan, 1950

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#73 Times Square, Street Scene with Neon Movie Theater Marquees, Manhattan, 1957

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#74 NBC Television Remote Broadcasting Bus Outside Rockefeller Center Plaza, Manhattan, 1955

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#75 View of Empire State Building with Gimbels Department Store Advertisement, Manhattan, 1957

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#76 Detail View of Sixth Avenue Between 53rd and 57th Streets in Midtown, Manhattan, 1957

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#77 Panoramic View of Downtown Manhattan with Empire State Building and Statue of Liberty, 1957

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#78 Panoramic View of Midtown East with General Electric Building and Waldorf Astoria Hotel, Manhattan, 1957

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#79 Tourists Aboard a Ship Taking Photos in New York Harbor Approaching Manhattan, 1952

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#80 Elevated View Towards Empire State Building, Manhattan, Late 1950s

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#81 Lennie Rosenbluth of the Philadelphia Warriors vs. New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden, New York, 1957

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#82 Tourists in Front of the United Nations Building Under Construction, Manhattan, 1950

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#83 Visitors in Rowing Boats on Central Park Boating Lake, Manhattan, 1955.

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