The 1950s Consumer Exhibit at San Francisco Airport Terminal
Recently on a layover in San Francisco we found a wonderful exhibit of 1950s consumer objects. The exhibit is the San Francisco Airport and features objects, photography and advertising material from the 1950s.
Our favorite part was the wonderful radios. This Philco was fantastic, what color!
Some others include this nice pink Westinghouse radio.
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We get the pink Westinghouse in stock from time to time.
We also enjoyed this "Pillow Speaker Radio" in the most 1950s color: pastel green. Love the photo with the classic car at Ravenwood Motel.
Radios were featured in the exhibit as examples of the Mid-century technology.
"Mid-century radios were available in a variety of bold shapes and angular designs. As new technologies allowed for increasingly compact and affordable sets, radios were advertised for every room of the house. For the fist time, radios made their way into the bedrooms and morning routines with the introduction of combination alarm clock sets. By the end of the decade, tiny, electrical transistors started to replace vacuum tubes, and radios became even more portable. Some radios even pioneered alternative power sources, such as the solar- and battery-powered Hoffman Trans-Solar hybrid-portable."
- #SFO Museum
We also loved all the car advertisement pictures! If you are interested in seeing more here is the link to the museum website with a nice write-up on the exhibit: https://www.flysfo.com/museum/exhibitions/modern-consumer
The car art was also good. These are some nice large size drawing of classic Americana like this Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight De Luxe Holiday Sedan from 1956, epic.
This 1956 Cadillac Sedan De Ville in pink with a black vinyl top and white wall tires has an undeniable design aesthetic missed today. No wonder retro radio collectors are often "car heads" too. We are!
Another favorite was this homage to the Drive-In. Boy, don't you miss it, too?
Finally, there was quite a bit of television, that other 1950s appliance.
And we liked the clocks from George Nelsen.
And a gratuitous shot of wonderful 1950s design aesthetic:
For years we've been saying "this thing belongs in a museum!"