OpenTube

Street Life in Chicago 1930s in color [60fps, Remastered] Sound Design

NASS

288,587 views

I colorized, fully restored, and added immersive sound design to this rare footage capturing the streets of Chicago in the 1930s were a vivid blend of resilience and struggle. Crowded sidewalks bustled with street vendors, newsboys, and workers rushing between factories, department stores, and elevated train stations. Immigrant communities shaped entire neighborhoods, bringing a rich mix of languages, traditions, and storefronts that lined the busy avenues. Yet beneath the city’s vibrant daily life, the economic hardship of the era was unmistakable: long breadlines, men searching desperately for work, and families doing everything they could to endure one of the most challenging periods in American urban history.

Video Restoration Process:
✔ FPS boosted to 60 frames per second
✔ Image resolution boosted up to HD
✔ Improved video sharpness and brightness
✔ Colorized only for the ambiance (not historically accurate)
✔added sound only for the ambiance
✔restoration:(stabilisation,denoise,cleand,deblur)

Please, be aware that colorization colors are not real and fake, colorization was made only for the ambiance and do not represent real historical data.

B&W Video Source: National Archives and Records Administration

We would like to extend our special thanks to Scott (@JaySverisson) for his invaluable assistance in identifying and recommending these sequences.

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📨 Contact me at :nassthegoodman@gmail.com
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20 Comments

@NASS_0 Creator 9 months ago Pinned

"If you could travel to the 1930s, which city would you choose???? 🚂✨"

@ssglopezvm 9 months ago (edited)

Remarkable footage. My grandmother was born in 1927. She’s still alive. She’s 99

@michaelscordo256 9 months ago

Good to see that passed out guy was breathing!

@71beowulf 9 months ago

My late Mother was born in Chicago in '36 and told stories of the cold water flat they lived in . They shared a bathroom with 5 other families in basically a converted attic space on Clark Street. Playing in alleys was a favorite past time but dangerous because of winos and bums. Incredible time in history.

@eddieconpam 9 months ago

My father who was born in 1924 in Cicero was a Jockey at Sportsman's Park and Washington Park, late 30s and early 40s. He passed away 2yrs ago in AZ.

@89DrFunk 9 months ago

Buddy trying to hop the fence at the 7:39 mark didn't stand a chance....LOL

@Blueheartgirl1234 3 months ago (edited)

My Mom was born in 1928 on the south side of Chicago in a Polish Catholic neighborhood. I wish she were still here to show her these videos. I remember her telling stories of sleeping three to a bed as kids and her father, a tailor, using the sidewalk to file his fingernails.
All I know is growing up she could stretch a lb of ground beef to feed a family of six. She sewed our clothes as kids, saved every plastic margarine container, box, and piece of aluminum foil to reuse, and understandably hated any food waste. I have adopted not all, but some of her philosophies. So glad this channel showed up in my YouTube feed. 🙏🏻♥️

@wesinman2312 6 months ago

I like these old films, I get to see what life was like for my parents who were still children in the 30s.

@katharine5606 9 months ago (edited)

Long line at the Chicago Relief Administration during the Great Depression… My 95 year old father has many tales of how they got through the depression. Just as in the film, he played ball for hours outside in the streets or alleys. And he collected scrap materials to sell to help the family like it appears others are seen doing. I just looked up the Chicago Maternity Center seen at 29:59 and the history is super interesting! Thanks!

@blkirish88 3 months ago

So strange to think that virtually all of these people are dead now, most of them for a long time

@davidnelson2472 3 months ago

My mom was a kindergartener at O’Toole school on the south side of Chicago when this was filmed in 1939 (I was able to date it from the political posters). She met her best friend there and they still talk on the phone every other day!

@shadykatie100 9 months ago

One of the best channels on youtube! Wonderful videos all the time.

@stircrazie 9 months ago

Unbelievable time, can't get enough of this. I need more

@Davidvay-j6l 9 months ago

It's amazing to have these glimpses of our past. Our youth can watch these and learn a few things when they take the time.

@joehorecny7835 9 months ago

I grew up in the Pilsen area (18th & Morgan) in the 60s. I remember those cast iron "pipe" fences, and the wrought iron "spike" fences, like the gentleman was climbing over, they were all over the neighbor hood. My mom worked at the Produce Market as a bookkeeper for a short while. I used to walk her home sometimes. Boy the 30's footage looked as how I remembered it in the 60s, like time stood still, except for the cars/clothes/etc. My mom told us stories about the depression, I wish I had a deeper discussion about it now. My Dad's family was lucky to be part of the working percentage at the time, so he didn't struggle as much as my mom did. Both were kids during the depression. Great job at restoring this film, Great Job!

@BLACKBIRDier 9 months ago

Kid got dared to poke that guy with a stick to see if he was dead 😂

@JohnMcaulay-gp6nb 9 months ago

Simply one of your very best restorations Nass, and that's saying something. Watched twice in a row. God tier work Nass. Thank you once again, from Glasgow, Scotland.

@aprilflynn 9 months ago

It's so eerie when someone in this video stares into the camera lens. It's like they know they are ghosts, long dead, looking at us now, saying something, maybe "Learn from this. Don't let it happen again."

@AmberWavesofGrain5 3 months ago

So many birds and people communicating and kids able to play safely with barely any traffic or violence outside

@Buckshot9796 9 months ago

Make no mistake, this is a country headed for the brink of collapse. Had an old German immigrant neighbor, who when explaining his experience in the Depression would look at me and say " You can't possibly understand how it was".