Vintage Pictures From The 60s That Show Why It Was The Best Decade
The 1960s is remembered as a pivotal and tumultuous time in world history. The Cold War and Space Race dominated much of the decade, while the Kennedy assassination, civil rights strife, and the Vietnam War all contributed to a sense of upheaval and strife.
Despite this, the decade is also known as a relatively optimistic, modern time, with the emergence of new bands, new styles, and new trends. While the decade was not without its speedbumps, many who lived through it have fond memories.
Hippies are synonymous with the ’60s.
This image, showing a “Be-In” in New York in 1968, is typical of the era. These events tended to embody the collaborative spirit of the 1960s counterculture movement.
Larger Be-Ins in California would be attended by counterculture figures of the day, including LSD guru Timothy Leary, poets like Allen Ginsberg, and bands like Jefferson Airplane.
The Beatles started the British Invasion.
The Beatles are perhaps the most significant band of all time, and served as more than just music during the 1960s — they were a full-blown cultural revolution.
They formed in Liverpool, but became enormously popular stateside when they were featured on The Ed Sullivan Show. They would change with the times, and became one of the most enduring symbols of the ’60s.
JFK brought the promise of Camelot.
While the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy sent shockwaves through the world, the early years of his presidency were an aspirational, optimistic time.
With a handsome young president and his stylish wife occupying the White House, the idealized setting became known as “Camelot.” JFK’s promise of making it to the moon by the end of the decade also helped to shape the Space Race.
There were more and more leisure activities.
While skateboarding truly hit its zenith in the 1980s and ’90s, the first stirrings of this activity took place in the ’60s. These early skateboards consisted of simple wooden planks with roler skate wheels bolted on.
After urethane wheels and purpose-built boards emerged in the mid-’60s, the sport/activity surged in popularity. Skateboarding became a significant part of surf culture.
Elvis married Priscilla Presley.
Elvis Presley emerged as a major star in the 1950s, but his star power persisted into the ’60s and beyond. He met his future wife, Priscilla, in 1959 when she was just 14 and he was serving in the Army.
Eight years later, in 1967, they tied the knot in a small ceremony — but owing to their celebrity, it was hard for them to escape press photographers.
Hair salons were social hubs.
Financial prosperity meant that middle-class people had the means to be stylish, and technological innovations led to new advancements in hair salon tech, as seen here.
Hair salons of the era were social hubs, as women would gather to socialize as they waited for their bouffants to set. Popular hairstyles included the towering beehive and big bouffant.
London was the swingingest place to be.
American culture dominates much of the pop culture landscape of the 1960s, but that doesn’t mean that new scenes weren’t springing up around the world.
London had a cultural heartbeat all its own in the 1960s, with a vibrant, fashion-forward scene giving rise to the mod style.
Carnaby Street was the epicenter.
The spiritual hub of Swinging London was Carnaby Street, an area frequented by artists, musicians, and fashion designers from around the world.
The music scene in London — and in England as a whole — was also vibrant, with bands like the Beatles, Rolling Stones, The Who, and Gerry and the Pacemakers emerging during this era.
Twiggy was a fashion icon.
Twiggy, seen on the right in this image, was born Lesley Lawson in 1949. She became the face of ’60s fashion when, at just 16 years old, she was discovered by a photographer.
Her most enduring contribution to the fashion zeitgeist was her trademark pixie hairstyle. Twiggy can be seen as a precursor to the world-famous supermodels of future decades.
Civil rights were a major issue.
The one theme that may have defined the ’60s more than any other is civil rights. This image of the Poor People’s March on Washington of 1968, shows thousands gathered along the National Mall.
The event was organized by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and was aimed at addressing poverty and economic injustice.
Beach culture was huge.
While the 1950s marked the genesis of modern beach culture, the scene exploded in the 1960s with daring new beachwear fashions.
This model is wearing a bikini-style swimsuit, adorned with artificial pink hyacinth petals. It isn’t the prototypical “itsy-bitsy teenie-weenie yellow polka-dot bikini,” but it still makes a statement.
1967 was the Summer of Love.
Considered by most to be the peak, or high point, of the hippie movement, the summer of 1967 was a special time for the counterculture movement of the decade.
The movement was fuelled not only by anti-war and civil rights protests, but also by no shortage of substances along with the idea of free love.
