MovieChat Forums > John and Mary (1969) Discussion > The latest kitchen appliances in 1969

The latest kitchen appliances in 1969

posted 11 years ago by rquisenb
6 replies | jump to latest

I was struck by how up-to-date all of John's kitchen appliances were in 1969, and how relatively spacious the apartment was for NYC. But I guess since he was a furniture designer and relatively well to do, he could afford them. The "French doors" two door refrigerator, for example.
Question: Was the oven above the stovetop a microwave oven? If so, pretty "avant guarde" for 1969. (I.e., not a countertop microwave.) My wife thinks it was a double oven ("conventional" oven). There is one close-up of the controls, showing the clock. I couldn't really make out the oven controls.

[–] vivlinglee 10 years ago

Your wife was right - it was a double-oven, we had one just like it when I was young.

[–] intofilm 10 years ago

In 1969 the average US per capita income was $7,000-$11,000 (depending on which research source you look at). Incomes in NYC were typically higher than in most other areas in America. You can figure John, with a professional career, was probably making considerably better than that.
About that time I was looking at moving to Manhattan myself, the upper West Side, which was about $600/mo. rent for a decent 1 BR apt. So I would think he would have been paying less than 10% of his income for housing, which is quite a bit lower ratio than most people can figure on today.

[–] CaptainSexMachine 10 years ago

I find your math questionable.

Are you saying the average per capita income was 7,000-11,000 per month? If so that's more than people are making now, so it can't be true.

If it's per year, then maybe a rich guy is making $20,000, but let's say 24,000 to make it $2000/month. In that case how is 600 less than 10% of 2000 ?

[–] vivlinglee 10 years ago

No, silly, he meant per annum/per year!

[–] CaptainSexMachine 10 years ago

OK, but that still doesn't work out to be "less than 10%"; see my last paragraph above!

[–] Hoohawnaynay 9 years ago

The kitchen was pretty modern most in 1969 had more traditional kitchens but this one would actually look good today and reminded me of IKEA which rips off 1960s designs right and left.