Museum and collection pieces via Wikimedia Commons, credited below. Names link to Wikipedia.
The house in the 1960s
A split-level house at 1029 Farmington Road, Maumee, Ohio, in a county tax-assessment photo of about 1965
Back in Our DayThe Day You Were Born
The day he arrived
Mike
February 20, 1962 · Philadelphia
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Philadelphia in the early 1960s was the fourth-largest city in America, with just over two million people, still known for its row houses, its factory neighborhoods and the big department stores lined up along Market Street: Wanamaker's, Gimbels, Strawbridge and Clothier and Lit Brothers. Manufacturing jobs were starting to leave and many middle-class families were moving to the suburbs, but the city was also remaking itself: planner Edmund Bacon's commission was restoring the colonial houses of Society Hill, where I. M. Pei's Society Hill Towers were finished in 1964, while new expressways and new homes spread through Northeast Philadelphia. The Navy Yard in South Philadelphia was still building ships, and teenagers across the country watched American Bandstand, broadcast from WFIL's West Philadelphia studio until 1964.
People in Philadelphia, 19602,002,5121,603,797 in 2020
Bureau of Labor Statistics average prices (U.S. city average) and its historical retail food prices via the Census Bureau · USPS · Dept. of Labor · EIA · Census · Movie tickets: National Association of Theatre Owners, and The Numbers for today's price. “Now” is the latest figure available.
Share the prices
A card with what things cost the year you were born, next to today.
A tri-level split house in Gang Mills, New York
Living room and part of the kitchen in a mid-century modern home with open-beam ceiling, Tujunga, California, 1960
The Foster Residence, a modernist Eichler home in Granada Hills, Los Angeles
The styles
Split-level: Floors staggered half a level apart and linked by short flights of stairs; the style spread with the suburbs after World War II.
Mid-century modern: Clean, simple lines, floor-to-ceiling windows, flat rooflines, exposed beams and open floor plans; most popular from about 1945 to 1970.
A-frame: The steep triangular house surged in popularity from the mid-1950s through the 1970s, often as a vacation home, and was even sold as a kit by Macy's.
Inside
Mid-century modern furniture - clean lines, no embellishment, ergonomic design
Sunken living rooms and cathedral ceilings - in ranch houses from the early 1960s
Shag carpet - long-pile carpet in new synthetic fibers, popular in the 1960s and '70s
The lava lamp - invented in 1963
By 1970, only 6.9% of U.S. homes lacked complete plumbing, down from 16.8% in 1960. Source
Wikipedia architecture and design articles · Census Bureau housing tables. Photos via Wikimedia Commons, credited below.
A Route 56 trolley crossing Germantown Avenue at Erie Avenue, North Philadelphia, September 1965
A Phillies doubleheader at Connie Mack Stadium, Philadelphia, August 1960
In the local papers
1962On February 12, Mayor Richardson Dilworth resigned to run for governor, and City Council president James Tate became mayor, the first Roman Catholic to hold the office.Read more
1962On March 2, Wilt Chamberlain of the Philadelphia Warriors scored 100 points against the New York Knicks in a game played in Hershey, setting the NBA single-game scoring record.Read more
1962Philadelphia's Cameo-Parkway label ruled the dance charts: Chubby Checker's "The Twist" went to No. 1 for a second time, Dee Dee Sharp's "Mashed Potato Time" reached No. 2, and the Orlons' "The Wah-Watusi" hit No. 2 that summer.Read more
1962Lit Brothers on Market Street opened its Enchanted Colonial Village, a room-by-room colonial Christmas display that ran every holiday season until 1976.Read more
1962On December 15, on a frozen field at Municipal Stadium, Oregon State beat Villanova 6-0 in the Liberty Bowl on Terry Baker's 99-yard run.Read more
The home teams in 1962
MLBPhiladelphia Phillies. Went 81-80 in 1962 under Gene Mauch, a 30-and-a-half-game jump from 47-107 the year before; Mauch was named AP NL Manager of the Year.
NFLPhiladelphia Eagles. Went 3-10-1 in an injury-riddled 1962 season at Franklin Field, two years after winning the 1960 NFL championship.
NBAPhiladelphia Warriors. Went 49-31 in 1961-62 and lost the Eastern Division finals to Boston in seven games; Wilt Chamberlain averaged 50.4 points, and the team moved to San Francisco after the season.
