Maplewood, Mid-Century

I recently acquired  a 20 minute reel of 16mm silent color home movies, shot in Maplewood, New Jersey, in the 1950s-60s. In it are typical scenes of a family’s life; Church, Christmas, Halloween, hanging out at the pool, etc. Interspersed with this are scenes around Maplewood that any resident will easily recognize. Cars and clothes have changed, but the buildings and landscape remain much the same.

The filmographer apparently loved Guilbert & Betelle’s Maplewood Municipal Building, which is featured heavily (Columbia High School also makes a brief appearance). I’ve added some music and edited the film to focus on these aspects. Enjoy.

 

6 thoughts on “Maplewood, Mid-Century

  1. Pingback: Tweets that mention Maplewood, Mid-Century » James Betelle, Where Are You? -- Topsy.com

  2. Frank

    Love the second video. As a new resident in Maplewood, I’ve been running around with my camcorder taking some of the same pictures!

    The first video seems to have been blocked by EMI because of the music. I’d love to see it- even without a soundtrack!

    Thanks for sharing this- great stuff!
    -FV

  3. Steve Weintraub Post author

    It’s actually the same video–I posted it again quickly so people can see it. Glad you enjoyed!

    By the way, the audio was the song, “One for My Baby”, sung by Sinatra. So cue that up and watch it for the full effect.

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