The Rolling Stones were a counterpoint to the Beatles.
Nowadays, it’s easy to lump the Rolling Stones in with the Beatles, as both bands emerged in the 1960s and hailed from England.
However, this notion is a bit misguided. The squeaky-clean image portrayed by the Beatles (at least their early-’60s incarnation) was a sharp contrast to the grittier, more rebellious image portrayed by the Stones.
Surfing was the thing to do.
A group of surfers gathered around a vintage Mustang is a quintessentially 1960s image, as this decade marked the emergence of surfing as a mainstream hobby.
California and Hawaii were the American epicenters of surf culture, and new advancements like lightweight fiberglass boards made it easier than ever to get into surfing.
The Beach Boys helped fuel surf culture.
It’s hard to find a promotional image of the Beach Boys in the 1960s that isn’t centered around a beach, as the group’s whole image was essentially based around surfing.
The band created a sound that, even today, is emblematic of 1960s California, blending rich harmonies with lyrical themes of surfing, fast cars, and sun-soaked beaches.
People were hitting the slopes as well.
While skiing isn’t associated with the decade quite as heavily as surfing, it still experienced a surge in popularity in the 1960s. Like surfing, this was driven partially by new technologies that made the sport more accessible than ever before.
Ski style also made an impact, as après-ski culture, complete with cozy chalets and hot toddies, became associated with a day on the slopes.
Some iconic TV shows made their debuts.
The Batman television series helped establish Batman as a colorful, campy superhero — an image that would persist until grittier movies took hold in the decades to follow.
The show, which starred Adam West in the titular role and Burt Ward as Robin, featured over-the-topic villains and cartoonish action.
The old guard was still around.
Musical trends shifted dramatically in the 1960s, and the popular stars of the 1940s and ’50s were increasingly seen as yesterday’s news. That said, many of them still had plenty of drawing power.
Frank Sinatra was already a music legend at this point, and he spent the decade hanging out and performing with the “Rat Pack” to large Las Vegas crowds.
Hippies could be considered an extension of the beat generation.
The Beatniks of the 1950s were largely replaced by the hippies of the 1960s, and it’s easy to draw throughlines between these two countercultural movements.
Both embraced alternative forms of entertainment, experimental substance use, and a non-conventional lifestyle.
Disneyland was flourishing.
Disneyland opened its doors in Anaheim, California, back in 1955. That means that by the time the 1960s rolled around, the massive theme park was already a well-known attraction.
The park turned conventional wisdom about amusement parks on its head by creating a sprawling complex, complete with rides, themed attractions, and new technology.
The golden age of the automobile continued.
The auto world didn’t change a ton between the 1950s and ’60s, and indeed, many of the auto trends that were popular in the ’50s could still be seen in the following decade.
One large change in the auto industry was the rise of the muscle car, which represented raw speed and power.
People loved to entertain.
Postwar building trends led to more and more families moving into larger, more open-concept spaces that were perfect for entertaining.
Open, flowing designs that emphasized comfort and informality. While this image doesn’t show a conversation pit, it showcases the general idea of these living spaces.
New York was a cultural hub.
Just as it is today, and just as it was in 1900, New York City was a vibrant cultural epicenter in the 1960s. It was a breeding ground for various artistic, social, and political movements.
From independent cinema in Greenwich Village to the beatnik — and later hippie — generations on the Lower East Side, New York was definitely a place to be.
Road trips were all the rage.
The classic image of the American roadside motel, complete with swimming pool, sprung up in the midcentury period, largely to provide lodging for the increasing number of Americans who were going on road trips.
While the amenities were often simple and devoid of too many frills, these hotels would have seemed like an oasis in the desert for road-weary travellers.
Protests were widespread.
While the very nature of a protest implies a level of dissatisfaction on the part of those protesters, many people who lived through this era feel nostalgic about the frequent large-scale demonstrations.
The reasons for these protests were often serious, life and death matters, but the idea of gathering as a community to ask for change was compelling for many people.
Rebellious or not, everyone wanted to party.
There was a sharp divide between “square” and “hip” youths, a division that only intensified as the decade wore on, but in both cases, social gatherings were the order of the day.
More rebellious youths might have sought out hippie love-ins or be-ins, while those with more conservative tastes could always find a youth dance or gathering to go to.
Sonny and Cher became iconic.