Places everybody knew
American Bandstand at WFILThe WFIL studio at 46th and Market Street in West Philadelphia, one of the first buildings made for television, where Dick Clark's American Bandstand was broadcast until it moved to Los Angeles in February 1964.
Connie Mack StadiumThe ballpark at 21st and Lehigh in North Philadelphia, first called Shibe Park, home of the Phillies from 1938 until the last game there on October 1, 1970.
Franklin FieldThe University of Pennsylvania's stadium, home of the Eagles from 1958 through 1970, where they beat Green Bay in the 1960 NFL Championship Game.
Horn & HardartThe automat chain whose first U.S. automat opened at 818 Chestnut Street in 1902; its last restaurant closed in 1991.
Willow Grove ParkThe trolley amusement park in Willow Grove, open from 1896 to 1975 (as Six Gun Territory from 1972); the Willow Grove Park Mall opened on the site in 1982.
U.S. Census Bureau, each team's season record, and Wikipedia's articles on the city and its timeline. Photos via Wikimedia Commons, credited below.
New that year
Inventions and firsts of 1962
1962Live satellite TV NASA launched Telstar 1, the first satellite to relay live television between the United States and Europe.Read more
1962Visible LED At General Electric, Nick Holonyak demonstrated the first visible-light laser diode, forerunner of commercial LEDs.Read more
1962First American to orbit Earth John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth, aboard the Friendship 7 capsule.Read more
1962First Walmart Sam Walton opened the first Wal-Mart Discount City store in Rogers, Arkansas.Read more
Each invention's Wikipedia article and “1962 in science”. Photos via Wikimedia Commons, credited below.
Grand openings
Opened the year Mike was born
Places and brands that started in 1962 and that America still knows.
store · July 2WalmartSam Walton opened the first Wal-Mart Discount City store in Rogers, Arkansas.store · MayTargetThe first Target store opened in Roseville, Minnesota, a discount spin-off of Dayton's department store.store · March 1KmartThe first full-sized Kmart opened in Garden City, Michigan, weeks after a smaller Kmart opened in California.restaurant · July 6Taco BellGlen Bell opened the first Taco Bell on Firestone Boulevard in Downey, California.store · Sept.Kohl'sGrocer Maxwell Kohl opened his first department store in Brookfield, Wisconsin.
Wikidata and each place's Wikipedia article. Photos via Wikimedia Commons, credited below.
Crazes
What everyone was doing in the 1960s
The dances, fads and sayings of the decade Mike was born.
dance · 1962The Loco-MotionLittle Eva's "The Loco-Motion," whose lyrics describe the dance itself, was the seventh most successful U.S. single of 1962.fad · 1961Slip 'N SlideWham-O's Slip 'N Slide, a plastic sheet that gets slippery when wet, was first sold in 1961.fad · 1963Troll dollsDanish troll dolls with furry up-combed hair were one of America's biggest toy fads from autumn 1963 to 1965.dance · 1960The twistThe twist became a worldwide dance craze as Chubby Checker's "The Twist" hit No. 1 in 1960, and again in 1962.dance · 1960The MadisonThe Madison, a line dance created in Columbus, Ohio, in 1957, spread to other TV dance shows after Baltimore's Buddy Deane Show in 1960.
dance · 1962The Mashed PotatoThe Mashed Potato, made famous by James Brown in 1959, was a 1962 dance craze, also done to Dee Dee Sharp's "Mashed Potato Time."
dance · 1962The WatusiThe Watusi, one of the most popular 1960s dance crazes in the U.S., got a No. 2 hit with the Orlons' 1962 "The Wah-Watusi."
dance · 1961The PonyChubby Checker's 1961 No. 1 hit "Pony Time" introduced the Pony, a dance in which you look like you are riding a horse.
Wikipedia articles on each dance and fad, and dated slang and catchphrase lists. Photos via Wikimedia Commons, credited below.
New in the stores
Toys, treats and the dinner table
What showed up for the first time in 1962, and what families ate in the 1960s.
snackGoldfish crackersPepperidge Farm founder Margaret Rudkin introduced Goldfish crackers to the United States in 1962 after trying them in Switzerland.foodFilet-O-FishCincinnati McDonald's franchise owner Lou Groen created the Filet-O-Fish in 1962 for Catholic customers who abstained from meat on Fridays.candyNow and LaterThe Phoenix Candy Company created Now and Later taffy in Brooklyn, New York, in 1962.candyLemonheadFerrara first introduced Lemonhead candy in 1962, made with the same cold panned process as its Red Hots.
toyBarbie DreamhouseMattel debuted the Barbie Dreamhouse in 1962, three years after Barbie hit the market.
drinkDiet RiteDiet Rite cola was introduced nationwide in 1962 and marketed to the general public as a health-oriented beverage.
