DOCUMERICA: Snapshots of America in Crisis in the 1970s

By the late 1960s, the American landscape was ravaged by decades of unchecked land development, blighted by urban decay in the big cities, and plagued by seemingly unstoppable air, noise, and water pollution. 

In November 1971, the newly created Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a monumental photodocumentary project to “photographically document subjects of environmental concern” in the United States. The collection, now at the National Archives, resulted in a collection of more than 20,000 photographs by its conclusion in 1978.

With support from the first EPA administrator, William Ruckelshaus, project director Gifford D. Hampshire contracted well-known photographers to work for the EPA on the project. Estimates of the number involved range between 70 and 120, and they were organized geographically, with each photographer working in a particular area in which they were already active.

Subjects photographed include urban cityscapes, small towns, rural areas, beaches and mountains. They show people going about their everyday lives as well as working in farms; waterfronts; mining and logging, industry and heavy industry. Images document junk yards, highways, Amtrak trains, air and water pollution; and environmental protection and pollution control measures. 

The earliest assignments were closely aligned to the EPA's proposed areas of concern: air and water pollution, management of solid waste, radiation and pesticides, and noise abatement.  However, photographers had considerable creative freedom about what they shot.  Among the areas depicted are national parks and forests, including environmentally sensitive areas that were under development or considered for government protection.

Water cooling towers of the John Amos Power Plant loom over a home located across the Kanawha River, near Poca, West Virginia, August 1973. (Harry Schaefer)

One of four bicyclists holds her ears against the roar of the jet taking off from National Airport in Washington, District of Columbia, May 1973. (John Neubauer)

Clark Avenue and Clark Avenue bridge, looking east from West 13th Street, obscured by industrial smoke, in Cleveland, Ohio, July 1973. (Frank J. Aleksandrowicz)

Balloon logging in the Culp Creek drainage area of Oregon, near Eugene.

A mountain of damaged oil drums lies in a heap in an Exxon refinery near Baton Rouge, Louisiana, December 1972. (John Messina)

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35 Amazing Portrait Photos of Papua New Guineans in the 1970s

Papua New Guinea is a country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and its offshore islands in Melanesia (a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean north of Australia). Its capital, located along its southeastern coast, is Port Moresby. The country is the world's third largest island country with an area of 462,840 km2 (178,700 sq mi).

Papua New Guinea established its sovereignty in 1975. It is one of the most linguistically diverse countries in the world. There are 851 known languages in the country, of which 11 now have no known speakers. It is known to have numerous groups of uncontacted peoples, and researchers believe there are many undiscovered species of plants and animals in the interior.

These amazing photos were taken by lindsaybridge that show portraits of Papua New Guineans in the 1970s.

Ford Fairlane at Service Station at Boroko ready for the trip, 1975

Ford Futura 1971 model on the Rigo Road, near Port Moresby, 1974

Aki and Kewa on the 1971 model Ford Futura, Port Moresby, 1974

Group near Port Moresby, 1974

1971 Ford Futura, Boroko near Port Moresby, 1975

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On-Board a Boeing 747: Amazing Photographs Show How It Was Like to Travel With a Jumbo Jet in the 1970s

Boeing 747, also known as the jumbo jet was first introduced in 1970. With Pan American airlines as one of its major investors they had the possibility to influence the design and development of the aircraft. It was deemed that the world needed a jet plane of massive size that could transport hundreds of passengers fast, efficient and with style.

On January 15, 1970, First Lady of the United States Pat Nixon christened Pan Am’s first 747 at Dulles International Airport (later Washington Dulles International Airport) in the presence of Pan Am chairman Najeeb Halaby. Instead of champagne, red, white, and blue water was sprayed on the aircraft. The 747 entered service on January 22, 1970, on Pan Am’s New York–London route.

The 747 enjoyed a fairly smooth introduction into service, overcoming concerns that some airports would not be able to accommodate an aircraft that large. Although technical problems occurred, they were relatively minor and quickly solved. After the aircraft’s introduction with Pan Am, other airlines that had bought the 747 to stay competitive began to put their own 747s into service. Boeing estimated that half of the early 747 sales were to airlines desiring the aircraft’s long range rather than its payload capacity. While the 747 had the lowest potential operating cost per seat, this could only be achieved when the aircraft was fully loaded; costs per seat increased rapidly as occupancy declined.

