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.”
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| Washington, DC. Pennsylvania Ave., 1956 |
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| Washington, DC. Crowd lined up for White House tour, 1956 |
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| Washington, DC. Library of Congress and Capitol parking lot from East Front of US Capitol, 1956 |
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| Washington, DC. White House, 1956 |
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| Wyoming. Playing in the snow at Powder River Pass, June 1956 |
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| Florida. At Bok Tower, 1952 |
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| Florida. On the beach, circa 1956 |
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| Indiana. In front of Howard Johnson’s at Ft. Wayne, 1951 |
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| Kentucky. Beach at Cumberland Falls State Park, 1954 |
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| Kentucky. Beach at Cumberland Falls State Park, 1954 |
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| Kentucky. Jumping rope, trailer park in Lexington, 1954 |
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| Massachusetts. Faneuil Hall Market, Boston, 1957 |
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| Massachusetts. Faneuil Hall Market, Boston, 1957 |
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| Massachusetts. Faneuil Hall, Boston, 1957 |
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| Massachusetts. Meat and produce shops in downtown Boston, 1957 |
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| Massachusetts. Street scene in Provincetown, 1957 |
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| Michigan. Christmas exhibit at Ford Rotunda, 1955 |
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| Michigan. Family at campground, Hayes State Park, 1954 |
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| Michigan. Flooded street, Iron Mountain, 1951 |
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| Michigan. Ford Rotunda, Dearborn, December 1955 |
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| Michigan. Kellogg’s parking lot, Battle Creek, 1955 |
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| Michigan. Lineup of horses and carriages, Mackinac Island, 1959 |
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| Michigan. Mackinac Island ferry, St. Ignace, 1951 |
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| Michigan. Ship in locks, Sault Ste. Marie, 1959 |
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| Michigan. Store and wooden Indian, Greenfield Village, 1955 |
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| Michigan. Walking toward tour area, Kellogg Cereal, Battle Creek, 1955 |
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| Michigan. Warren Dunes, 1954 |
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| New Hampshire. Railway up Mount Washington, 1957 |
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| New Jersey. Atlantic City beach and waterfront, 1959 |
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| New Jersey. Atlantic City boardwalk and beach, 1959 |
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| New Jersey. Family at beach, 1955 |
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| New Jersey. Looking at beach in Atlantic City, July 1959 |
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| New York. Boat ride on Fish Creek Pond, 1955 |
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| New York. Campsite along St. Lawrence River, Alexandria, July 1959 |
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| New York. Circle Line boat, lower Manhattan, and Brooklyn Bridge, from Staten Island Ferry, 1959 |
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| New York. Corning Glass Center, 1955 |
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| New York. Empire State Building from the top of Rockefeller Center, 1959 |
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| New York. Frontiertown in the rain, August 1955 |
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| New York. Mom looks off overlook at Rock City, 1951 |
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| New York. New York Coliseum and Soviet Cultural Exhibit, 1959 |
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| New York. On a toboggan at Lake Placid, 1955 |
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| New York. Pile of firewood, Adirondacks, 1955 |
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| New York. Stagecoach, Frontiertown, 1955 |
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| New York. Standing on the top of the RCA Building, Rockefeller Center, 1959 |
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| New York. Times Square, well before the cleanup, 1959 |
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| New York. Times Square, well before the cleanup, 1959 |
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| Ohio. Airstream factory, Jackson Center, 1959 |
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| Ohio. Central Christian strawberry festival, 1955 |
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| Ohio. Helping dad mow the lawn, May 1951 |
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| Ohio. Hiking in the snow at Bullhead Pond, Warren, December 1959 |
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| Ohio. Kindergarten class at Emerson school, 1954 |
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| Ohio. Playing in the snow in the driveway, 1951 |
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| Ohio. Playing on the beach at Cedar Point, 1954 |
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| Ohio. Posing in front of the house, December 1959 |
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| Pennsylvania. Amish harvest, Lancaster Co., July 1957 |
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| Pennsylvania. Carnegie Museum and church, Pittsburgh, March 1959 |
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| Pennsylvania. Cathedral of the Pines, Cook Forest, 1959 |
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| Pennsylvania. Independence Square, Philadelphia, 1959 |
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| Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania Monument, Gettysburg, July 1957 |
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| Pennsylvania. At Carnegie Park, 1952 |
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| Pennsylvania. Statue of Ben Franklin and Mall, Philadelphia, 1959 |
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| Pennsylvania. Trail at Cook Forest State Park, 1955 |
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| South Dakota. Corn Palace, Mitchell, 1956 |
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| South Dakota. First boardwalk of the trip, Yankton, 1956 |
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| Utah. Main street, Brigham, 1956 |
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| Utah. Parking lot and roller coaster at Saltair Park, 1956 |
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| Utah. Swimming in the Great Salt Lake at Saltair resort, 1956 |
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| Vermont. Campsite with Esso station at Mount Bromley, 1955 |
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| Vermont. Street scene with church, Middlebury, 1955 |
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| Virginia. Colonial Williamsburg, 1957 |