Skip to content
News | Vintage: Celebrating the New Year in Chicago
73°F
Friday, July 10th 2026

eNewspaper

Trending:

George Jaeger, left, Elaine Restis, Patricia Ramsey, Harold Restis, Lorraine Brogan, Bob Conrad and Dudle Sills make noise at a Chicago hotel to welcome 1946.
Chicago Tribune historical photo
George Jaeger, left, Elaine Restis, Patricia Ramsey, Harold Restis, Lorraine Brogan, Bob Conrad and Dudle Sills make noise at a Chicago hotel to welcome 1946.

Vintage: Celebrating the New Year in Chicago

Chicago Tribune
By
PUBLISHED: | UPDATED:
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
George Jaeger, left, Elaine Restis, Patricia Ramsey, Harold Restis, Lorraine Brogan, Bob Conrad and Dudle Sills make noise at a Chicago hotel to welcome 1946.
George Jaeger, left, Elaine Restis, Patricia Ramsey, Harold Restis, Lorraine Brogan, Bob Conrad and Dudle Sills make noise at a Chicago hotel to welcome 1946.
Servicemen and junior hostesses celebrate the ushering in of the new year with a dance on Dec. 31, 1955.
Servicemen and junior hostesses celebrate the ushering in of the new year with a dance on Dec. 31, 1955.
Norman Bensinger and Helen English celebrate with sparkling wine at the Drake Hotel on New Year's Eve on the last day of 1940.
Norman Bensinger and Helen English celebrate with sparkling wine at the Drake Hotel on New Year’s Eve on the last day of 1940.
A crowd on State Street rings in 1937 at the stroke of midnight.
A crowd on State Street rings in 1937 at the stroke of midnight.
Miss 1944 “Maryea” stands on a platform and is pushed through the Edgewater Beach Hotel ringing a bell to wish everyone a “Happy New Year’s” on New Year’s Eve in 1943.
New Year’s Day babies born on Jan. 1, 1939, at one Chicago hospital. A poem by Paul T. Gilbert was published with the photo and it read: “They greet the dawn of a New Year;/ In them Tomorrow’s hopes we see,/ Each little life a promise dear . . . “
Lois Okerberg, left, Louis Cohen and Edgar Born celebrate at the Chicago Service Men's Center on Dec. 31, 1945.
Lois Okerberg, left, Louis Cohen and Edgar Born celebrate at the Chicago Service Men’s Center on Dec. 31, 1945.
Members of Engine Company 11 spend New Year's Eve playing checkers in 1937 in the station on East Austin Avenue.
Members of Engine Company 11 spend New Year’s Eve playing checkers in 1937 in the station on East Austin Avenue.
Orie and Charles Ritchie celebrated their 50th New Year's Eve as a married couple on Dec. 31, 1946.
Orie and Charles Ritchie celebrated their 50th New Year’s Eve as a married couple on Dec. 31, 1946.
City street worker Nick Fara scoops up confetti and other festive debris left by Chicagoans celebrating the arrival of 1946.
City street worker Nick Fara scoops up confetti and other festive debris left by Chicagoans celebrating the arrival of 1946.
Military policemen A.W. Terbush, left, and John Meyers, right, keep their focus amid New Year's revelers at the Chicago Servicemen's Center on Dec. 31, 1941.
Military policemen A.W. Terbush, left, and John Meyers, right, keep their focus amid New Year’s revelers at the Chicago Servicemen’s Center on Dec. 31, 1941.
Some lively gents hoist their glass toward Marie Jones during a New Year's Eve party at the Congress Hotel in 1941.
Some lively gents hoist their glass toward Marie Jones during a New Year’s Eve party at the Congress Hotel in 1941.
The women of the armed forces spell out 1944 and, standing with the soldiers and officers, convey the wartime message of giving the enemy a “knockout blow.”
Irene Bachus, 17, poses for a photographer after being named Miss 1946 at a party at the Edgewater Beach Hotel in Chicago.
Irene Bachus, 17, poses for a photographer after being named Miss 1946 at a party at the Edgewater Beach Hotel in Chicago.
Darlyne Garner, 21, left, and Marilyn Axen, 20, rest their feet after walking through the New Year's Eve festivities in the Loop on Dec. 31, 1950.
Darlyne Garner, 21, left, and Marilyn Axen, 20, rest their feet after walking through the New Year’s Eve festivities in the Loop on Dec. 31, 1950.
The weather was almost freezing on New Year's Day in 1937, but warm enough to lure horseback riders with jaunty hats to the bridle path in Lincoln Park.
The weather was almost freezing on New Year’s Day in 1937, but warm enough to lure horseback riders with jaunty hats to the bridle path in Lincoln Park.
Michele McGarry, 4, and Julie Terrill, 2, make noise for a Tribune photographer at the Sheraton Hotel early on Dec. 31, 1958.
Michele McGarry, 4, and Julie Terrill, 2, make noise for a Tribune photographer at the Sheraton Hotel early on Dec. 31, 1958.
Singer Yole O'Bryn and Walter De Lorrell, 10, stage a midnight moment for a photographer at a party at the College Inn in 1950.
Singer Yole O’Bryn and Walter De Lorrell, 10, stage a midnight moment for a photographer at a party at the College Inn in 1950.
Toodles, a female pup with a yen for chewing, does her bit to bring in the new year and the 1960s. She was available for adoption from the Chicago Anti-Cruelty Society when this photograph was made on Dec. 31, 1959.
Toodles, a female pup with a yen for chewing, does her bit to bring in the new year and the 1960s. She was available for adoption from the Chicago Anti-Cruelty Society when this photograph was made on Dec. 31, 1959.
Couples on State and Randolph streets kiss after the clock strikes midnight to bring in 1969.
Couples on State and Randolph streets kiss after the clock strikes midnight to bring in 1969.
Grant Kelley, 7, masquerades as a space-age version of “Baby New Year” as he poses on a rocket at the Museum of Science and Industry on Dec. 30, 1961.
A young woman gets assistance on State Street, taking her New Year's celebration to greater heights in 1975.
A young woman gets assistance on State Street, taking her New Year’s celebration to greater heights in 1975.
Fireworks explode in the skies behind the historic Water Tower in celebration of the advent of 1964. The light show was staged by the Hotel Continental.
Fireworks explode in the skies behind the historic Water Tower in celebration of the advent of 1964. The light show was staged by the Hotel Continental.
More than 35,000 people gathered on State Street to welcome 1976.
More than 35,000 people gathered on State Street to welcome 1976.
Fireworks fill the sky behind the famous Marshall Field's clock on Jan. 1, 1980.
Fireworks fill the sky behind the famous Marshall Field’s clock on Jan. 1, 1980.
Hundreds of shivering Chicagoans gathered on State Street in front of the Marshall Field's and Co. clock to ring in 1982. Once midnight passed, the temperatures, which were in the low teens, drove most of the celebrants indoors.
Hundreds of shivering Chicagoans gathered on State Street in front of the Marshall Field’s and Co. clock to ring in 1982. Once midnight passed, the temperatures, which were in the low teens, drove most of the celebrants indoors.
A little snow didn't stop three women from celebrating on Rush Street on Dec. 31, 1984.
A little snow didn’t stop three women from celebrating on Rush Street on Dec. 31, 1984.
A couple kissed while the rest of the crowd at State and Randolph streets watched midnight fireworks just seconds into Jan. 1, 1986.
A couple kissed while the rest of the crowd at State and Randolph streets watched midnight fireworks just seconds into Jan. 1, 1986.

More in News