As polio surged in the early 1900s, retired teacher Eleanor Abbot created Candyland to comfort children during their long hospital stays.
With countless families moving to the suburbs in the 1950s, fewer Americans could simply walk out onto the street to do their shopping. Shopping malls catered to this new, car-driving demographic, placing all consumer desires in one convenient location. The Hillsdale Shopping Center in San Mateo, California did exactly that, and in 1957, pulled out all the stops to get new customers in the door.