Songwriter and producer Sonny Bono teamed up with his wife, Cher, whose distinctive voice and striking looks gave her immediate star power.
The duo’s first major hit, “I Got You Babe,” became one of the decade’s anthems. Later on, the duo used this success as a springboard to host their own variety show.
Hotels became a gathering place.
The social room of this hotel in New York State shows a scene typical of the era: people gathering to enjoy cocktails and socialize.
Unlike the more low-rent motels of the era, many hotels made an effort to create common spaces – lounges, bars, or simply lobbies – to give guests a place to hang out that wasn’t their room.
Supermarkets became a cornerstone.
There’s always been a need for grocery stores, and the 1960s is when most grocery stores took on their familiar modern-day trappings.
Chains like Safeway and A&P grew rapidly during the decade, largely eclipsing and replacing traditional neighborhood markets. These big supermarkets were stocked with pre-packaged convenience foods, including TV dinners — a big food craze of the decade.
Christmas gatherings were a time of warmth.
While Christmas has ancient origins, it was only in the midcentury period that economic prosperity had reached a point where Christmas became the all-out consumerist holiday that it is today.
Much of the entertainment that we think of as classic Christmas tropes, such as A Charlie Brown Christmas and How the Grinch Stole Christmas came out in the 1960s.
They were all going to San Francisco.
Scott McKenzie’s wistful song “San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)” captured the mood of hippies in the 1960s: That they had somewhere to be, and that that somewhere was San Francisco.
Before, during, and after 1967’s Summer of Love, young people flocked to the Bay Area, helping to establish neighborhoods like Haight-Ashbury as counterculture hotspots.
The nuclear family was still alive and well.
While the young people of the 1960s tended to shape the lasting narrative of the decade, more traditionally-minded or older people continued living life much the same way as they had in the 1950s.
Car culture made picnics a popular pastime for families, as seen in this idyllic family snapshot.
Pools went from public to private.
This shot of the massive pool at Jones Beach State Park on Long Island shows that the appeal of a public pool on a hot day is timeless.
While public pools continued to flourish, one major trend of the decade was the backyard swimming pool. These private pools were once seen as markers of luxury, but became increasingly commonplace in newer suburbs.
Greenwich Village was an LGBTQ+ hotspot.
New York’s Greenwich Village was the epicenter for various movements, but its most enduring legacy may be its gay village.
In a time that was still broadly conservative when it came to social views, LGBTQ+ individuals were able to find a sense of community in neighborhoods like Greenwich Village.
Body painting was a hippie hallmark.
The aesthetic of the hippie movement leaned heavily into bright, colorful, psychedelic designs. This could be seen not just on the clothes of the era, but sometimes, on people’s actual bodies.
Body painting was a popular hobby within this hippie aesthetic. It was often influenced by the use of LSD.
Families went on more vacations.
In a time of upward social mobility, but before the rise of all-inclusive resorts, road trips became the number one way to take a vacation in the United States.
Family-friendly resorts like Disneyland, along with age-old attractions like the Grand Canyon, were more accessible than ever thanks to powerful cars and efficient freeways.
The Monkees were made for TV.
The Monkees, a band created for a television series of the same name, managed to become a broader pop cultural force — a sensation, even — in the late ’60s.
While snobs often disparaged the manufactured nature of the band, hits like “Last Train to Clarksville” and “I’m a Believer” helped to spread their popularity.
Computers existed, but they were huge.
Personal home computers began to emerge in the late ’70s and early ’80s. These computers, of course, were a far cry from the massive business mainframes that were prevalent in the 1960s.
These machines were huge, but advancements in semiconductors and integrated circuits helped to slowly reduce their size and cost.
The moon landing was a proud moment for America.
The elated, relieved expressions on the faces of these NASA employees shows just how most Americans felt about the successful moon landing on 1969.
It was a major milestone, not only for the self-evident allure of landing on the moon, but also for how NASA was able to overcome numerous setbacks, tragedies, and fierce competition from the Soviet Union to achieve their goal.
Woodstock capped off the decade.
A humble dairy farm in Bethel, New York became the scene of one of history’s most famous gatherings: 1969’s Woodstock music festival.
The event served not only as a gathering place for hundreds of thousands of hippies, but also as a showcase for some of the era’s most iconic musical artists, including Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.
