After a long winter and a pollen-filled spring, summer has finally arrived! Memorial Day is finally here, kicking off everyone's favorite season. While we may celebrate our extra day off with trips to the beach and a dip in the lake, we're far from the only ones to do so — just take a look back at 1950s beach culture.
From James Dean walking along the sand to Muscle Beach patrons living up to its name, here are 31 old-school photos of 50s beach days.
1
“My Dad in the 50's doing a handstand on the Santa Monica beach.”
2
“My in laws —NY beach in the 50s.”
4
“1950s African American Beach Beauties.”
5
“My grandfather at a beach. Late 50s to early 60s.”
6
“James Dean and girlfriend Barbara Glenn at the beach in the 50s.”
7
“Hanging at Atlantic City's Chicken Bone Beach in the 1950s.”
10
“My grandparents at the beach in the 50s.”
11
“A group of friends pose on Muscle Beach at Santa Monica, 1950.”
13
“My grandpa, grandma, and mom at a beach on Lake Michigan, 1950s.”
14
“Sylvia Plath at the beach in the 1950s.”
15
“A beautiful young family at Chicken Bone Beach, the segregated section of Atlantic City's beach area, 1950s.”
16
“My Grandma at Daytona Beach in the early 50’s.”
17
“My dad on a beach in the '50s.”
18
“Bikinis and the Beach, 1950s.”
19
“Natalie Wood and some 50s era beach hijinks.”
20
“Bettie Page modeling on the beach 1950’s.”
21
“My Grandmother Being Glamorous On The Beach In The Early 50s.”
22
“My grandparents 1950's on beach UK.”
23
“My grandparents at the beach in 1950. Forever cooler than I'll ever be.”
24
“My grandparents on the beach in the 50s.”
25
“My great grandmother in Panama City Beach, at a local steakhouse sometime in the 50s.”
26
“My grandparents on a beach in the 50s.”
27
“Beach Babe 1950s-1960s.”
28
“My grandfather in the 50s, taking his new camera to the beach.”
29
“Fashionable young women on the beach, Florida, 1950.”
30
“Albert Einstein at the beach (1950s).”
31
“Fit family posing at Muscle Beach in California in the 1950’s.”
