Great Depression

TRANSPORTATION (AUTOMOBILE)

The United States had 725 miles of paved roads in 1909. By 1930, American cars were driving along in a nation that included 100,000 miles of roads, tunnels, bridges, and multi-lane highways. Vacationers could now take their own transportation anywhere. Along new highways appeared businesses that appealed to motorists: diners, campgrounds, and tourist cabins. Drive-in restaurants also had their beginning in the 1920s. In Dallas a fast food place sold barbecued pork sandwiches to customers who ate in their cars. The owner commented, "People with cars are so lazy, they don't want to get out of them to eat." This showed how lazy the American society started to become. After the 1920s, walking for pleasure went out of style.

Before gas stations spread, car owners bought fuel from stores and stored it in tanks in their backyards. By 1929, more than 100,000 gas stations were open around the country.

During the 1920s the United States experienced a business boom as a result of the thriving automobile industry. New industries sprang up to service cars and accommodate their owners. The manufacture of rubber for car tires expanded into a billion-dollar business. Steel production doubled. Oil refinery output increased more than nine times.

RADIO

Radio changed daily life of its listeners more than any other invention to date. As television does today, radio provided people a source of entertainment they could share. Radio programs ranged from live theater to sporting events, from symphony concerts and jazz to religious sermons and broadcasts of important events. Now people all over the country laughed at same jokes, heard the same music, and listened to the same commercials. The radio sales went from $60 million in 1923, to more than $842 million by 1929

MOVIES

While many of the actors may have been Hollywood stars worshipped by fans, none of them heard them speak their parts. The October, 1927 release of "The Jazz Singer," was the first movie to have sound, and it signaled an end to the silent film era. The new films were called "talkies". Though only 500 theaters in the United