17 Places Families Gathered for Holidays in the 1960s That Vanished

Holidays in the 1960s generally involved exciting public areas with music, food, decorations, and family reunions. Millions of families made holiday memories in huge hotel ballrooms, beautiful tea rooms, busy bowling lanes, and lakeside dance pavilions. Over long winter evenings, adults danced, ate, and celebrated with neighbors as children played beside glowing Christmas trees. Due to suburban development, changing entertainment tastes, dwindling industries, and modern travel tendencies, many of these destinations disappeared. The buildings disappeared, but their memories remained compelling reminders of a time when holiday festivities were highly social, personal, and focused on public experiences.

1. Holiday Inns with Grand Ballrooms

Holiday Inn ballrooms were crowded with families during the 1960s Christmas and New Year celebrations. The halls had large tables with roasted turkey, baked ham, gelatin salads, and silver trays. Parents danced with live bands while kids chased cousins between folding seats. Many hotels hosted holiday buffets with singers, comedians, and colorful decorations on every wall. Cigarette smoke, pine garlands, and coffee on cold evenings. Middle-class families that rarely traveled found these events glamorous. Modern hotels become quieter and business-oriented. Many Holiday Inn ballrooms were renovated, closed, or demolished.

2. Downtown Department Store Tea Rooms

Family Christmas shopping visits used to include exquisite tea salons at downtown department stores. With adorned trees, polished cutlery, and huge festive window displays, Marshall Field’s and Wanamaker’s welcomed crowds. Children watched mechanical holiday displays outside busy elevators while mothers drank coffee. Meeting family there before church or downtown shopping was common for grandparents. Turkey dinners, desserts, and hot cocoa were carried across busy dining floors with laughing and winter coats by waitresses. In the busiest weeks, these tea establishments built a sense of community. Famous tea houses disappeared permanently as downtown retail districts vanished and shopping malls replaced many downtown stores.

3. Roadside Howard Johnson’s Restaurants

The 1960s saw many Thanksgiving and Christmas families stop at Howard Johnson’s. It was pleasant to see their orange roofs on American highways during long holiday trips. Tired passengers ate fried clams, turkey dinners, ice cream, and hot soup while snow fell outside. The colorful booths and famous twenty-eight kinds of ice cream near the counters delighted kids. Parents unfolded paper maps on sticky tables as grandparents told stories. The eateries provided reliable meals and a place for families to reunite during stressful travel seasons. Most original Howard Johnson’s locations gradually disappeared from highways as fast food companies supplanted many wayside diners.

4. Community Fraternal Lodges

In the 1960s, Elks, Moose, and Knights of Columbus lodges hosted holiday parties. Large halls with streamers and lights hosted Christmas dinners, New Year dances, and Thanksgiving socials for families. Local bands played holiday songs late into the night, and folding tables covered full rooms. Kids enjoyed games by coat racks as parents shared homemade casseroles, baked pies, and winter stories. The lodges provided affordable places for working-class communities’ major festivities and rituals. Membership fell as entertainment habits changed and younger people left. Many busy lodges closed, shrunk, or sold their aged buildings.

5. Drive-In Restaurants During Holiday Nights

Holiday evenings at drive-in restaurants were bustling in the 1960s. Carhops sold burgers, fries, and milkshakes as families parked big station wagons under glowing signs in winter. Teens congregated near jukebox speakers while younger kids saw holiday lights through hazy windows. December celebrations included wreaths and colored lights in parking lots. After church or parades, the family ate in warm cars at these restaurants, which made the experience thrilling. There was music, laughter, and the scent of fresh onion rings under neon lights. Drive-in restaurants were supplanted by fast food and indoor dining nationwide.

6. Local Train Station Waiting Rooms

In the 1960s, busy train station waiting rooms became emotional holiday meeting spaces. While soldiers, college students, and relatives exited crowded trains with wrapped gifts and baggage, families reunited beside big clocks. While women held paper cups of coffee, children saw icy tracks through lofty windows. Strangers smiled under Christmas lights as stereos played Christmas music. Some stations had huge trees and little Christmas shows for travelers. These buildings buzzed with excitement, relief, and loud discussions during peak travel seasons. Air travel and automobile expansion greatly curtailed passenger train traffic. Former elegant rail stations in downtown locations closed, decayed, or disappeared.

7. Neighborhood Church Basements

The 1960s saw many holiday meals and gatherings in church basements. Families gathered around long wooden tables with homemade food, metal pitchers, and colorful desserts provided by volunteers. Christmas pageants packed rooms with eager kids in angel costumes and paper crowns. Thanksgiving dinners drew neighbors together for turkey, mashed potatoes, and endless talk following Sunday services. Old radiators sent dry heat while folding chairs scraped on tiled floors. The basement parties felt personal because almost everyone knew each other. Modern families spend more time at restaurants and private venues than in community areas. Many old church basements closed, shrank, or lost social significance.

8. Catskill Mountain Resorts

Holidays in the 1960s brought hundreds of families to New York’s Catskill Mountains. Grossinger’s and the Concord had huge dining halls, comedy acts, indoor pools, and packed dance floors during Christmas vacations. Families spent weeks skiing, eating fancy meals, and going to shows. Children participated in supervised activities as grandparents reclined beside decorated fires. Many Jewish American families searched for friendly holiday resorts and made memories. Catskills tourism declined due to cheap travel and shifting holiday trends. Decades of deterioration led to the closure, ruin, or demolition of most iconic resorts.

