What Manhattan Looked like in the 1950s through Fascinating Photos

The 1950s saw Manhattan in post-war bloom. The economy was humming, and the island was swiftly transforming. Skyscrapers like the Seagram Building redefined the city’s skyline, making it even more iconic. This was the era when Manhattan truly became the “concrete jungle” as steel and glass structures dominated the skyline, signaling a new age of prosperity and architectural prowess.

From Brownstones to High Rises

The architectural face of Manhattan was undergoing significant change. While the brownstones and historic buildings still stood tall, there was an undeniable shift towards modernity. The International Style of architecture, characterized by its clean lines, functional design, and lack of ornamentation, began to emerge in full force. Park Avenue became a showcase of this style with buildings like the Lever House setting new standards. The blend of old-world charm with the sleekness of modern design reflected Manhattan’s ethos in the 1950s: a city rooted in its history, yet eager to embrace the future.

Beats and Coffee Shops

Down in Greenwich Village, smoky coffee shops and dimly lit bars were abuzz with the Beat Generation. Writers like Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg voiced their dissents and dreams, challenging the status quo. These were the haunts where poetry readings and jazz improvisations blended seamlessly, creating a subculture that would leave a lasting mark on American literature and counterculture.

Rock ‘n’ Roll Fever

As the decade progressed, a new musical phenomenon swept through, and its name was Rock ‘n’ Roll. The likes of Elvis Presley and Buddy Holly blasted from jukeboxes, marking a seismic shift in musical tastes. From Harlem’s Apollo Theater to downtown dance halls, Manhattanites were jiving and twisting to these infectious new rhythms.

The Rise of Madison Avenue

If you’ve ever heard the term “Mad Men,” then you’re familiar with Madison Avenue in the 1950s. It was the golden age of advertising. Bright, creative minds gathered in sleek offices, crafting campaigns that would become legendary. Brands like Coca-Cola and Volkswagen became household names, thanks in no small part to the advertising moguls of Manhattan.

The Subway Series and Baseball Mania

The 1950s were also a golden era for baseball in New York. With teams like the Yankees, Dodgers, and Giants all based in the city, fierce rivalries and unforgettable moments played out. The ‘Subway Series’ clashes were the talk of the town, as fans passionately debated their favorite players over hot dogs and cold beers.

#1 The Bowery in Chinatown: Signpost on the corner of Canal Street and Pell Street in Chinatown, Manhattan, 1955.

1 Point

Upvote Downvote

#2 Storm over Manhattan, New York City, 1950. The towering buildings of Manhattan are silhouetted against heavy clouds which gathered over the city just before a sudden electrical rainstorm.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#3 Manhattan skyline from Bellevue Hospital, New York City, 1950

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#4 Pete’s Bar at Washington Market in Lower Manhattan, 1950

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#5 Part of Washington Market in 1956, looking north along Washington Street at Fulton Street in Lower Manhattan.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#6 Peace Protest in New York: Members of the New York Labor Peace Conference march on 34th Street in protest against the Korean War and German rearmament, Manhattan, 1952.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#7 We Are Opposed to Assimilation!: Native Americans demonstrate near Central Park with placards opposing assimilation, Manhattan, 1952.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#8 Price War in New York City: Ross Restaurant displaying signs announcing the “Price War” and sales on Broadway, Manhattan, 1951.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#9 Mike Todd’s Birthday Party: The entrance of Madison Square Garden where Mike Todd’s birthday party is taking place, Manhattan, 1957.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#10 New York City Skyline: Aerial view of Midtown, Manhattan, 1956.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#11 Woolworth Building & Lower Manhattan: Aerial view of lower Manhattan and the Woolworth Building, Manhattan, 1953.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#12 Madison Square Garden: Sign advertising tennis matches at Madison Square Garden, Manhattan, 1955.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#13 Models on Park Avenue: American models pose amid traffic on Park Avenue, Manhattan, 1958.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#14 Midtown East: Panoramic view facing east of Midtown Manhattan, Manhattan, 1957.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#15 Circus Threatened with Strike: Pickets parade in front of Madison Square Garden announcing the sale of tickets to the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus, Manhattan.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#16 Bonwit and Teller Department Store: Exterior view of Bonwit Teller store on 56th street and 5th Avenue, Manhattan.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#17 Outdoor Pursuits: Three young men drinking on the pavement in East Harlem, Manhattan, circa 1955.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#18 Someone Walking a Dog near Central Park: Someone walking a dog near Central Park, Manhattan, 1958.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#19 Skaters in Rockefeller Center in Winter: Skaters on ice at Rockefeller Center in winter, Manhattan.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#20 Ice Skaters at Rockefeller Center: The sunken garden at Rockefeller Center used as a skating rink during cold seasons, Manhattan.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#21 Main Post Office in New York: Main Post Office at 8th Avenue and 33rd St., Manhattan.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#22 Peace Protest in New York: Labor Peace Conference march on New York’s 34th Street protesting the war in Korea, Manhattan, 1952.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#23 Welcome for General Dean: Major General William F Dean waving during a ticker-tape parade on Broadway, Manhattan, 1953.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#24 A Street Sign in New York: Bus stop and street sign at Orchard and Delancey Street in Lower East Side, Manhattan, circa 1950.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#25 Blizzard Hits Manhattan: Pedestrian struggles with an umbrella on 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue during a blizzard, Manhattan, 1958.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#26 Blizzard Hits Manhattan: Pedestrians navigate Fifth Avenue at 57th Street in a blizzard, Manhattan, 1957.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#27 The View from Ellis Island: View of Manhattan from Ellis Island, Manhattan, 1951.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#28 Dell’Orefice & Pickering on a ‘Don’t Walk’ Sign: Models Carmen Dell’Orefice and Betsy Pickering atop a traffic light, Manhattan, 1958.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#29 A Stagecoach at Night: Models pose by a horse and carriage outside Central Park’s Tavern on the Green, Manhattan, 1958.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#30 Midtown Manhattan: View of Midtown Manhattan, Manhattan, circa 1955.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#31 Jewel District of New York: Police car in a jewelry district of Manhattan, 1950.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#32 Omelio Agramonte vs. Jersey Joe Walcott: Scene outside Madison Square Garden for a heavyweight fight, Manhattan, 1950.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#33 Northern Dispensary, Greenwich Village: View of the Northern Dispensary building in Greenwich Village, Manhattan, 1951.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#34 ILGWU Members Protest, NYC: International Ladies Garment Workers Union protest on 35th Street in the Garment District, Manhattan, 1959.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#35 Park Avenue, New York City: Cars parked on Park Avenue looking north from East 45th Street, Manhattan, 1950.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#36 Washington Mews, Greenwich Village: Washington Mews between Fifth Avenue and University Place, Manhattan, circa 1955.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#37 East River, New York City: Evening falls over the East River with Manhattan skyline, 1951.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#38 Aerial View of Midtown Manhattan and Part of Murray Hill with Empire State Building, Manhattan, 1950s

