Local newspaper ads from 1957 still show Arlington as small-town Americana

While Arlington is a city of 400,000 people today, it wasn’t always that way. There was a time when it was a small town, and ads from the local newspaper helped tell the story.

Here is a collection of ads from the October 3, 1957 edition of the Arlington Journal newspaper. While the ads are fun and nostalgic, they’re more historic than you might think. They’re a slice of Americana from a bygone era, telling a story about Arlington, its people, and what life was like in the late 1950s. The ads depict local businesses, what people bought, what was in fashion, the cost of living, entertainment options, and more. Also, the newspaper printed a list of newcomers to Arlington—and their addresses—hardly something you’d see today.

The newspaper ads show the buzz of small-town life—movies playing at the theater, a renewed high school football rivalry, car dealerships selling off inventory, deals at local stores, and the wonder, curiosity, and excitement of the upcoming State Fair. While Arlington is a large, mid-sized city of 400,000 people today, back in the 1950s, it was a small town just beginning to grow. Indeed, in 1950, Arlington’s population was about 7,692 people; by 1960, the population had exploded to 44,775 people.

The 1950s were a period of growth for Arlington, with significant events propelling it forward. When Tom Vandergriff became Arlington’s Mayor in 1951, his leadership and vision would forever alter the trajectory of our town. Over the next decade, he would help bring the General Motors Assembly Plant, the man-made Lake Arlington, the Dallas-Fort Worth Turnpike, Arlington Memorial Hospital, Six Flags Over Texas, and other improvements to Arlington. These achievements would influence housing, employment opportunities, tourism, travel, recreation, and more, fully getting Arlington poised to continue its growth into the 1960s and beyond.