See the Dreadful Memorial Day Traffic of 1949

1 minute read

This Memorial Day weekend, more than 38 million Americans will hit the road in one way or another, according to AAA projections. 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

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 jams on Memorial Day weekend in 1949.
Traffic jam in New York City on Memorial Day Weekend, 1949.Cornell Capa—The LIFE Picture Collecion/Getty Images
Traffic jams on Memorial Day weekend in 1949.
Cars approaching the George Washington Bridge in the evening during Memorial Day traffic, 1949.Cornell Capa—The LIFE Picture Collecion/Getty Images
Traffic jams on Memorial Day weekend in 1949.
Cars approaching the George Washington Bridge in the evening during Memorial Day weekend, 1949.Cornell Capa—The LIFE Picture Collecion/Getty Images
Traffic jams on Memorial Day weekend in 1949.
Cars exiting the George Washington Bridge in the afternoon during Memorial Day traffic, 1949.Cornell Capa—The LIFE Picture Collecion/Getty Images
Traffic jams on Memorial Day weekend in 1949.
Cars exiting the George Washington Bridge in the afternoon during Memorial Day, 1949.Cornell Capa—The LIFE Picture Collecion/Getty Images
Traffic jams on Memorial Day weekend in 1949.
Cars driving in bumper to bumper traffic on Memorial Day in Boston, 1949.Yale Joel—The LIFE Picture Collecion/Getty Images
Traffic jams on Memorial Day weekend in 1949.
Cars driving slowly through the Sumner tunnel during Memorial Day traffic, Boston, 1949.Yale Joel—The LIFE Picture Collecion/Getty Images
Traffic jams on Memorial Day weekend in 1949.
Cars filling the parking lots on Memorial Day. Boston, 1949.Tony Linck—The LIFE Picture Collecion/Getty Images

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Write to Lily Rothman at lily.rothman@time.com