See photos of America the decade you were born

The America of yesteryear

Ever wanted to take a fascinating journey back in time? Here, we whisk you on a trip down memory lane and share nostalgic snapshots of America from years gone by.

Click or scroll through this gallery to discover what the US looked like the decade you were born...

1940s: America reaches new heights

At the beginning of the 1940s, after a decade ravaged by the Great Depression, things were looking up – literally. Boeing 307, the first aircraft to have a pressurized cabin, came into service with Pan Am in 1940 and is pictured here soaring over snow-capped Mount Rainier. However, World War II would ultimately halt this soaring progress, with commercial aircraft repurposed for military use.

1940s: A country at war

Up until 1941, the USA was a neutral country, but Japan's surprise attack on American naval bases including Pearl Harbor forced it to enter the conflict. The first half of the 1940s became dominated by the war effort. In this photo from the decade, two hulking troopships, each former cruise liners, brood over the Hudson River in New York. On the right is the Queen Mary, belonging to the Cunard White Star Line.

1940s: Beacons of knowledge

Despite the utter devastation it caused, the war actually bolstered the US economy and it emerged from the conflict a world superpower. The tail end of the decade was markedly more positive and gave birth to some of the country's most fascinating attractions. Though it wouldn't move to its mammoth location on DC's National Mall until the Seventies, the National Air and Space Museum (then the National Air Museum) was established in 1946.

Here a mother and daughter gaze up at the displays in 1948.

1940s: The Big Apple before

America's cities were (and still are) ever in flux. There's no doubt that this shot is of New York City, but the skyline looks markedly less crowded. This is the view from New York Harbor in the 1940s. Cityscape-defining buildings like One World Trade Center (built after the original World Trade Complex was devastated by the events of 9/11) wouldn't spring up until much later.

1940s: The Big Apple before

In some ways, though, buzzing New York City has barely changed at all. In this nostalgic snap from 1949, the buzzing streets, bright lights, and taxi-choked roads of Times Square are hardly different from today. The classic motors and vintage signs are giveaways, of course.

1940s: Natural wonders

America’s natural landscapes were changing shape too. Swathes of the USA's wilderness were being protected by the National Park Service, established under President Woodrow Wilson in 1916. Among them was the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, dedicated in 1940 (the large ceremony is pictured here).

Though the park's creation safeguarded incredible natural wonders, it also displaced numerous Appalachian communities who called the region home. Today, it's the most visited in the NPS system.

1950s: A post-war boom

In the Fifties, America enjoyed an epic post-war boom and, for many, the decade represented a time of progress, peace, and prosperity. The feel-good atmosphere is almost palpable in this dreamy shot from the early 1950s. It captures sunbathers and swimmers relaxing on a beach in Santa Monica, California.

1950s: America on track

America's infrastructure, including homes, roads, and rail services, came on leaps and bounds in the Fifties. The original California Zephyr train service began in 1949, traveling across Southwestern and Midwestern states, and peaking in the 1950s. Passengers in this 1950s photograph wait to board the train in Oakland, California.

1950s: Streetcars in San Francisco

Some folks still favored more traditional modes of transport, though. San Francisco's streetcars have operated since the 19th century, and today they're on the National Register of Historic Places. Here, a San Francisco Municipal Railway streetcar rattles down one of Frisco's many hills, with passengers enjoying the view from up front. This one whisks passengers to attractions including Fisherman's Wharf.

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1950s: Bright lights in Sin City

Las Vegas is larger than life today, and it's been a glittering neon mecca for almost a century. In the Fifties, though, the iconic Strip didn't exist as we know it today. Instead, the action was Downtown on Fremont Street. It's snapped here circa 1959, lined by the now-shuttered Overland Hotel and the Golden Gate Hotel and Casino, tipped as the oldest in Vegas.

1950s: Golden Arches

You'll not travel far in the States today without coming across McDonald's famous Golden Arches – so it might be hard to believe that they've only existed since the 1950s. Though the McDonald brothers opened their first restaurant in the 1940s, it wasn't until 1955, when businessman Ray Kroc established his first franchise, that the fast food chain began to take its modern shape. The restaurant, in Des Plaines, Illinois, is pictured here.

1950s: Disney dreams

McDonald's wasn't the only iconic slice of Americana to burst onto the scene in the 1950s. In 1955, Walt Disney opened his very first theme park – Disneyland in Anaheim, California. This vintage photo shows Walt Disney making his dedication speech on an opening day that attracted thousands.

1960s: Swinging Sixties

The post-war boom continued into the Sixties and the era is often seen as one all about free living and revolution. By this decade, Florida had become the ultimate holiday destination and pleasure-seeker's paradise, with its ritzy hotels, resorts, and endless sandy beaches. Southern Florida's Miami Beach is captured here, dotted with sunbathers relaxing beneath the palms. 

1960s: Freedom Riders

The Sixties also saw pinnacle events in the ongoing Civil Rights movement. Early in the decade, African American civil rights activists and their allies rode public buses through the American South, where abhorrent Jim Crow laws still segregated facilities. The activists, who became known as Freedom Riders, were met with violence and brutality.

This photo shows a Freedom Riders sit-in at a bus terminal in Montgomery, Alabama's state capital, in 1961.

1960s: Summer of Love

The hippie movement was in full swing in the Sixties too. Bohemian types gathered in large groups in cities around America, often kicking off peaceful protests involving art and music. The epicenter of the movement was Haight-Ashbury, a creative neighborhood in San Francisco.

