--- title: Memorial Day Weekend Traffic: See Pictures of 1949's Jams description: In 1949, LIFE magazine captured the huge numbers of cars that swarmed American roads during the Memorial Day holiday. canonical: https://time.com/4340231/memorial-day-traffic-1949/ author: Lily Rothman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-05-27T12:00:42.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:50:29.273Z og:title: Memorial Day Weekend Traffic: See Pictures of 1949's Jams og:description: Cool old cars stuck in not-so-cool old traffic og:url: https://time.com/4340231/memorial-day-traffic-1949/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt60e90dead835aec0/698893b43c1639dcb445d4f6/160518-memorial-day-traffic-01.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2048 og:image:height: 1152 og:image:alt: Memorial Day Traffic 1949 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Memorial Day Weekend Traffic: See Pictures of 1949's Jams twitter:description: Cool old cars stuck in not-so-cool old traffic twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt60e90dead835aec0/698893b43c1639dcb445d4f6/160518-memorial-day-traffic-01.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # See the Dreadful Memorial Day Traffic of 1949 > Sponsored content. 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Worth Your Time is TIME's culture recommendation newsletter, edited by culture editor Eliza Berman. Each week it surfaces the books, shows, films and ideas TIME's editors think are worth your attention, and explains why. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Does TIME have a culture newsletter? Yes. Worth Your Time is TIME's culture newsletter, published weekly. #### Who writes TIME's culture recommendations? Culture editor Eliza Berman writes Worth Your Time, drawing on TIME's critics and culture desk. #### Is Worth Your Time free? Yes. It is a free newsletter available at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-worth-2026q3/newsletters?i=b4705a83-50c3-4f0c-bc26-399439b08d95&cr=time-nl-worth-2026q3-v1) by [Lily Rothman](https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/) and [Liz Ronk](https://time.com/author/liz-ronk/) May 27, 2016 12:00 PM UTC  Traffic jam in New York City on Memorial Day Weekend, 1949. Traffic jam in New York City on Memorial Day Weekend, 1949. Cornell Capa—The LIFE Picture Collecion/Getty Images by [Lily Rothman](https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/) and [Liz Ronk](https://time.com/author/liz-ronk/) May 27, 2016 12:00 PM UTC This Memorial Day weekend, more than 38 million Americans will hit the road in one way or another, according to [AAA projections.](http://newsroom.aaa.com/tag/holiday-travel-forecast/) If the numbers pan out, that will make 2016 the most traveled Memorial Day in a decade, largely thanks to lower gas prices. It will be a chance to get out of the city, have an adventure, see friends and family—with the inevitable result that many, many people will get stuck in traffic at some point over the next couple of days. **MORE:** [7 Things You Didn’t Know About Memorial Day](http://time.com/110697/memorial-day-facts/) But, if it’s any consolation, that’s nothing new. In 1949, LIFE magazine captured the huge numbers of cars that swarmed American roads during the holiday. In New York City and Boston, photographers Cornell Capa, Yale Joel and Tony Linck found that it was bumper-to-bumper. These photographs were never published in the pages of LIFE, but they are as relevant now as they ever were. The makes and models of the cars may have changed—but the aggravating bother that is traffic remains ever the same.  Traffic jam in New York City on Memorial Day Weekend, 1949. Cornell Capa—The LIFE Picture Collecion/Getty Images  Cars approaching the George Washington Bridge in the evening during Memorial Day traffic, 1949. Cornell Capa—The LIFE Picture Collecion/Getty Images  Cars approaching the George Washington Bridge in the evening during Memorial Day weekend, 1949. Cornell Capa—The LIFE Picture Collecion/Getty Images  Cars exiting the George Washington Bridge in the afternoon during Memorial Day traffic, 1949. Cornell Capa—The LIFE Picture Collecion/Getty Images  Cars exiting the George Washington Bridge in the afternoon during Memorial Day, 1949. Cornell Capa—The LIFE Picture Collecion/Getty Images  Cars driving in bumper to bumper traffic on Memorial Day in Boston, 1949. Yale Joel—The LIFE Picture Collecion/Getty Images  Cars driving slowly through the Sumner tunnel during Memorial Day traffic, Boston, 1949. Yale Joel—The LIFE Picture Collecion/Getty Images  Cars filling the parking lots on Memorial Day. Boston, 1949. 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