25 photos that show how different traveling was 100 years ago

Talia LakritzJan 12, 2024, 20:13 IST

A glamorous cruise ship back in the day.Topical Press Agency/Getty Images

In the 1920s, plane windows were just open holes, and airports were more like garages.
During the Prohibition era, cargo trains were searched for alcohol.

Life 100 years ago was different in many ways, especially when it came to traveling.

Driving cross-country, boarding a train, or hopping on a cruise ship looked much different in the 1920s than it does today.

Here's a look back at what traveling was like 100 years ago.

Commercial flights have been taking to the skies for more than a century. In the early 1920s, aviator Alfred W. Lawson built a series of passenger aircrafts with mixed success.

Alfred W. Lawson with one of his planes in 1920.AP

Commercial flights have been taking to the skies for more than a century. In the early 1920s, aviator Alfred W. Lawson built a series of passenger aircrafts with mixed success.

Passengers boarded planes through small doors at ground level, not enormous terminals and insulated walkways.

A group of passengers boarding a Lufthansa Dornier Komet III plane in 1926.Str/AP

Plane windows were just open holes.

Aviator Charles Lindbergh in the Spirit of St. Louis monoplane in 1927.Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images

Airports weren't the glorified shopping malls they are today.

Northwest Orient Airlines' airport in 1926.AP

In the 1920s, airports were more like garages.

Charles Lindbergh's Spirit of St. Louis sits at the Concord, New Hampshire, Airport in July 1927.AP

Airplane passengers used to fly in bow ties and fashionable hats.

Honolulu aviator Martin Jensen and his wife Marguerita Jensen, who was also a pilot, pose for a photo in 1927.AP

Railroads were a popular mode of transportation in the 1920s.

The Camelback #592 locomotive, originally built in 1901.AP

As with flying, passengers traveled in style.

P.G. Wodehouse, with his wife Ethel (right) and daughter Leonora in 1929.AP

In transit, movies were projected onto the carriage wall in cozy theaters lined with curtains and rows of chairs.

Passengers watch a film starring Gary Cooper aboard a US railway train in 1925.Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Blizzards slowed down travel in the 1920s, too.

The Empire State Express in Syracuse during a blizzard in 1924.AP

During the Prohibition era, cargo trains were searched for alcohol.

Authorities confiscate whiskey in 1929.AP

By the 1920s, automobiles had been around for a few decades.

Flappers piled into a car in 1929.Puttnam /Topical Press Agency/Getty Images

Gas stations used to look like main street-style buildings with curbside gas pumps.

Lawrence's Garage in Brixton, London, in 1924.National Motor Museum/Heritage Images via Getty Images

Birthday road trips looked a little different back then.

Mayor Charles F. Sullivan of Worcester, Massachusetts, drives a one-cylinder Cadillac on his birthday in 1923.AP

Traffic cops' uniforms in the 1920s featured double-breasted jackets and white gloves.

A traffic cop in New York City in 1929.Irving Browning/The New York Historical Society/Getty Images

There was no GPS or internet to search for driving directions.

A map of New York in 1927.Historic Map Work/Getty Images Plus

There were no built-in navigation systems or touchscreen on the dashboard, either.

A close-up view of the interior of a Ford car in 1927.Bettmann/Contributor/Getty Images

Bus tickets were dispensed on little paper tags.

A man taking a ticket at a bus stop in Paris in 1929.Fox Photos/Getty Images

Tourists dressed up to ride sightseeing buses, which were then small electric vehicles.

An electric sightseeing bus in New York City in 1920.Bettmann/Contributor/Getty Images

The New York City subway used to cost a nickel.

The New York City subway in the early 1920s.FPG/Getty Images

Cruising in the 1920s was the height of luxury.

The Canadian Pacific liner Duchess of Bedford in 1928.Hulton Archive/Getty Images Plus

Cruise-ship passengers dressed in tailored suits and spiffy hats.

A glamorous cruise ship back in the day.Topical Press Agency/Getty Images

Dances were a popular social activity on cruise ships.

Guests dancing in the ballroom aboard Cunard liner Berengaria.Puttnam/Getty Images

To relax, passengers wore one-piece jumpsuit-style bathing suits to swim in cruise-ship pools.

Passengers sitting on the side of the swimming pool aboard the liner Berengaria in 1922.Topical Press Agency/Getty Images

Cruise ships remain a glamorous way to travel today.

Two women enjoying the sea breeze from the deck of the Golden Eagle liner in 1923.Topical Press Agency/Getty Images

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25 photos that show how different traveling was 100 years ago

Commercial flights have been taking to the skies for more than a century. In the early 1920s, aviator Alfred W. Lawson built a series of passenger aircrafts with mixed success.

Passengers boarded planes through small doors at ground level, not enormous terminals and insulated walkways.

Plane windows were just open holes.

Airports weren't the glorified shopping malls they are today.

In the 1920s, airports were more like garages.

Airplane passengers used to fly in bow ties and fashionable hats.

Railroads were a popular mode of transportation in the 1920s.

As with flying, passengers traveled in style.

In transit, movies were projected onto the carriage wall in cozy theaters lined with curtains and rows of chairs.

Blizzards slowed down travel in the 1920s, too.

During the Prohibition era, cargo trains were searched for alcohol.

By the 1920s, automobiles had been around for a few decades.

Gas stations used to look like main street-style buildings with curbside gas pumps.

Birthday road trips looked a little different back then.

Traffic cops' uniforms in the 1920s featured double-breasted jackets and white gloves.

There was no GPS or internet to search for driving directions.

There were no built-in navigation systems or touchscreen on the dashboard, either.

Bus tickets were dispensed on little paper tags.

Tourists dressed up to ride sightseeing buses, which were then small electric vehicles.

The New York City subway used to cost a nickel.

Cruising in the 1920s was the height of luxury.

Cruise-ship passengers dressed in tailored suits and spiffy hats.

Dances were a popular social activity on cruise ships.

To relax, passengers wore one-piece jumpsuit-style bathing suits to swim in cruise-ship pools.

Cruise ships remain a glamorous way to travel today.