This UFO Spaceship McDonald’s Used to Exist in Alconbury, England in the 1990s

For many kids, getting a McDonald’s on a long drive would be the ultimate treat. And if you grew up in or around Cambridgeshire in the 1990s, you’ll probably remember getting a Happy Meal at the spaceship McDonald’s just off the A1 at Alconbury, near Huntingdon.

Originally built in 1990 as a Megatron, the restaurant was going to be the first of many in the chain. But the plans never happened, and instead the building became a McDonald’s in 1993.

The UFO Maccies sadly closed in 2000 due to soaring maintenance costs. It then remained empty for a number of years before it was demolished in 2008.

30 Vintage Photos Defined the 1940s Hairstyles For Women

Despite the war, women in the 1940s were still able to create jaw-dropping looks simply by styling their hair. They were encouraged to use their hair to ‘fix’ any flaws in their face.

If she had perfect, shiny hair with a good color, she should use it to frame her face. If she had a full face, she should use a 1940s hairstyle that piled hair on top of her head to distract from it. If a thin face was her problem, her hairstyle should be down and over her ears to make it look wider. All of these suggestions contributed to a variety to hairstyles in 1940s.

1940s hairstyles were largely inspired by actresses during an era of glamor that provided a sense of escapism from the war. While long locks were in at the beginning, the United States government encouraged actress Veronica Lake to cut her long locks to help influence women to cut their long locks that were hazardous while operating machinery.

Take a look at these vintage photos to see what women’s hairstyles looked like in the 1940s.

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In 1907, a Shipload of 1,000 Immigrant Women From the Baltic Seeking Husbands Came to New York

Was there really a shortage of marriage-minded women in the United States in the early 1900s? Apparently rumors had been circulating in Europe that American men couldn’t find wives. With this in mind, just over 1,000 “maids” booked passage on a New York–bound ship that arrived on September 27, 1907.

The Washington Post wrote an article in 1907 on the arrival of 1,000+ women from European countries that came to America seeking husbands. This drew considerable attention from young American men, who waited at the pier for the arrival of their ship the Baltic, so as to catch a glimpse of these women and consider these potential suitors.

The article also asked women aboard the ship where in America they will settle as they search for husbands and what kind of men they are looking for. Some seek “rich Americans,” others like “tall men and blonds,” but some will marry “if [they] can find anybody to have [them].”

The article concluded with the statement, “it is thought that the proposals will come thick and fast,” demonstrating a general positivity toward immigrants coming to America, specifically women. Not only were European women seeking husbands in America, the men favorably accepted their arrival. This emphasizes the favorable  regard with which Americans accepted immigrants in the early 1900s, especially when they arrived from European countries, such as England. In addition, if such immigrants were seeking a better life in America and were willing to assimilate into the culture, in this case by marrying an American man, then Americans gladly welcomed their stay.

Today there is talk of foreign women marrying American men to achieve green cards so that they can live legally in America. If such a large volume of women arrived in the U.S. today seeking marriage, would they be equally as welcome? It seems marriage between immigrants and Americans was accepted publicly in the early 1900s, but do we carry the same opinions today?

Vibrant Vintage Photos of New York in the ‘80s

Robert Herman has been a street photographer since his days as an NYU film student in the late 70’s. Between 1978 and 2005, he walked around the city and captured its people, its buildings, its emotions. “I felt like a very vulnerable person,” recalled Herman in 2013. “Photography was my intermediary between me and the world. I was trying to find peace wandering the city. After a while you get in a Zen space and the world slows down. And when you’re an outsider, you notice things that other people just walk by.” Herman’s collection of his New York City photographs, shot on Kodachrome, was later published as the monograph The New Yorkers.

“The New Yorkers is a body of work that I began when I was still a student at NYU, when I was learning to be a photographer. I was living in Little Italy at the time and everyone around me seemed to be a subject: the man who changed tires, the superintendent of the building next door.” Herman talked about his book. “I discovered Harry Callahan’s magnificent book: Color and Robert Frank’s The Americans. These images opened my mind to what a strong photograph could be. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then this was my starting point. Both of these photographers re-made the mundane, the ordinary and the everyday and transformed them into small and transcendent jewels.”

