Title:
Midcentury Chicago
REEL ID:
L054R005B
RUN TIME:
0:14:03
FORMAT:
16mm motion picture film
FILM TYPE:
Color Kodak Kodachrome
SOUND:
Silent (no synchronized sound
Description:
This color home movie around Chicago, backyard leisure around a swimming pool. Kids splash and swim, one child wanders poolside wearing flippers, and adults gather nearby. Well-dressed men in suits carry briefcases around the pool, creating a striking contrast between business attire and leisure settings. A man takes a telephone call poolside, a woman sunbathes nearby, and another man mows the lawn in the background, underscoring the rhythms of suburban domestic life. Additional vignettes include an older man smoking a cigar, a couple sharing a quiet moment of affection, and women strolling through a garden.
More intimate family scenes unfold as a little girl climbs a tree, later washing her mother’s hair with a garden hose before carefully combing it out—an everyday moment rendered memorable through candid filming. Women sit together talking beneath shaded trees, and a girl dances freely outside, unconcerned with the camera.
Tags:
Chicago, Illinois, Midcentury America, 16mm film, Color home movies, Backyard party, Birthday party, Clown, Birthday cake, Candles, Children playing, Formal attire, Family gathering, Swimming pool, Backyard swimming, Kids swimming, Poolside leisure, Telephone call, Lawn mowing, Garden, Tree climbing, Mother and daughter, Garden hose, Hair washing, Cigar smoking, Couple affection, Women relaxing, Dancing child, City streets, Downtown Chicago, Skyscrapers, Urban traffic, Pedestrians, City life, Americana, Davy Crockett character, Postwar leisure, Vintage lifestyle, Analog film, Nostalgic footage