A Fascinating Family Photo Collection That Defined American Life in the 1950s

   

These fascinating photographs from Leon Reed were taken by his father Walter Reed that show what life of the U.S was like in the 1950s.

“I've traveled since I was young. My parents used to take a long vacation every summer in our trailer, and by the time I was 14, I had been in all 48 (lower) states, every province of Canada except Newfoundland, and much of Mexico.”

 

 
Washington, DC. Pennsylvania Ave., 1956
Washington, DC. Crowd lined up for White House tour, 1956

 

Washington, DC. Library of Congress and Capitol parking lot from East Front of US Capitol, 1956

 

Washington, DC. White House, 1956

 

Wyoming. Playing in the snow at Powder River Pass, June 1956

 

Florida. At Bok Tower, 1952

 

Florida. On the beach, circa 1956

 

Indiana. In front of Howard Johnson's at Ft. Wayne, 1951

 

Kentucky. Beach at Cumberland Falls State Park, 1954

 

Kentucky. Beach at Cumberland Falls State Park, 1954

 

Kentucky. Jumping rope, trailer park in Lexington, 1954

 

Massachusetts. Faneuil Hall Market, Boston, 1957

 

Massachusetts. Faneuil Hall Market, Boston, 1957

 

Massachusetts. Faneuil Hall, Boston, 1957

 

Massachusetts. Meat and produce shops in downtown Boston, 1957

 

Massachusetts. Street scene in Provincetown, 1957

 

Michigan. Christmas exhibit at Ford Rotunda, 1955

 

Michigan. Family at campground, Hayes State Park, 1954

 

Michigan. Flooded street, Iron Mountain, 1951

 

Michigan. Ford Rotunda, Dearborn, December 1955

 

Michigan. Kellogg's parking lot, Battle Creek, 1955

 

Michigan. Lineup of horses and carriages, Mackinac Island, 1959

 

Michigan. Mackinac Island ferry, St. Ignace, 1951

 

 
Michigan. Ship in locks, Sault Ste. Marie, 1959

 

Michigan. Store and wooden Indian, Greenfield Village, 1955

 

Michigan. Walking toward tour area, Kellogg Cereal, Battle Creek, 1955

 

Michigan. Warren Dunes, 1954

 

New Hampshire. Railway up Mount Washington, 1957

 

New Jersey. Atlantic City beach and waterfront, 1959

 

New Jersey. Atlantic City boardwalk and beach, 1959

 

New Jersey. Family at beach, 1955

 

New Jersey. Looking at beach in Atlantic City, July 1959

 

New York. Boat ride on Fish Creek Pond, 1955

 

New York. Campsite along St. Lawrence River, Alexandria, July 1959

 

New York. Circle Line boat, lower Manhattan, and Brooklyn Bridge, from Staten Island Ferry, 1959

 

New York. Corning Glass Center, 1955

 

New York. Empire State Building from the top of Rockefeller Center, 1959

 

New York. Frontiertown in the rain, August 1955

 

New York. Mom looks off overlook at Rock City, 1951

 

New York. New York Coliseum and Soviet Cultural Exhibit, 1959

 

New York. On a toboggan at Lake Placid, 1955

 

New York. Pile of firewood, Adirondacks, 1955

 

New York. Stagecoach, Frontiertown, 1955

 

New York. Standing on the top of the RCA Building, Rockefeller Center, 1959

 

New York. Times Square, well before the cleanup, 1959

 

New York. Times Square, well before the cleanup, 1959

 

Ohio. Airstream factory, Jackson Center, 1959

 

Ohio. Central Christian strawberry festival, 1955

 

Ohio. Helping dad mow the lawn, May 1951

 

Ohio. Hiking in the snow at Bullhead Pond, Warren, December 1959

 

Ohio. Kindergarten class at Emerson school, 1954

 

Ohio. Playing in the snow in the driveway, 1951

 

Ohio. Playing on the beach at Cedar Point, 1954

 

Ohio. Posing in front of the house, December 1959

 

Pennsylvania. Amish harvest, Lancaster Co., July 1957

 

Pennsylvania. Carnegie Museum and church, Pittsburgh, March 1959

 

Pennsylvania. Cathedral of the Pines, Cook Forest, 1959

 

Pennsylvania. Independence Square, Philadelphia, 1959

 

Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania Monument, Gettysburg, July 1957

 

Pennsylvania. At Carnegie Park, 1952

 

Pennsylvania. Statue of Ben Franklin and Mall, Philadelphia, 1959

 

Pennsylvania. Trail at Cook Forest State Park, 1955

 

South Dakota. Corn Palace, Mitchell, 1956

 

South Dakota. First boardwalk of the trip, Yankton, 1956

 

Utah. Main street, Brigham, 1956

 

Utah. Parking lot and roller coaster at Saltair Park, 1956

 

Utah. Swimming in the Great Salt Lake at Saltair resort, 1956

 

Vermont. Campsite with Esso station at Mount Bromley, 1955

 

Vermont. Street scene with church, Middlebury, 1955

 

 
Virginia. Colonial Williamsburg, 1957