Moment of Grace: The American City in the 1950s

by Michael Johns

Moment of Grace tells the story of the American city in its remarkable heyday. Never before or after the 1950s were downtowns so exciting, neighborhoods so settled, or suburban dwellers so optimistic. Urban culture was at its it was vital, urbane, conformist, and generating rebellion all at once. Capturing the mood of the '50s in superb historical photographs and mining delightfully varied sources―including urban critics, interviews with city residents, novels, songs, magazines, and newspapers― Moment of Grace brings alive the downtowns, the neighborhoods, and the suburbs of the era. A rich historical reflection on a singular decade, the book also portrays the '50s as a critical turning point in American culture and economy. Michael Johns shows us exactly why city life never could or would be the same again.

Giving a vivid sense of the lived experience of the day, Johns explores the '50s in cities such as New York, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Chicago, and Oakland, writing about fashion (which demanded the highest heels and pointiest breasts in history), nightlife, architecture, literature, business and economic trends, and teenage culture. He tells us what was for sale in the stores, who lived in the neighborhoods, what life was like for women in the brand-new suburbs, and much more. And he confronts difficult issues head-on. What did the loss of city jobs and the simultaneous success of the civil rights movement mean for black neighborhoods? What were the profound consequences of the rise of the suburbs for family life?

In contrast to the vibrant cities of the '50s, the streets of today's downtowns are often empty if not suffused with melancholy. Johns uncovers the seeds of the transformation from the '50s to today, and at the same time, he paints a memorable picture of the American past.

Genres: Architecture, History, Nonfiction

194 pages, Paperback

First published November 4, 2002

Reviews

[Kamakana · Rating 5 out of 5]

if you like this review i now have website: www.michaelkamakana.com

291218: maybe i ordered this book. did not get it. in the years since i read it, in looking at this review, in watching some films from and of and set in the era, i try to shake my wistful dream. i mean, for many people not straight white middle-class american males, and also some who were, this is not some wonderful time, if you were anything other than that descriptor... but then i have a black american male friend who once confessed, privately, aware of absurdity, that his favorite romance is GWTW... so maybe reality has little impact on dreams... and i still dream of that era...

first review: this is a dream era for me: the last time we, as dominant western culture, believed everything in the world could be made better through rigorous application of our scientific, social, political thought. believed it was right to be rational. believed we could solve the world… and this is the same era the darkest fears of complete annihilation were rational too. i did not live then, my parents (very young) did, and sometimes despite all we have gained since then, i think of having that thoughtless faith in the human project… i would like just a taste of that optimism. i know there were many social problems then- but there seems to me in retrospect, in rose-colored glasses, that there was such a possible faith in our solving them all. as i say, as this book reminds me, maybe that was a moment of grace...

[Wendy McBain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have we lost it or what? Yup! For sure. This book smacks of 1950s charm and truth. A more true way of living, family, streetscapes and little shops that made life more gracious and cozy. What people use to do to for fun and a more basic way of life when manners flourished and old people stayed at home, looked after by their families, and not the impersonal institutions of today where abuse is rampant.

Even the shopping in larger stores was more personalized and the plethora of goods available, of quality, was amazing. And I mean quality.

This book shows the quality of all aspects of life in the 1950s. And juxtaposed against our lives now, shows what we've lost.