9. Urban Movie Palaces

Grand cinema palaces were magical holiday gathering places in the 1960s. Christmas movies, musicals, and specials were shown in huge theaters to families in thick coats under glowing marquees. Velvet drapes, glittering chandeliers, and ornate balconies provided a sumptuous, stimulating ambiance. Parents enjoyed garlanded and lit lobbies while children brought popcorn. Moviegoing became a tradition as neighborhoods attended the same holiday screenings. Smaller multiplex theaters replaced numerous downtown cinemas due to lower operating costs. Most classic cinema theaters closed, became smaller, or left city centers.

10. Bowling Alley Banquet Rooms

The 1960s saw many family holiday parties at bowling lanes. Banquet rooms filled with firm personnel, church groups, and vast extended families celebrating Christmas or New Year. Bright bowling lanes, booming pin machines, and jukebox music kept cold nights pleasant. Near ashtrays and paper party hats, parents giggled as kids rolled heavy bowling balls. Many alleyways featured buffets with sandwiches, fried chicken, potato salad, and holiday-decorated sheet cakes. These places were affordable, active, and welcoming to most local residents. After entertainment patterns evolved, many older bowling alleys shuttered or lost their banquet spaces.

11. Small Town Opera Houses

During the 1960s holidays, little-town opera houses were popular gathering places. These old buildings hosted Christmas concerts, school plays, community dinners, and New Year dances under faded balconies and painted ceilings. Families filled wooden benches as local choirs sang Christmas carols and kids read holiday poems. The buildings smelled of old drapes, polished floors, and radiator-dried winter jackets. Many towns celebrated the same events every year, strengthening communal traditions. Television and other entertainment venues gradually reduced attendance. Many opera halls closed, burned down, or became storage facilities following decades of neglect and financial problems.

12. Holiday Camps in the Poconos

A popular 1960s family vacation spot was the Pocono Mountains. Christmas vacations at cozy campgrounds and lodges included snowy hills, fireplaces, sleigh rides, and festive banquets. While youngsters constructed snowmen or played resort-organized winter games, parents avoided crowded cities. Late-night dining halls served huge dinners under adorned trees. Couples danced to live bands while grandparents drank coffee and told stories in cozy lounges. Holidays at these camps were basic and focused on camaraderie. Modern holiday resorts and air travel have revolutionized tourism trends. Traditional Pocono summer camps shuttered or declined.

13. Downtown Rooftop Restaurants

Downtown rooftop restaurants were popular with families during the 1960s holidays. On Christmas and New Year’s Eve, orchestras played beside packed dance floors in elegant dining rooms overlooking city lights. Families dressed up for costly dinners with roast beef, shellfish, champagne, and desserts. Children looked down over snowy streets with taxis and decorated storefronts through enormous windows. These restaurants represented refinement and celebration when dining out was special for many families. Many rooftop businesses suffered from urban decay, rising prices, and shifting entertainment tastes. Several prominent rooftop restaurants shuttered, renovated into offices, or disappeared from city skylines.

14. Traditional Union Halls

Union halls were popular holiday meeting sites for working families in the 1960s. Steelworkers, manufacturing workers, miners, and railroad workers celebrated Christmas, danced, and had communal dinners in crowded halls with paper streamers and blinking lights. Parents gathered beverages and stories after long workweeks, while children excitedly awaited local volunteers costumed as Santa Claus. Along with raffle prizes and small live bands playing holiday music, homemade dishes filled large buffet tables. In tough economic times, these celebrations strengthened worker-family bonds. Union membership and community participation dropped as manufacturing jobs declined across many regions. Many traditional union halls closed or sat empty.

15. Family Style Cafeterias

Large family-style cafeterias became reliable gathering places during holiday shopping trips in the 1960s. Restaurants like Horn and Hardart welcomed crowds with steaming trays of turkey, mashed potatoes, pies, and baked macaroni displayed behind glass counters. Families carried metal trays through busy serving lines while children carefully balanced desserts and milk cartons. These cafeterias felt comforting because relatives could quickly find affordable meals during long days downtown. Grandparents often preferred them because the menus stayed simple and familiar. Fast food chains and suburban malls later changed dining habits across America. Many classic cafeterias eventually closed, leaving behind memories of noisy dining rooms filled with holiday conversations and clattering dishes.

16. Old Fashioned Roller Rinks

Roller rinks became holiday meeting places in the 1960s. Christmas skating nights with twinkling lights, holiday music, and busy popcorn and beverage bars attracted families. Teens held hands on gleaming floors while younger children balanced against railings. Parents watched from wooden benches as announcers dedicated music over crackling speakers. Winter rinks held costume contests, holiday dances, and community fundraisers. School vacations made buildings lively, boisterous, and exciting. Many local roller rinks struggled with changing entertainment trends, rising property costs, and newer attractions. Many beloved skating centers closed or were dismantled for commercial expansion.

17. Lakeside Dance Pavilions

The 1960s saw numerous communities assemble at lakeside dancing pavilions for holidays. Near ice lakes and calm parks, families held winter banquets, Christmas dances, and New Year’s celebrations in big timber halls. While couples danced under lanterns and holiday decorations, live bands played swing music. Kids played on snowy walks before eating chocolate and pastries on big tables. Towns gathered at these pavilions for entertaining evenings. Over time, television, music, and suburban development limited attendance. After fires, storms, and costly maintenance, many lakeside dancing pavilions closed.

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• 1960s