Take a look back at the city in the 1980s through 30 stunning vintage photographs below. For more on Robert Herman and his photography, visit his website.

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30 Beautiful Photos of Jane Wyatt in the 1930s and ’40s

Born 1910 in Campgaw, a neighborhood in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, and raised in Manhattan, American actress Jane Wyatt made her film debut in 1934 in One More River. In arguably her most famous film role, she co-starred as Ronald Colman’s character’s love interest in Frank Capra’s Columbia Pictures film Lost Horizon (1937).

Other film appearances included Gentleman’s Agreement (1947) with Gregory Peck, None but the Lonely Heart (1944) with Cary Grant, Boomerang (1947) with Dana Andrews, and Our Very Own (1950) with Farley Granger. Wyatt co-starred in the crime dramas Pitfall (1948), House by the River (1950), with Randolph Scott in a Western, Canadian Pacific (1949), and the wife of Gary Cooper in the war story Task Force (1949).

Her film career suffered due to her outspoken opposition to Senator Joseph McCarthy, the chief figure in the anti-Communist investigations of that era, and was temporarily derailed for having assisted in hosting a performance by the Bolshoi Ballet during the Second World War, though it was at the request of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Wyatt returned to her roots on the New York stage for a time and appeared in such plays as Lillian Hellman’s The Autumn Garden (1951), opposite Fredric March.

Late in her career, Wyatt appeared in a recurring role in the 1980s medical drama St. Elsewhere. She suffered a mild stroke in the 1990s, but recovered well, and remained in relatively good health for the rest of her life.

Wyatt was a three-time Emmy Award–winner. She died in 2006 at her home in Bel-Air, California, aged 96. Take a look at these vintage photos to see the beauty of young Jane Wyatt in the 1930s and 1940s.

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Myrtle Crawford: One of the Leading Models of the Late 1940s and Early 1950s

Born 1928 in Stirling, Scottish model Myrtle Crawford started modeling in a small way. She joined the Jean Bell modeling agency, sharing a flat with another top model of the day, Susan Abraham.

Myrtle Crawford in the early 1950s

At 36-19-36, Crawford’s hourglass figure was highly fashionable in the early 1950s. She worked with many celebrated photographers of the day, including John French and Norman Parkinson. On the catwalks of Paris she also modeled for Christian Dior and other famous fashion houses.

Crawford was also one of the Aero girls, whose portraits, painted in oils by accomplished artists, were used in an eye-catching campaign to advertise Aero chocolate, the bubble-filled bars marketed in the early 1950s as “The chocolate for her”.

Crawford’s modeling career was brief but glamorous: She traveled frequently, and was well-paid, earning £5 a day at a time of post-war austerity when many were managing on £5 a month. In 1953, she married Capt John Acland and gave up her modeling career; but having trained as an architect and being a talented artist, she took up painting, studying at the Reading School of Art.

Crawford died in 2013 at the age of 85. Take a look at these fabulous photos to see the beauty of Myrtle Crawford in the early 1950s.

Myrtle Crawford wearing "en tremblant" jeweled hair piece, photo by Anthony Denney, Vogue, December 1951

Myrtle Crawford in beautiful satin evening gown worn with a stunning black lace manteau by Givenchy, photo by Philippe Pottier, 1952

Myrtle Crawford in draped taffeta dress that is rolled up in a style reminiscent of that of a washerwomen's apron, by Grès, hat by Gilbert Orcel, photo by Philippe Pottier, 1952

Myrtle Crawford in pretty chiffon dress in colors of stained glass by Lanvin-Castillo, jewelry by Roger Scémama, photo by Philippe Pottier, 1952

Myrtle Crawford in silk afternoon dress delicately pleated throughout with finely draped neckline by Manguin, photo by Philippe Pottier, 1952

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Mick Jagger Swathed in a Fur Parka, 1964

Terry O’Neill began his photography career in 1958 and gained notoriety documenting the styles, fashion and celebrity of the 1960s. He chronicled the lives and rise of then-emerging rock stars like David Bowie, Elton John, Chuck Berry and The Who.

He photographed The Beatles and The Rolling Stones when they were struggling young bands. Here, some photographs of Mick Jagger posing in a fur parka, with a fur trimmed hood, taken by Terry O’Neill in London, 1964.

(Photos by © Terry O’Neill)