Color Photos Reveal What the Great Depression Was Really Like

The Great Depression was one of the darkest periods and worst economic disasters in U.S. History. It began with the stock market crash of 1929 and lasted ten years – the longest and most severe period ever experienced by a country in the industrialized world.

Nothing brings to life the hardships of the period and the sheer desperation felt by those who had to suffer through it like photographic images taken at the time. 24/7 Tempo combed through the photo archives of Getty Images and the Library of Congress to assemble an album of the struggles of the Great Depression captured in haunting images, mostly taken in the United States. Information about the Great Depression came from sources including the New York Times , History , and Britannica .

The unemployment rate in the U.S. was 3.2% before Black Tuesday, what the stock market crash of October 29, 1929, became known as. At its peak in 1933, 12,830,000 people, or almost 25% of the workforce, had no jobs. For those still employed, their wages plummeted by more than 42%. To cope with these effects, people canned food, planted their own gardens and did without certain staples. ( See what people ate during the great depression .)

So that you can feel what it was like to live through these desperate times, we added color to iconic photos from the era.

Outside the Stock Exchange (1929)

People gathered outside the New York Stock Exchange in downtown Manhattan a few days after the “Black Tuesday” crash, in which investors traded in about 16 million shares, resulting in billions of dollars lost.

Desperate for Information

The energy of the anxious crowd is clearer with color.

Chrysler for Sale, Cheap(1929)

In one of the most iconic Depression-era photos, bankrupt modeling agent Walter Clarence Thornton desperately tries to sell his luxury roadster – a 1928 Chrysler Imperial 75 Roadster – for $100 cash (about $1,735 in today’s dollars).

A Bargain

Color shows just how stylish this classic car is.

A Hooverville Shack (1929)

Several men and a boy stand outside a shack in a shantytown. These homeless camps were known as Hoovervilles, after President Herbert Hoover. who was blamed for the poor economic conditions because he was resistant to government aid and intervention.

Poor Living Conditions

In color, the reality of this desperate situation seems more real.

Tracking the Market in London (1929)

A young telephone operator at the St. Phalle Ltd. club in London marks the plummeting share value of stocks, received from New York via a telephone headset, on a blackboard, while investors watch to know when to buy and sell.

Tumbling Prices

You get a better sense of the anxiety of the scene in color.

Resting Up (1929)

Stockbrokers and their clerks rest or sleep in a gym after working into the early hours of Wednesday, Oct. 30, 1929, following the market crash.

Improvised Bedrooms

The warmth and detail become more apparent in color.

Lining up for Dinner (circa 1930)

A lineup of unemployed and homeless people, usually men, waiting outside a municipal lodging house for a free dinner.

Job Search

In color you get a better sense of how many people there are in this line.

Trying to Make a Living (1930)

In New York, as elsewhere around the country, some people who’d lost their jobs after the market crash tried to make a living by selling apples on the street. Joseph Sicker, chairman of the International Apple Shippers’ Association at the time, gave apples to unemployed people to sell.

Fruit For Sale

Color reveals the detail of the hastily-put-together stalls!

At The Soup Kitchen (1930)

More than a year after Black Tuesday, hungry men of all ages have gathered at a Salvation Army soup kitchen. Dolly Gann (left), half-sister of Vice-President Charles Curtis, helps serve the meals.

Handing Out Food

As color is added. the desperate expressions on the men’s faces become clearer.

Waiting for Work (1931)

Unemployed men gather at a dockyard, hoping to get hired, even if only temporarily.

Some Jobs Available

In color it is striking that the men are wearing almost identical outfits.

Women Hoping for a Job (1931)

Women line up on a sidewalk in London, hoping for employment. In the background is the Royalty Theatre – where, ironically, a play called “Money! Money!!” is being performed.

Hoping for a Job

Color reveals their facial expressions and many are looking optimistic.

Keeping the Men in Line (1931)

A crowd of unemployed men waits outside an Emergency Unemployment Relief registration office, city unknown. Sometimes thousands of people gathered, waiting to register, and riots sometimes broke out – explaining the police presence here.

Law and Order

You can feel the energy of this confrontation in color.

Unemployment in L.A. (1932)

Thousands of jobless people gather on a Los Angeles street to protest the lack of employment or relief funds. When the police arrive, they arrest group leaders, alleged to be Communist agitators.

Arrests Made

In color you are struck by how many people are on the street

Vote for Roosevelt (1932)

New York Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt is greeted by a large crowd while campaigning in Indianapolis on Oct. 30. Eight days later, he was to be elected president, using his office to create a plan that became known as The New Deal, which had three goals: relief, recovery, and reform.

Political Change

Detail and energy are added to this capture by the color.

Demanding Their Bonuses (1932)

Police stop members of the Bonus Expeditionary Force, also known as the Bonus Army, a group of some 17,000 World War I unemployed veterans and their families and supporters, who marched on the nation’s capital to demand full payment of their war bonuses.

