New Orleans in the Fifties

Photos and reminiscences of life the 1950s, part of the decade-by-decade series that vividly documents the Crescent City’s history.

Remember when Mardi Gras was cancelled in 1951 in tribute to the men fighting the Korean War? Surely you were there for Elvis Presley’s visit to the Municipal Auditorium in 1956, and you must recall the first time you crossed the brand-new Greater New Orleans Bridge. How about the milk bottle on top of the Cloverland Dairy?

For those who were there and those who wish they were, Mary Lou Widmer recalls these and many other images and events that define the decade. Packed with photographs, her remembrances will delight and entertain all who lived through this unique decade in New Orleans and fascinate anyone intrigued by the city’s past—from the tumult of integration to the worries about communism to the rapid growth of Gentilly, Metairie, and other suburbs.