Small-Town Main Streets (1945-1970)

Curated Theme

Small-Town Main Streets (1945-1970)

Main Street America through the family lens: storefront downtowns, slow traffic, welcome signs, and the parades that filled them on holidays.

Focus: Midwest, United States | 1945–1970

Search matching clipsBack to curated index

Editorial Highlights

Keyword Targets

Use these terms to expand search with timeline and map mode.

small townmain streetamericanamidwest

Matching Clips

18 clips from this collection, ranked by popularity.

Search all matching clips

Related Collections

Explore similar themed collections from the archive.

New York Streets and Parades (1945-1975)

New York Streets and Parades (1945-1975)

Postwar New York shot on home-movie film — borough parades, Coney Island crowds, and the skyline from the Statue of Liberty to the World Trade Center going up in 1975.

Classic Cars and Automobiles (1950-1970)

Classic Cars and Automobiles (1950-1970)

The golden age of the American car: chrome sedans on Main Street, gas-station stops, parade convertibles, and the family wagon.

American Road Trips and Highways (1950-1970)

American Road Trips and Highways (1950-1970)

The family road trip as it was filmed in the postwar years: loading the car, two-lane highways into St. Louis and Omaha, and roadside signs sliding past the windshield.