This 1960s photo offers a little snapshot of the district in 1967. Notice the cool vintage cars, eclectic stores, and the huddle of hippies outside the barber shop.

1960s: The Gateway Arch

Urban centers around America continued to change shape through the 1960s. One of the most head-turning landmarks to be built in the decade was the Gateway Arch in St Louis, Missouri. Finished in 1965, the soaring archway tops out at 630 feet and was built as a symbol of the USA's westward expansion. It's captured here in the early Sixties, before the keystone was finally set into place.

1960s: Seattle's changing skyline

Another city that changed its spots was Seattle. It's hard to imagine the Washington city without its neck-craning Space Needle, but the landmark was only finished in the 1960s. It was constructed for the 1962 World's Fair and the futuristic structure is pictured here in the same year, mere months from completion.

1960s: America on the road

Highways improved and the automobile industry boomed in the Fifties – and by the 1960s, more Americans were on the road than ever before. A perennial favorite trip was Route 66 and a slice of the Mother Road is captured here in the Sixties. If the rust-red landscape didn't give it away, this section is in Arizona.

1970s: More Disney magic

Fast-forward to the 1970s and Florida would change forever. Walt Disney World Resort opened with the Magic Kingdom theme park in October 1971 and the site has formed the cornerstone of the Sunshine State's tourism industry ever since. Magical Cinderella Castle is papped here in the Seventies.

1970s: Demonstrations in DC

Hippie counter-culture continued into the Seventies and the great landmarks of Washington DC were often a backdrop for demonstrations. One of the most famous was the student strike of the 1970s (pictured), which opposed the Cambodia campaign during the Vietnam War. Here protestors cool off in the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool: the graceful columns of the Lincoln Memorial itself rise up behind them.

1970s: Changes in the Big Apple

New York City's skyline underwent a huge change with the building of the original World Trade Center. The complex included the famous Twin Towers (tragically destroyed in the 9/11 terror attacks) and a series of other smaller buildings. After years of planning and construction, the soaring towers were finally completed in the early Seventies – the south tower (officially Two World Trade Center) is pictured here under construction in 1971.

1980s: More Floridian theme parks

The face of Florida changed yet again with the opening of Epcot, a novel theme park at Walt Disney World Resort. Epcot opened in 1982 and Spaceship Earth, a huge geodesic sphere hiding a futuristic ride, remains the site's most iconic attraction. Here, tourists mill before the dome and its famed fountains in the late Eighties.

1980s: DC gets a brand new monument

Another poignant landmark was born in the Eighties in Washington DC. After the conflict ended in 1975, it was decided that a memorial to the veterans of the Vietnam War should be established in the capital. It was finally realized in the early Eighties to a design by architect Maya Lin, featuring sprawling black granite walls and the names of those who served in the conflict.

Here, Senator Ted Kennedy pays his respects with servicemen at the wall, a year later in 1983.

1990s: A new Las Vegas landmark

Fast-forward to the Nineties and Sin City is almost unrecognisable from its 1950s form. A slew of large – and now landmark – hotels opened up in this decade including Ancient Egypt-themed Luxor, New York-New York, and Bellagio, famed for its incredible fountain shows and flower-filled conservatory. This glittering shot shows festivities on the opening night of the Bellagio hotel in 1998.

2000s: A new millennium

There was a buzz in the air as America entered a new decade and, most importantly, a new millennium. Dazzling fireworks lit up the skies and crowds gathered in cities from New York City to Los Angeles to Houston, Texas. Here people throng before DC's Washington Monument, as kaleidoscopic fireworks are mirrored in the Reflecting Pool.

2000s: The aftermath of 9/11

The New York terror attacks of September 11, 2001, shook the USA (and the entire world), and life looked different for many Americans in the years that followed. As the USA grieved, there were also changes like tightened airport and aircraft security (including prohibited gate access for those not traveling). This 2001 photo shows security forces at Salt Lake City International Airport in Utah.

2010s: Hogwarts comes to America

One pocket of America looked very different from 2010 onwards. Now one of the USA's most popular attractions, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter opened at Florida's Universal Studios in summer 2010, complete with Diagon Alley, Hogwarts Castle, and now the Hogwarts Express too. The magic had spread to Universal Studios Hollywood by 2016.

2010s: Black Lives Matter

The 2010s saw the founding of an era-defining movement. Black Lives Matter began as a social media campaign in 2013, after George Zimmerman was acquitted for the murder of African American high school student Trayvon Martin. Protests and street demonstrations soon followed in cities across America, demanding justice and freedom for Black communities.

This photo shows a march in Oakland, California in 2014. The movement was in the spotlight again in 2020, after African American man George Floyd was killed during an arrest in Minneapolis.

2020s: Deserted streets

As COVID-19 took hold, much of America was placed under stay-at-home orders, with usually bustling cities transforming into veritable ghost towns almost overnight. This eerie photo from May 2020 shows New York City's Times Square nearly completely deserted. The buzzy sidewalks and taxi-thronged roads are hauntingly quiet, while some of the area's brash ads are replaced with messages of hope and gratitude.

2020s: Cleaner cities

One positive impact of the stay-at-home order was that air pollution lessened dramatically across America's cities. Though it's one of the USA's top tourist spots, Los Angeles is also renowned for its traffic-choked roads and poor air quality.

However, reports in spring 2020 suggested that the city boasted some of the cleanest air in any major world city. A bright blue sky and the snow-crowned San Gabriel Mountains are a beautiful backdrop for LA's skyscrapers in this 2020 shot.

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