New York City - 1956

This video is a promotional film shot in 1956. I was born in 1954, so this film is the New York I remember from about 1958-1965. After that it was all downhill. Of interesting note are the 2 ships shown passing the Statue of Liberty; the first one is the USS Nautilus, the first nuclear powered submarine; and the next ship you see after that is the SS United States, which still holds the official record for a commercial crossing of the Atlantic, set in 1952. There are naval ships today which can undoubtedly make the trip in less time, but the east bound commercial record set by the SS United States in July of 1952, which was 3 days, 10 hours and 40 minutes still remains unbroken.

In many ways, New York is a timeless city. Although much of the technology has changed, and the clothes as well, New York still remains the giant melting pot which it has always been. May it ever be so.