The 1950's Ice Cream Parlor

The classic image of the ice cream parlor is indelible in nostalgia pieces about the 1950’s and 1960’s. TV programs, films, magazines and even pop art recreate the image of the classic ice cream parlor so often that the ice cream parlor quickly arises to an image of Americana that is firmly entrenched.

In the days when home entertainment was relatively limited and what did exist was cumbersome and expensive, there was far more emphasis on going out to have fun. In a similar vein, the Drive-In movie theater reached significant levels of popularity for the same reason as an ice cream parlor: it was a place to go to get out of the house.

Although the ice cream parlor was a hang out for teens, it was not a hang out that was associated with rebellion. It did not have an image associated with anti-authoritarianism. Its image was firmly entrenched in being associated with the traditional family values that were commonly represented at the time. Granted, in reality, this idealized vision of the world was not always accurate, but it did create a sense of order that was a far cry from the chaos that would later envelop other decades.

Now, this does not mean that parlors do not exist in today’s day and age. Parlors will always be around in one way, shape or form. But, those that exist today are a far cry from the massive popularity these hang outs represented in a previous decade.

Perhaps too much of this has to do with all those take home ice cream gallons that seemed to become en vogue in the 1970’s. (The 1970’s really had the ability to ruin anything) But, whatever the state of parlors may be today, the classic image of the 1950’s parlor will live on in pop culture forever.