On the table in the 1960s
Fondue: promoted to Americans at the Swiss Pavilion of the 1964 New York World's Fair; chocolate fondue followed in the mid-1960s Source
Shrimp cocktail: the most popular appetizer in the United States from the 1960s to the late 1980s Source
Rumaki: a tiki-party appetizer popularly served at Trader Vic's and other Polynesian restaurants in the 1950s and 1960s Source
Bundt cake: Bundt pans became very popular in the 1960s and 1970s Source
Granola: revived in the 1960s with fruits and nuts as a health food popular with the hippie movement Source
Steak Diane: a standard flambéed dish of Continental cuisine from the 1940s through the 1960s Source
Wikipedia articles for each product. Photos via Wikimedia Commons, credited below.
In style
What people wore
Fashion in America, 1960 to 1964.
Beach crowded with college students, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, 1962High school students in Kankakee, Illinois, watching a tornado, 17 April 1963Young women at the March on Washington, 28 August 1963The Beach Boys performing at Taft High School, California, early 1960s
Women
Capri pants and drainpipe jeans: slim trousers, capri pants popularized by Audrey Hepburn
Boxy-jacket suits: well-tailored suits with short boxy jackets and oversized buttons
Bikinis: rather large versions in the 1963 teen hit Beach Party made the bikini a pop-culture symbol
Hair
Beehives and the bouffant: beehive hairdos early in the decade; Jacqueline Kennedy's bouffant
Short back and sides: side-parted, the norm for professional men; buzzcuts and flat tops for blue-collar men
From Wikipedia's fashion history articles (1960s in fashion). Photos via Wikimedia Commons, credited below.
Making a living
What people did for work
The most common jobs in the 1960 census, and what they paid.
A nursing supervisor teaching a trainee how to make a bed, Maple Lawn Homes, 1961Linemen working high on power poles for the Boundary Dam project, Washington state, 1963
Most common jobs for men
1General laborers2,648,531 workers · 5.8% of men working
2Farmers2,382,073 workers · 5.2% of men working
3Salesmen and store clerks2,296,970 workers · 5% of men working
4Truck and tractor drivers1,654,297 workers · 3.6% of men working
5Office clerks1,227,720 workers · 2.7% of men working
Most common jobs for women
1Office clerks1,788,667 workers · 8% of women working
2Saleswomen and store clerks1,591,665 workers · 7.1% of women working
3Secretaries1,451,639 workers · 6.5% of women working
4Maids and household workers1,228,266 workers · 5.5% of women working
5Elementary school teachers866,746 workers · 3.9% of women working
What it paid
Factory worker: $89.72 a week (1960)
Public school teacher (1959-60 school year average): $4,995 a year (1960)
Federal minimum wage: $1.00 an hour (1960)
Work back then
About 6 of every 100 American workers worked on a farm (4.1 million of 68.0 million) in 1960.
34.9% of American women had a paying job or were looking for one in 1960 (census count).
A factory worker's average work week was 39.7 hours in 1960.
US Census Bureau occupation tables, Historical Statistics of the United States, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Dept. of Labor and NCES. Pay is in dollars of the time. Photos via Wikimedia Commons.
Quigley Publishing's annual poll of exhibitors (Top Ten Money Making Stars) and the Academy Awards, via Wikipedia. Photos via Wikimedia Commons, credited below.
On the record player
The albums of 1962
The records everyone owned. Tap any one to play a song from it right here.
Nielsen ratings via Wikipedia, “Top-rated United States television programs”.
Sports
The champions of 1962
San Francisco Giants first baseman Orlando Cepeda in a 1962 issue of Baseball Digest.