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#39 View of Third Avenue El and Manhattan House, Manhattan, 1952

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#40 Entrance to Grand Central Theatre in Grand Central Station, Manhattan, 1956

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#41 Aerial View of Mid-Town Manhattan Looking Downtown, Manhattan, 1955

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#42 Manhattan Skyline Looking Towards Central Park, Manhattan, 1959

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#43 Crowds Watching Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade Passing Through Times Square, Midtown Manhattan, 1951

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#44 Marilyn Monroe Seen Through Window of Department Store on Fifth Avenue, Manhattan, 1957

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#45 Marilyn Monroe Walking with Tom Ewell While Filming “The Seven Year Itch”, Manhattan, 1954

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#46 Tourists and Diners at the Four Seasons, Located in Seagrams Skyscraper on Park Avenue, Manhattan, 1959

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#47 Christmas Crowds Window Shopping at Macy’s on 34th St, Manhattan, 1955

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#48 Roger Kent Men’s Clothing Store with Radio City Music Hall in Background, Manhattan, 1955

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#49 Outdoor Art Exhibition in Recently Constructed Washington Square Village, Greenwich Village, Manhattan, 1958

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#50 Taping of ‘Merv Griffin TV Show’ Supported by ‘Give a Damn’ Campaign in Harlem, Manhattan, 1958

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#51 NBC Television Remote Broadcasting Bus Parked Outside Rockefeller Center Plaza, Midtown Manhattan, 1955

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#52 Exterior View of Bonwit Teller Store on 56th Street and 5th Avenue, Manhattan

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#53 Skaters at the Wollman Rink in Central Park, Manhattan, 1951

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#54 Panoramic View of Times Square, Hell’s Kitchen, Chelsea, and West Side of Manhattan, 1957

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#55 Neon Signs on Times Square, Manhattan, 1956

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#56 Upper East Side of Manhattan, East River, Astoria, Queens, and Seagram Building, Manhattan, 1956

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

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

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

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

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#59 Pedestrians and Residents of Tenement Buildings on East Side of Manhattan, 1955

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#60 People Jam Sidewalks in Times Square Celebrating George Washington’s Birthday, Manhattan, 1953

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#61 Dragon Dance During Chinese New Year Celebrations on Mott Street in Chinatown, Manhattan, 1957

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#62 View of Chatham Square in Chinatown Neighborhood of Lower Manhattan, 1955

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#63 Summer in the City: Children Stand and Watch as a Young Boy Opens a Fire Hydrant in Harlem, Manhattan, 1955

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#64 In the Shadow of the Third Avenue El: Two Men Push a Car onto Bowery Under the Train in New York, Manhattan, 1954

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#65 Times Square in New York: View of the Traffic in Times Square, Manhattan, 1956

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#66 Marilyn Monroe and Arthur Miller in a Convertible, New York, Manhattan, 1957

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#67 View of Advertisements on Broadway and the RKO Palace, Manhattan, 1957

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#68 Midtown Manhattan, NYC: Sign Reads ‘Passengers are Forbidden to Ride on Platforms of Trains’ Near Chrysler Building, Manhattan, 1950

