Amazing colorized photos that bring 1930s America to life

Author

Eleanor Gray

Published Apr 04, 2026

Last updated on February 2nd, 2023 at 03:29 am

The 1930s was a tumultuous period in United States history. The Great Depression left millions out of work, causing tremendous suffering throughout the country.

Yet it could also be seen as a decade when Americans came together to lift each other in times of trouble.

Here are a series of colorized photographs that bring back the US during the 1930s to vivid life, providing insight into how people lived during such a trying era.

Three unemployed men wait outside the Salvation Army, San Francisco, California, 1939. Photo by Dorothea Lange. Color by sebcolorisation.

A couple and their Cadillac V-16 automobile. Harlem, New York City, 1932. Photo by James Van Der Zee. Color by retrograde_colour.

A family photographed at their home in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, July 1938. Photo by Arthur Rothstein. Color by sebcolorisation

Santa shakes hands with Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Central Park, New York City, December 1935. Color by color_byangelina

Carpenter’s Drive-in Restaurant, Hollywood, Los Angeles, 1932. Color by color_byangelina

Cowhands and girls, Custer National Forest, Montana, 1939. Photo by Arthur Rothstein. Color by JSK.

Descendants of slaves of the Pettway Plantation, Gees Bend, Alabama, February 1937. Photo by Arthur Rothstein. Color by Rishi Colors.

A lady with the Ford, US, 1935. Color by Rishi Colors.

Main street, West, Texas, November 1939. Photo by Russell Lee. Color by sebcolorisation

On the road with her family one month out South Dakota, Tulelake, California, September 1939. Photo by Dorothea Lange. Color by sebcolorisation.

Young packinghouse workers. Canal Point, Florida, February 1939. Photo by Marion Post Wolcott. Color by sebcolorisation.

Buyers and farmers wait outside a warehouse during auction sales, Durham, North Carolina, November 1939. Photo by Marion Post Wolcott. Color by sebcolorisation.

Farmers wait outside a warehouse during a tobacco auction sale. Durham, North Carolina, November 1939. Photo by Marion Post Wolcott. Color by sebcolorisation.

LIFE magazine photographer Margaret Bourke-White takes a photo from the 61st floor of the Chrysler Building, New York City, 1934. Color by sebcolorisation.

New York City on a rainy evening in 1939. Color by sebcolorisation.

Sunbathing, Revere Beach, USA, 1937. Color by sebcolorisation.

Lines of cars along highway before a Duke Carolina football game, Durham, North Carolina, November 1939. Photo by Marion Post Wolcott. Color by sebcolorisation.

State capitol, Des Moines, Iowa, September 1939 Photo by Arthur Rothstein. Color by sebcolorisation.

Radio Row, NYC, April 8 1936 Photo by Berenice Abbott. Color by sebcolorisation.

Miami Beach, Florida, 1939. Photo by Marion Post Wolcott. Color by sebcolorisation.

Two girls sunbathing, Revere beach, Massachusetts, 1937. Photo by Leslie Jones. Color by sebcolorisation.

Pontiac convertible coupe at Tanforan racetrack, San Bruno, April 17, 1935. Color by sebcolorisation.

Migrant workers near Prague, Oklahoma. Photo by Russell Lee in June 1939. Color by sebcolorisation.

MacAdams & Morford Drugstore, Lexington, Kentucky, 1939. Color by sebcolorisation.

Garment workers leave the factories for lunch, New York City, June 1936. Photo by Dorothea Lange. Color by sebcolorisation.

If you enjoyed this post, check out our photo series of colorized photos of the US in the 1940s.

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