World SeriesNew York Yankees beat San Francisco Giants 4-3
FootballNFL Championship Game (1962 season, December 30, 1962): Green Bay Packers beat New York Giants 16-7
BasketballBoston Celtics beat Los Angeles Lakers 4-3
HockeyToronto Maple Leafs beat Chicago Black Hawks 4-2
Kentucky DerbyDecidedly, ridden by Bill Hartack
Moments people remember
March 2Wilt Chamberlain of the Philadelphia Warriors scored 100 points against the New York Knicks in Hershey, Pennsylvania (March 2, 1962)
Sept. 25Sonny Liston knocked out Floyd Patterson two minutes and six seconds into the first round to become World Heavyweight Champion (September 25, 1962)
Wikipedia: World Series, Super Bowl, NBA, Stanley Cup and Kentucky Derby champion lists, Olympic medal tables and “1962 in sports”.
The year
Everybody was talking about
Feb. 20John Glenn became the first American to orbit Earth, circling the planet three times aboard Friendship 7.Read more
March 2Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 points in a single NBA basketball game.Read more
June 17WorldBrazil beat Czechoslovakia 3-1 in Chile to win the 1962 FIFA World Cup.Read more
July 2The first Wal-Mart store opened for business in Rogers, Arkansas.Read more
July 12WorldThe Rolling Stones made their debut at London's Marquee Club, opening for Long John Baldry.Read more
Wikipedia: “1962 in the United States” and “1962” (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The hard news
What the country went through
The disasters, health scares and scandals of 1962.
MarchScandalTexas financier Billie Sol Estes was arrested in a fraud scandal over ammonia tank mortgages, and Congress held hearings on his business dealings.Read more
March 1DisasterAmerican Airlines Flight 1 crashed into Jamaica Bay in New York City two minutes after takeoff, killing all 87 passengers and eight crew members.Read more
JulyHealthA Washington Post story credited FDA reviewer Frances Kelsey with keeping thalidomide, linked to birth defects, off the US market; Congress then strengthened drug regulation.Read more
Oct. 12DisasterThe Columbus Day storm, the remnant of Typhoon Freda, struck the Pacific Northwest coast and was linked to 46 deaths in the Northwest and Northern California.Read more
Wikipedia event articles and lists (CC BY-SA 4.0). Death tolls as the sources state them.
At graduation, the #1 song was “Funkytown” by Lipps Inc.
Jimmy Carter was president.
Mailing the graduation cards: 15¢ a stamp.
Billboard · EIA · Dept. of Labor · USPS · Census
The story after
Your life, decade by decade
Mounted policeman downtown, Philadelphia, 1973
The 1970s
Ages 13 to 17
1975. Bill Gates and Paul Allen founded Microsoft in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
1977. George Lucas's Star Wars opened in 32 movie theaters across the United States and went on to break box office records.
1979. The Three Mile Island plant in Pennsylvania had the most serious nuclear power accident in American history.
The song of 1975: “Love Will Keep Us Together,” Captain & Tennille.
The best-selling car: Chevrolet Impala / Caprice.
New at home: the RCA XL-100 color television.
Trolley on Germantown Avenue, Philadelphia, 1985
The 1980s
Ages 18 to 27
1980. Mount St. Helens erupted in Washington State, killing 57 people and causing $3 billion in damage.
1985. Coca-Cola changed its recipe and released New Coke; the response was so negative the original formula returned in less than three months.
1989. The 6.9 Loma Prieta earthquake shook the San Francisco Bay Area and the Central Coast, killing 63 people.
The song of 1985: “Like a Virgin,” Madonna.
The best-selling car: Chevrolet Cavalier.
New at home: the Sony Walkman TPS-L2.
Mummers Parade at City Hall, Philadelphia, 1998
The 1990s
Ages 28 to 37
1990. Space Shuttle Discovery placed the Hubble Space Telescope into orbit around Earth.
1995. Toy Story, the first full-length computer-animated feature film, was released by Pixar and Walt Disney Pictures.
1999. The cartoon SpongeBob SquarePants made its debut on Nickelodeon.
The song of 1995: “Fantasy,” Mariah Carey.
The best-selling car: Ford Taurus.
New at home: the Nintendo Game Boy.
North Broad Street toward City Hall, Philadelphia, 2009
The 2000s
Ages 38 to 47
2000. The final original Peanuts comic strip ran in newspapers, the day after creator Charles M. Schulz died.
2005. Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast from Louisiana to Mississippi, killing at least 1,836 people and becoming the costliest hurricane in US history.
2009. Pilot Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger landed US Airways Flight 1549 on the Hudson River after both engines failed, and all 155 people on board were rescued.
The song of 2005: “We Belong Together,” Mariah Carey.
The best-selling car: Toyota Camry.