Demanding Their Rights

In color it is more obvious that there are very few officers holding back a huge crowd!

Hoping for City Jobs (1933)

Thousands of unemployed men gather in front of the Home Relief Bureau on 23rd Street in New York City waiting to register for city jobs.

Many Applicants

Color reveals the detail of the smart outfits.

Getting Lucky in Memphis (circa 1934)

Workers wait for jobs outside the State Unemployment Office in Memphis. Compared to other big cities in the South, Memphis was spared the worst effects of the Depression, as it had a diversified local economy and was a trading center for the region.

Could Be Worse

Color adds light to this scene – it looks like a summer’s day.

On the Job in San Francisco (1934)

The Civil Works Administration was a short-lived New Deal job creation program offering manual-labor jobs to millions of unemployed workers. These CWA laborers push wheelbarrows full of dirt to fill a gully during the construction of the Lake Merced Parkway Boulevard.

Construction Work

Color highlights the lack of machinery compared to today’s construction sites.

Happy to Be Heading off to Work (circa 1935)

Men wave as a train pulls out to take them to jobs with the Civilian Conservation Corps, one of the most famous New Deal initiatives – a work relief program that employed young men in environmental projects, which helped the country’s national and state park systems.

Wave Goodbye

In color you can see the joy on their faces as they head off to work.

Children in Poverty (circa 1935)

Impoverished children sit outside an Arkansas rehabilitation clinic. Juvenile malnourishment was common during the Depression, and many young children were orphaned.

Childhood Poverty

In color the scene seems even more desperate.

Desperate for Something to Eat (circa 1935)

People wait in a bread line in an unidentified city.

Snaking Bread Line

Color adds scale and light to this image.

A Walking Résumé (1935)

In another of the most iconic images from the Great Depression, an unemployed man wears his qualifications on a signboard.

Job Application

In color you can get a better sense of the desperation.

Soup and Bread (1935)

Unemployed men eating a free meal of soup, bread, and coffee at Bernarr Macfadden’s Penny Cafeteria, a vegetarian restaurant in Manhattan. Macfadden was an early advocate of bodybuilding and healthy eating and established the Macfadden Foundation, which opened schools, physical training centers, and restaurants for the unemployed.

A Welcome Meal

In color it looks as if these men are on their way home from work.

Time to Relax (circa 1935)

Men working on a New Deal public works project in an unidentified location take a break for some horseplay.

Having Fun

Color adds movement and energy to the scene.

Making Repairs (1935)

A homeless man fixes his overcoat, which he hopes to barter, possibly for food. Meeting places where the homeless barter goods were not uncommon during the Great Depression.

Stitching a Seam

In color we can see the detailing on the coat.

Homes for the Homeless (1935)

Unemployed people live in huts made of salvaged materials in Greenwich Village, some decorated with pictures to make them more like home. The image was taken by Berenice Abbott, one of the most famous American photographers of the 20th century.

Salvaged Materials

In color you can see the pictures hanging from the makeshift homes.

A Mother’s Despair (1936)

The legendary Dorothea Lange took this image of migrant mother Florence Thompson holding her baby and flanked by two of her seven children at a farm workers’ camp in Nipomo, California – not only one of the most famous photos symbolizing the grinding poverty of the Great Depression but also one of the most famous pictures ever taken.

Impossible Predicament

The depth of this mother’s despair is accentuated by the color.

Getting Some Relief (1936)

Unemployed men in Imperial Valley, California waiting to collect their relief checks. President Franklin D. Roosevelt authorized about $5 million in work-relief programs when he signed the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act in 1935, still the largest syste m of public-assistan ce relief programs in U.S. history.

Better Than Nothing

Color adds atmosphere to this sad scene.

Children on the Picket Line (1937)

Children in Minnesota carry picket signs at a demonstration for the Workers Alliance of America – a short-lived organization that tried to unionize and represent people working on projects for the Works Progress Administration, another New Deal program.

Standing up for Dad

Color reveals the sunlight shining on these children’s faces.

A Man and His Mules (1938)

A client of the Farm Security Administration – a New Deal agency that aimed to help poor farmers, sharecroppers, and migrant workers – near Morganza, Louisiana.

Pulling a Cart

You can see the detail of the ground and vegetation in color.

Bank Failure (1939)

Representatives of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) posted a notice announcing that the New Jersey Title Guarantee and Trust Company in Jersey City has failed. The notice reassures investors that they will lose very little money because all deposits up to $5,000 are protected.

Protected Deposits

Color adds life to the facial expressions in this scene.

Under The Bridge (1940)

The Great Depression is considered to have ended in 1939, but its effects lingered on, as seen by these squatter shacks under the D Street Bridge in Marysville, California, early in 1940.

Squatter Shacks

In color this capture looks even more pitiful.

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