International flights bypassing traditional hub airports and landing at smaller cities became more common throughout the 1980s, thus eroding the 747’s original market.Many international carriers continued to use the 747 on Pacific routes. In Japan, 747s on domestic routes were configured to carry nearly the maximum passenger capacity. Below is a collection of various photos depicting how it was like to travel with a jumbo jet in the 1970s:

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Black and White Photos Capture Street Scenes of Amsterdam in the 1970s

Throughout the 1970s, Amsterdam experienced rapid development. To reduce the use of automobiles, city planners have favored public transportation. Trams remain the primary transportation mode in inner Amsterdam, while buses play a critical role in outer districts. A high-speed metro line opened in 1976, and a new fast rail line to Schiphol was opened in 1988.

The cultural revolution of the 1970s made Amsterdam the magisch centrum (magical centre) of Europe. A tolerant attitude toward soft drugs made the city a favorite haunt of hippies. There were many radical movements in the 1970s, some highly political and rigidly structured, but many played out in street theatre, satirical and playful.

These black and white photos were taken by pszz that show what Amsterdam looked like in the 1970s.

Ice cream seller, Amsterdam

Amsterdam canal tour

Amsterdam canal

Amsterdam canal

Amsterdam canal

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Bob Marley Performing at the Santa Barbara Bowl on May 31, 1976 During the Rastaman Vibration Tour

In 1976 Bob Marley & The Wailers dropped in on the Santa Barbara Bowl in California. It was part of the Rastaman Vibration Tour which began at the Tower Theater in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, on April 23, 1976, and ended in Manchester, England, on June 27, 1976. Along the way, they stopped in Santa Barbara and played to a sold-out crowd.

On the tour’s second leg Marley performed for the first time in continental Europe and premiered in Germany, Sweden, France and the Netherlands. After the tour Marley performed the Smile Jamaica Concert in his homeland Jamaica, after being shot a couple of days before.

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30 Vintage Snapshots of Living Rooms in the 1970s

From hippie bohemian to glitzy disco, the 1970s runs the gamut from natural to glamorous.

Furniture of the 1970s refers to the style of furniture popular in the 1970s. Often, the furniture would be laid with bold fabric patterns and colors. Bold designs and prints were also used profusely in other decor. Other design elements found in 1970s furniture and interior decorating included the use of the colors brown, purple, orange, and yellow, shag-pile carpet, textured walls, lacquered furniture, gaudy lampshades, lava lamps, and molded plastic furniture.

Another major aspect of 1970s furniture is the use of teak wood. The use of teak in fashionable furniture and panelling regained popularity in the 1960s and items became chunkier as it progressed into the 1970s. Because of the popularity of wood in homes, dark color palettes also became more widely used as the 1970s progressed. In the mid-to-late 1970s, pine wood began to replace teak wood, and color palettes became even darker.

These vintage photos show what living rooms looked like in the 1970s.

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Evocative Photos of Life in Texas in the 1970s

By the late 1960s, the American landscape was ravaged by decades of unchecked land development, blighted by urban decay in the big cities, and plagued by seemingly unstoppable air, noise, and water pollution. 

In November 1971, the newly created Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a monumental photodocumentary project to “photographically document subjects of environmental concern” in the United States. The collection, now at the National Archives, resulted in a collection of more than 20,000 photographs by its conclusion in 1978.

With support from the first EPA administrator, William Ruckelshaus, project director Gifford D. Hampshire contracted well-known photographers to work for the EPA on the project. Estimates of the number involved range between 70 and 120, and they were organized geographically, with each photographer working in a particular area in which they were already active. For example, Leakey, Houston and San Antonio in Texas were covered by Marc St. Gil.

Take a look at life in Texas in the late 1970s through 19 pictures below:

Dallas, 1972

Galveston’s West Beach on the Gulf Of Mexico draws huge crowds, 1972

Galveston Bay, 1972

Dune buggy on Stewart Beach on the eastern tip of Galveston Island, 1972

Galveston Bay, 1972

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Vintage Hooded Portable Hair Dryers for Women at Home From the 1960s and 1970s

The home hair dryer is a big success these days, and little wonder. New models are a far cry from the first models, which had to be held, or were used with a sort of wind tunnel over the head.

To make best use of the home hair dryer, plan setting sessions for a time when other beauty chores can be done. A facial treatment, pedicure and manicure suggest themselves.

Of course, the great boon of the home hair dryer is its speed. When hair is set on large rollers, it can dry a coiffure fast enough to allow for morning settings. This can mean eliminating the custom of sleeping all night on rollers.

Coiffures can be quickly refreshed with modern dryers. The heat settings on modern home dryers are controllable, so women can have the warmth they prefer. Use these controls to dry different hair textures properly. Coarser hair can stand higher heat than fine hair.

