1966 - April 8 - Times Square - N.Y.C.

An old silent home-movie film of Times Square from 1966. The film was quite worn, but we did what we could and posted it here anyway. How much has it changed?

[briangraham]

I was sixteen in 1969 and just got my drivers license. I drove with two other guys from Halifax, Nova Scotia down to New York City. We stayed at the Times Square Motor Inn. Spent four days in the Big Apple and saw all the sights (Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty, United Nations Building, Madison Square Garden, Radio City Music Hall "The Rockettes!!!" etc.) We walked and walked all over the place. I was hoping to see the Yankees play but they were on the road. So we went out to Shea Stadium to see the Mets. It was a Saturday afternoon and Little League Day at Shea so all the kids that attended the game (around 30, 000) were wearing their little league uniforms. The Mets played the Astros and won the game 4-0. Cleon Jones hit a two-run homer and Tom Seaver pitched a two-hitter gem. Of course that was the year the Mets went on to win the World Series. It was a wonderful trip with many great memories. 😊

[robparadise]

I've been visiting NYC many times since 1967 and this is the Times Square I prefer vs. today with all the crowds, vaping, selfies and vendors. You can barely breathe walking through the crowd, especially in the summer.

[donaldvisconti]

Great video! I graduated High School 2 1/2 months later, on 6/26/66.

[josephoneillify]

My mom was in "The City" that day, downtown in Saint Vincent's hospital, getting ready to give birth to me the next day.

[garrywood]

I was 13 in April 1966...58 years later stood in that spot on the video footage February 2024

[johngranato]

We left NY in 1966, when I was 6. We arrived in Miami on 8-1-66--just outside of Coconut Grove and Biscayne Bay. What a paradise--swimming with fish and manatees, flying kites, riding bikes, climbing trees, playing ball, etc.

[briteness]

I was 5 weeks old when this was filmed. In some ways it is hard to believe that this was shot during my lifetime. Still, I would rather live in that lost world than the trashcan we live in now.

[Pittie]

9 yrs. old...remembering Horn & Hardardt Automat with Pop.

[shiwooify]

I don't know what I enjoyed more, the video or that smashing jazz music!

[brendadrew]

Thanks for the memories! I was 17 and about to graduate from high school in beautiful northeastern NJ where I grew up and after the summer, began to attend Traphagen School of Fashion/art/design in the theater district on West 53rd and 7th Ave. across from the Americana hotel! The school was like Harry Potter's Hogwart school in some ways, very old and rustic and like a Parisian atelier! Loved it and became a professional fashion illustrator working in Manhattan. I grew up going into Manhattan almost every single weekend as my late father belonged to the Downtown Athletic Club where my two older brothers took swim lessons. My father worked around Wall Street and my mother used to drag me all around midtown, lots of fun going shopping and out to eat at Schrafft's! I remember Horn and Hardart as well! ♥♥♥

[plophlegm]

This is the Manhattan I remember. I LOVED going there back then. I was 11, living way out on the North Fork in little Mattituck. It was magical to emerge from the tunnel and be IN THE CITY! I miss those days.

[CarlosPerez-wdzo]

Perfect choice of music for this video make you feel like right there !

[albertvangestal]

The future looked so bright....back then.

[monaural.]

What I wouldn’t have given to have visited the record stores and departments during this period.

[jimvinespresents...]

I was quite young at that time, but I resided in Manhattan, so watching videos like this is always enjoyable for me. Many thanks for posting!

[HeadoftheSeniorClass]

Great video! I ate at that Howard Johnson's dozens of times — and the Automat when we was tykes! 😊

[easkeybikes]

I was 6 days old when this was filmed. Glad to see this is in color!

[mchapman]

I was working on Wall St. at that time. Sometimes after work, we would go get dinner and then go see a movie in Times Square. It was so exciting, lots of fun.

[robmetaldeth]

The kid giving the finger to the camera is a time traveler from today.

[Giovanix]

I think it's so cool to watch these time capsule videos and see what life was like back then .
Especially when you visited this city not to long ago and you see the difference.
Mind boggling but interesting.