|
more 1960s topics Nostalgia Cafe main page Nostalgia Cafe site map |
Travel & Nightlife | ||
 MotelsWe loved to travel by car in the 1960s, and the motels we stayed at were usually simple and affordable. They had the coolest signs, too!  We've got air-conditioning and COLOR TV! Just pull your car up to the door! | ----- |
  Motel Americana Commercial Archaeology: Motels Holiday Inn History Howard Johnson's History American Motel Postcards Doo-Wop Motels  The Howard Johnson restaurant chain entered the motel business in 1954. Their orange and turquoise Motor Lodges were a familiar sight for travelers in the 1960s.  Click here for more places to spend the night!
======================================== | ========================================
======================================== | ========================================  Las VegasLas Vegas began its transformation from dusty frontier town to entertainment mecca in the 1940s. By the early 1960s, the glitz and glamour of the Vegas scene made it a top travel destination. History Of The Las Vegas Strip Vintage Vegas Postcard Museum  
======================================== | ========================================
======================================== | ========================================  Amusement Parks & Fairs This was a crucial decade for the nation's amusement parks. Disneyland's theme park concept was catching on, and many parks, like Cedar Point in Ohio, began to update their images. Other parks, like Riverview in Chicago, fell victim to the changing times and closed their doors. Cedar Point Yesterland: Discontinued Disneyland Kennywood Amusement Park Chicago's Riverview Park Freedomland 1964-65 New York World's Fair Old Disneyland Pictures Palisades Park Disneyland History  Vacation Spots Hawaii saw an increase in tourism after becoming a state in 1959, and tropical destinations in general became more popular, thanks to air-conditioning and jet travel. Young families favored kid-friendly destinations that could be easily reached by car. During the 1950s and 1960s, newlyweds honeymooned in the Poconos, and many Jewish families from New York City spent their summers in the Catskills. Find Your Name In Hawaiian Write A Message In The Sand Wildwood, New Jersey Florida's Tiki Gardens Wisconsin Dells Tommy Bartlett's Water Show Storybook Gardens, Wisconsin Dells Santa Catalina Island The Poconos It Happened In The Catskills  Americans took to the road in record numbers, thanks to the new interstate highways and a prospering economy. Getting There  The American landscape in the 1960s: suburban housing developments, interstate highways and a Howard Johnson's at every off-ramp. The glory days of roads like Route 66 were coming to an end. Motorists were choosing the new interstate highways, and many of the old diners, gas stations, motels and tourist traps that once flourished along the "Mother Road" began to fall on hard times. Route 66 Historic Route 66 Postcards From The Road National Historic Route 66 Federation  When you drove over the hose and rang the bell at the gas station, the attendant came out and did everything for you....fill the tank, clean the windshield and check the oil!  Jetliners were developed during World War II, and were first used for commercial flights in the 1950s. As air travel continued to increase in the 1960s, this era was given a new nickname: the jet age.  Before cars and jetliners became the preferred method of long-distance travel, trains were the way to go. In the early 1960s, several of the cross-country "name trains" (such as the California Zephyr) were still running, and a handful of electric interurban routes were still operating between towns. By the end of the decade, passenger trains were generally used only for commuting from the suburbs to jobs in the city. California Zephyr Virtual Museum The Broadway Limited, 1963 Chicago Interurbans Chicago/Milwaukee North Shore Line
======================================== | ========================================
======================================== | ========================================
 TikiTwo factors were instrumental in popularizing the style known as Tiki: soldiers who served in the South Pacific during World War II brought the look and feel of the islands home with them, and in 1959 Hawaii became our 50th state. In addition to this, jet travel made tropical vacation destinations more accessible, and this added to the popularity of exotic decor. In the 1950s and early 1960s, Tiki could usually be found in cocktail lounges and hotels. characteristics of Tiki style *tropical drinks *bizarre tiki statues *the "bamboo hut" look *those cool "tiki torches" helpful, but not required *sleazy lounge music
======================================== | ========================================
======================================== | ======================================== Nightlife
return to the 1960s main page
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
-----
The lounge lifestyle was alive and well in the early 1960s, complete with Tiki decor, exotic music, swinging bachelors, cigarette smoke and the perfect martini.
Greenwich Village
In the 1960s, the nightclubs of the past evolved into youth-oriented music clubs and discotheques. The traditional nightclub atmosphere was replaced by rock music, frenzied dancing, live bands and DJs playing records.
keyholder clubs