Luxuries

I’m trying to remember luxuries that we thought of as kids. Items that existed already (not MP3 players etc.) that seemed to belong to the rich or at least to families of means. The list could be long but I’ll try my best.
Power windows, door locks, steering and brakes: If you’ve never driven a 50’s Olds or Buick without power steering you haven’t lived. Especially there was no experience like parking in a tight space. Sometimes people would ask for help parking because they couldn’t turn the wheel anymore.
Air conditioning in more than a window unit: This was huge, in fact I can’t remember anyone havionng more than one. This in a car was for millionaires only in the early days and an expensive item in a new car, as I remember, it was $1,000 itself when the car was $3,000 without it. Some less rich folks were able to get an aftermarket one from Pep Boys or where ever and it was less and took up the whole middle of the front seat floor, making your bench seat fit two.
Color TV: A black and white became standard by the mid 50’s as I remember, but a color one, whenever it came out, was very expensive and of course, not too good. Some shows came on in color, not all.
Renting Cars” I was reminded by an old friend in Detroit who was older than me that renting a car was a luxury for the wealthy traveler. In most cases, a vacation was usually somewhere you drove to, or took a bus or a train, but never “hiring” a car, this was reserved for the wealthy.
Eating out at restaurants:  While not a millionaire’s event, this was reserved for special occasions and certainly not several times a day with the kids. Also, if there was a dinner for kids in advance of the adults it was not by taking the kids out for dinner as it is often today.
Multiple Telephones: By the time I was a teenager, some girls had their own phones but it was rare. It was more possible to have an extension in a kid’s room, not a separate line. Most homes had a phone in the downstairs hall and that was it. Earlier, we had party lines as it was cheaper and you only had a few calls anyway.
Portable Radios: These were not millionaire’s items but fairly expensive and required two (at least mine did) very large and heavy batteries to use. This was way before the transistor type we think of as available “in the day”. Not an item you saw around very much.
45 Record Player in the car: This was a factory 45 item, seldom purchased and quite a luxury. It was placed in the glove compartment (used up the whole space) and had a tone arm that must have weighed 1-2 pounds. It was on springs and with this heavy tone arm resisted skipping, but didn’t work all that well. It was a luxury however, and in a parked car with a young lady must have been a winner except it had no changer, so you had only 2-3 minutes to make your moves before the record would have to be changed.
Swimming pools at home: Basically, this didn’t exist in my world. I saw one in a mid-town home in an old neighbourhood in Baltimore once, but it was not filled and didn’t work. I can’t remember anyone ever, in my middle income circle, having a pool. In fact, when I had one in 1978, I thought I’d died and gone to heaven although by then it was more normalized.

I think this post will need to grow as people let me know of other luxuries they remember .

Editorial Notes:

How great, Barbie posted her thoughts on dishwashers. I had forgotten all about them but they truly were a luxury!

Another was airplane flights! My father was 60 before he was on a plane. I was 28 and my son was about a year! This used to be a big luxury!

New Ones from Joel and Arthur:

Owning more than one car (a second car)

 Owning a Cadillac

Belonging to a country club

Living in the suburbs

Taking a trip such as Florida or California

Having an expensive Bar Mitzvah

 Owning a  second  (or vacation) home or a rental property,

Owning  stocks in addition to your bond-a-month plan

Any kind of boat,

Water skiing,

Snow skiing,

Anyone living in a home with a name, e.g., Greenbrier; was clearly of immense means.