33 photos that show what life looked like in 1979

Venice Beach, 1979: cheap rent, rough edges, and a boardwalk turned into an outdoor roller disco after Jane Fonda and the skate crowd made it famous. Surfers, Muscle Beach bodybuilders, street performers, and artists priced out of everywhere else all mixed together here — nothing like the tourist strip it'd become.

She found a solution.

The Strip is wide open, the cars are moving, and Eddie Money, Cher, and Judy Collins are all up on the billboards, watching the gridlock like gods who never have to merge.

I think it's safe to say she's loving it. Also, while you're here, check out our nostalgic list of 20 discontinued McDonald's menu items you'll never see again. 

Alien came out in May of 1979, and somebody's dad went straight to the garage and got to work. It landed at #7 on our list of the 50 best movies of the 1970s.

No straps, no roof rack. Just Betsey Cook, twisted around backward in her seat, holding an entire boat down with her bare hands the whole way to the beach.

The swim cap stayed on for lunch, which tells you everything about whose rules were in effect that summer.

He's a super guy, he's lost, and he's got the glasses to make both of those things your problem.

Nobody told him to do this, nobody asked him to do this, and judging by the commitment to the costume, nobody could have talked him out of it either.

The instructions are just suggestions, but he's reading them anyway, just to be sure.

Five kids, one dog, and a backyard big enough to get lost in — which was exactly the point.

The cab is his office, the highway is his commute, and he has absolutely no interest in your opinion about either.

Mom caught it, mom's thrilled about it, and the kids have already decided they're not eating tonight.

A Kiss cake in teal and pink frosting, made from scratch by his mom. Thirteen never felt so good.

The peacock chair was the right call. She knew exactly what she was doing.

"He kept us kids grooving with P-Funk, soul, and the occasional disco mixtape blasting from his boombox. Simpler days."

The smile says he believed it, and honestly, the trumpet backs him up.

The hair, the stare, the I Love Raleigh shirt — she was not to be messed with.

Sheep Meadow, July 31st: James Taylor played for free, ticket money went toward restoring the grass everyone was standing on, and somebody up front was still determined to capture the whole afternoon on film instead of just living in it.

"Brace finally off, but still had my retainer. Puka shell necklace, check. Box chain necklace, check. Beaded earrings, check. Cool glasses, check."

Billy was smiling, which tells you something about Billy.

The dog wanted in on the photo, one kid wanted no part of it, and the stoop held everyone together anyway.

Two mustaches, two boutonnieres, and a combined level of confidence that could flatten a small building.

The hand-lettered sign says this line is premium only, the cars stretch past the pumps and out of frame, and one guy has already given up standing around and just crouched down on the pavement to wait it out.

Midtown in July, everyone melting into their suits, and she rolled in like the summer had a spokesperson.

Bologna for $1.09, cooked ham for 99 cents, and one pay phone holding the whole night together.

Four guys in cowboy hats sitting on the bumpers of cars, waiting on a customer who hasn't decided to show up yet, in a parking lot that goes on forever.

I bet if you asked him, though, he'd tell you exactly where everything is.

A whole stack of cards, a look that says she has been one number away from winning for thirty years, and absolutely no intention of leaving until that changes.

There's a lot to love about this photo, but I can't take my eyes off that vintage Pepsi vending machine.

Before the school bus, before breakfast, somebody had to keep the house from freezing. This was that somebody.

Four kids who treated the AV room like a kingdom, and were absolutely right to.

End of a long day, cold can in hand, somebody saying something that might be true and might not be, and nobody in any particular hurry to find out which.

Looking for more 1970s nostalgia? Check these out. 

• 25 Photos That Show What Life Looked Like in 1983
• 35 Vintage Photos of Everyday Life in 1973
• 70 Photos From the '70s That Show How the World Was Changing