New at home: the Apple iPod.
Broad Street at Walnut Street, Philadelphia, 2019
The 2010s
Ages 48 to 57
2010. Apple released the first iPad in the United States.
2015. American Pharoah won the Belmont Stakes to become the first horse in 37 years to win horse racing's Triple Crown.
2019. Marvel Studios released Avengers: Endgame, which broke box office records and became the second highest-grossing film of all time.
The song of 2015: “Uptown Funk,” Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars.
The best-selling car: Toyota Camry.
New at home: the Apple iPhone 4.
Market Street at 22nd Street, Philadelphia, 2021
The 2020s
Ages 58 to 64
2020. The Kansas City Chiefs beat the San Francisco 49ers 31-20 in Super Bowl LIV, with Jennifer Lopez and Shakira headlining the halftime show.
2023. LeBron James broke Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's all-time NBA scoring record, reaching 38,388 points.
2026. NASA launched Artemis II from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, sending four astronauts past the Moon on the first crewed flight that far since 1972.
The song of 2025: “Luther,” Kendrick Lamar and SZA.
The best-selling car: Toyota Camry.
New at home: the Sony PlayStation 5.
Your mother
The day your mom had you
What it was like in 1962
Your mom almost certainly had you in a hospital. By 1955, 95 percent of American babies were born in one.
By the 1960s, dads were usually allowed to keep your mom company in the labor room, but most were still sent out before the actual birth.
Your mom may not remember much of your birth. Many doctors were still giving laboring women scopolamine, the amnesia drug behind 'twilight sleep,' well into the 1960s, and plenty of mothers of that era were fully put under.
Your mom's doctor may well have told her to keep her pregnancy weight gain to just 10 to 14 pounds. That was common practice until a 1970 national report pushed back against it.
Right after you were born, you were most likely taken off to the hospital nursery and fed on a strict schedule, while your mom waited in her room. 'Rooming-in,' where babies stayed with their mothers, was still a rare experiment.
Your mom probably got a long hospital stay. In the years after World War II, the standard stay for childbirth grew to as many as 10 days.
If your mom bottle-fed you, it was probably ready-made formula. In the early 1960s, store-bought formulas (pushed by formula makers and pediatricians) replaced home-made mixes as the main way babies were fed.
Sources: History News Network (Judith Walzer Leavitt), How Did Men End Up in the Delivery Room? · NPR (via WLRN), This Father's Day, Remembering A Time When Dads Weren't Welcome In Delivery Rooms · Yale University, History of Medicine senior essay (Catherine Gliwa), Out of the Twilight: Continuous Caudal Anesthesia and the Modernization of Obstetric Pain Management in America, 1940-1960 · National Academies Press (Institute of Medicine), Weight Gain During Pregnancy: Reexamining the Guidelines, Ch. 1 · Intersect: The Stanford Journal of Science, Technology, and Society, Rooming-In: Cold War Consumer Product? · Kaiser Permanente History, Maternity care evolves to embrace family · USDA Economic Research Service, WIC and the Retail Price of Infant Formula, Ch. 4: The Domestic Infant Formula Market
Ask her, or ask about her
5 months before you were born: Roger Maris of the New York Yankees hit his 61st home run of the season, breaking Babe Ruth's 34-year-old record. Did your parents ever talk about it?
10 days after you were born: Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 points in a single NBA basketball game. Ask what they remember about it.
When you were 16 months old: ZIP codes were introduced across the United States. Do they remember where they were?
Were you awake when I was born, or did they put you to sleep? What's the first thing you remember?
Did Dad get to stay with you in the labor room? Did they send him out for the birth?
How did you find out you were pregnant with me, and who did you tell first?
How long did you stay in the hospital after I was born, and what was it like?
Did they keep me in the nursery? How often did the nurses bring me to you?
Did you nurse me or bottle-feed me? Who gave you advice about it?
If she's still with you, call her and ask. If she isn't, ask the people who knew her then: a sister, an aunt, an old friend. Those answers make the best birthday stories.
Make it a gift
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Back in Our DayThe Day You Were Born
The day he arrived
Mike
February 20, 1962 · Philadelphia
The hardcover
This issue, bound
Everything on this page, printed in full color and bound as a hardcover with the name and birthday on the cover. Classic $79 · Deluxe $109 · free shipping.
Trolley buses on Tasker Street, Philadelphia, 1968