If the hair is smoothly rolled and dried at the proper temperature, its sheen and life will be measurably improved. Dry overly curly hair at a low heat and it will kink less. Straight hair dried at higher temperatures seems to have more body.

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Vintage Photographs Capture Everyday Life in Sydney Fifty Years Ago

Sydney is the capital city and most populous city in the state of New South Wales, Australia and Oceania. 

Sydney enhanced its position as an education capital of the Western Pacific during the postwar period. In 1967, Australia Square Tower was constructed and became a city landmark, surpassed in 1981 by Sydney Tower as the tallest building in the city. 

Kings Cross, 1970

Since the 1970s Sydney has undergone a rapid economic and social transformation. As aviation has replaced shipping, most new migrants to Australia have arrived in Sydney by air rather than in Melbourne by ship. As a result, the city has become one of the most multicultural in the world. In 1973, the Sydney Opera House was officially opened, after a long period of planning and construction.

Take a look back at the ‘Emerald City’ in the late 1960s and 1970 through these fascinating vintage pictures, courtesy of Graham Cosserat:

Fitzroy Gardens, King Cross, 1968

Kings Cross, 1968

Kings Cross, 1968

Circular Quay, 1968

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1970 Ford Mustang Milano Concept, Purple Haze From Pony Car Past

In the late 1960s leading into the 1970s, Ford was intent on coming up with an Italian influenced car. Most of the Ford prototypes had Italian names and Henry Ford II, chairman of the board, had an Italian wife. Ford was tied to DeTomaso, Ford even bought Carrozzeria Ghia from DeTomaso. So that explains this long lost hatchback show car which seems one part Shelby and two parts a new shape on the side which ironically seems to have shown up on the Dodge Challenger decades later.

In February 1970, Ford kicked off a new decade at the Chicago Auto Show with a wild-looking Mustang concept car that previewed some of the design direction for the upcoming 1971 models. The exceptionally low-slung, two-seat Ford Mustang Milano took inspiration from the grand touring cars that regularly prowled the roads around the northern Italian city that gave the car its name.

The color was called Ultra Violet, a moniker used by in real life Isabelle Collin Dufresne, a French-born artist, actress and author, the reigning beauty among the superstars of Andy Warhol’s glory days at his studio.

The car was low cut–43 inches tall, three inches taller than a GT40, and had a nearly horizontal fastback roof. The windshield was sloped back at a 67-degree angle probably as close as you can get to legal. The NACA-style ducts in the hood were modern thinking after the ’60s cars had bulbous hood scoops.

Ford wasn’t into offering mag wheels, except on Shelby Mustangs and the by then discontinued Cobra, but this one had cast-aluminum wheels, with a laced design reminiscent of classic wire wheels. The seats were light purple leather with blue-violet cloth inserts. Deep purple mohair carpeting covering the floor just screams 1970. This was from the days when Peter Max, with his wildly pigmented pop art posters, was a sensation in the art world.

You could stretch it and say future Mustangs used some of the design cues but also said to benefit was the the Australian-market 1974 Falcon XB coupe, the car driven by the title character in the first two Mad Max films.

This design is lithe and purposeful compared to the awkward 1971 Mustang. It had some weird quirks perhaps best forgotten like tail lights glowing green when accelerating, amber when coasting, and red when braking.

(via My Car Quest)

Amazing Cover Photos of the Famous Monsters of Filmland in the 1970s

Famous Monsters of Filmland is an American genre-specific film magazine, started in 1958 by publisher James Warren and editor Forrest J Ackerman.

Covers of the Famous Monsters of Filmland in the 1970s

Famous Monsters of Filmland directly inspired the creation of many other similar publications, including Castle of Frankenstein, Cinefantastique, Fangoria, The Monster Times, and Video Watchdog. In addition, hundreds, if not thousands, of FM-influenced horror, fantasy and science fiction film-related fanzines have been produced, some of which have continued to publish for decades, such as Midnight Marquee and Little Shoppe of Horrors.

In the early 1980s, the magazine folded after Warren became ill and unable to carry on as publisher, and Ackerman resigned as editor in the face of the increasing disorganization within the leaderless Warren Publishing Company. The magazine stopped publication in 1983 after a run of 191 issues.

Here below is a set of amazing illustration photos that shows the covers of the Famous Monsters of Filmland during the 1970s.

Famous Monsters #63, 1970, cover by Basil Gogos

Famous Monsters #66, 1970, cover by Basil Gogos

Famous Monsters #68, 1970, cover by Vic Prezio

Famous Monsters #81, 1970, cover by Harold Shull

Famous Monsters #87, 1971, cover by Ron Cobb

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