Nifty news, cats and chicks! It's not quite a time machine, but when you walk into Ohio History Center's "1950s: Building the American Dream" exhibit, you can step back in time — from the Woolly Willy on the bedside table to the polio vaccine kit to the 1957 Chevy Bellaire parked right in the walkway, complete with a shiny Airstream trailer.
Whether you're reliving your childhood or wondering what life might have been like before Roombas and smartphones, the exhibit is a great hands-on learning experience that makes history applicable, fun and amazingly alive.
Near the entrance to the exhibit, an eye-catching wall-sized timeline gives visitors a "big picture" (literally) of the historical and cultural background of the time period, throwing a number of fun facts into the mix: For example, Marilyn Monroe's dress size today would be an 8; a gallon of milk cost $.55 and the average housewife did about 56.4 hours of housework a week.
Displays of genuine 1950s memorabilia show off the fashion trends, popular children's toys (less flashy but not so different, moms and dads will note, from today's versions) and household items of the decade.
The highlight of the exhibit is a Lustron home designed and furnished exactly as one would have been 60-plus years ago, right down to the types of food stored in the kitchen cupboards.
Though the prefabricated houses made of enameled steel — manufactured from a plant in Columbus — didn't catch on as its designers may have hoped, the one that stands in the Ohio History Center serves as a great reminder of bygone days, offering a peek into the life of a central Ohio family of four (mom, dad, boy and baby girl) during the 1950s.
A handwritten note on its door invites guests to make themselves at home: Open drawers, pick through closets, or maybe fix (pretend) Spam for dinner.
From the programming on the black-and-white TV to the genuinely retro clock on the living room wall, a step inside the Lustron home is enough to make anyone feel like a member of the Cleaver family.
The home opens out into a backyard whose shed is full of 50s-era toys, and a bomb shelter in one corner provides a somber reminder that the decade wasn't as picture-perfect as it often seemed on the surface.
According to the Ohio Historical Society, the exhibit highlights three main themes:
- Family and Gender Roles: Traditional roles for men and women and fathers and mothers were redefined by the post-World War II boom and vastly different from previous and later generations.
- Social and Political issues: From segregated housing to the Civil Rights movement to the Cold War to McCarthyism, the 1950s was anything but ideal for so many Americans.
- Popular Culture: The popular music, literature, art, and design of the 1950s is undeniably alluring and retains devout followers 60+ years later.
The exhibit will be open until 2018. For hours, admission rates and more information, visit the Ohio History Center website.
Recent Comments