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#69 Mott Street, Chinatown, NYC: Cars Parked and Pedestrians Outside Stores, Manhattan, 1955

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#70 Fifth Avenue, Manhattan, Circa 1955

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#71 Empire State Building Observatory: Crowd of People with City and East River Below, Manhattan, 1953

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#72 Rockefeller Center, Midtown Manhattan, NYC: Statue of Prometheus Overlooks Plaza, Manhattan, 1955

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#73 Dutch Royals, NYC: Juliana of the Netherlands and Prince Bernhard Pass Along Broadway, Manhattan, 1952

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#74 Shriners Manhattan Parade: Members Marching Along St Nicholas Avenue, Manhattan, 1951

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#75 Mott Street: The Pagoda Restaurant and Others in Chinatown, Manhattan, 1950

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#76 The Port Arthur Restaurant: Mott Street in Chinatown, Manhattan, 1950

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#77 Pell Street: Wo Ping Restaurant and Others in Chinatown, Manhattan, 1950

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#78 Manhattan at Night: View from a Dock Across the River, Manhattan, 1950

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#79 Wall Street and Broadway, Manhattan, 1955

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#80 Rockefeller Plaza, Manhattan, 1952

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#81 Up Late or Up Early: Models Embrace Under an Umbrella near Grand Central Station, Manhattan, 1959

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#82 Looking Uptown in the Shadow of the El: View Over Oldsmobile and Chrysler Building, Manhattan, 1954

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#83 The Old and the New: Car Approaches Horse-Drawn Cart Under Train Tracks, Manhattan, 1954

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#84 Times Square Newspaper Salesman: Vendor Leans Over Stack of Papers, Manhattan, 1954

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#85 Two Silhouetted Women at Bus Stop on Rainy Night in Times Square, Manhattan, 1950

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#86 Columbus Circle Looking North, Broadway on Left, Central Park West on Right, Manhattan, 1952

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#87 1950s New York City Times Square, West 43rd Street Looking North, Manhattan

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#88 Times Square View North Up 7th Ave at 45th St, King Creole on Theatre Marquee, Manhattan, 1950

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#89 1950s Automobile Highway Traffic on Grand Central Parkway Looking East, Manhattan

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#90 Washington Mews: View West Along Washington Mews in Greenwich Village, Manhattan, 1954

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#91 Madison Square Garden Marquee Night, West 49th Street, Ice Capades of 1953, Manhattan, 1953

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#92 View Washington Square North with Arch, Fifth Avenue Buildings, Washington Square Park, Manhattan, 1950

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#93 Ice Skating in Central Park at the 59th Street Rink with the Essex House in the Background, Manhattan, circa 1952

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#94 1950s View of United Nations Building and New York City Skyline from East River, Manhattan, 1950s

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#95 1950s Wet Rainy Streets of Times Square at Night with Neon Signs, Manhattan, 1950s

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#96 Times Square Traffic Broadway Bus Looking North to Duffy Square from West 44th Street, Manhattan, 1950s

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#97 Times Square with Massive Bond Clothing Sign Between 44th and 45th Streets, Manhattan, 1950s

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#98 Times Square at Night Looking South Toward the New York Times Building, Manhattan, 1951

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#99 Night Scene, Lower End of Manhattan Island and New York Harbor, Manhattan, 1951

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#100 Night Scene, East Side of 7th Avenue in the Times Square District, Manhattan, 1951

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#101 New York at Night with Empire State Building at Right and Chrysler Building at Left, Manhattan, 1950

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#102 The F.W. Woolworth Co. Store on 6th Avenue, Manhattan, circa 1952

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#103 Riverside Church Near Grant’s Tomb, Manhattan, 1950s

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#104 Man Chases Pigeons in Manhattan, 1957

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#105 Times Square New York City Looking South from Duffy Square, Manhattan, 1950s

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#106 Looking South on Third Avenue at 47th Street, Manhattan, 1950s

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#107 Port Authority Bus Terminal, 8th Avenue 40th and 41st Streets, Manhattan, 1950s

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#108 Night Times Square Looking South from Duffy Square to NY Times Building, Manhattan, 1950s

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#109 Looking North up Broadway from Times Square to Duffy Square, Manhattan, 1950s

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#110 Woman Sitting on Luggage, Main Concourse, Grand Central Terminal, Manhattan, 1958

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#111 Couple Riding Tandem Bicycle, Park Avenue and 57th Street, Manhattan, 1959

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#112 Times Square at Night, Manhattan, 1953

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#113 Broadway Looking South from East 10th Street, Manhattan, 1954

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#114 American War Invalids in Wheelchairs Protest Against the Early Closure of Halloran Hospital on Park Avenue, Manhattan, 1951

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#115 Fifth Avenue, Manhattan, 1950s

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#116 A Scene of Daily Life on West 119th Street in Harlem, Manhattan, 1956

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#117 The Ziegfeld Theater, Located at West 54 Street, Manhattan, 1955

0 Points

Upvote Downvote