Before air conditioning, few were willing to trade the benefits of the breezy outdoors for the conditions inside hot, stuffy theaters. Mechanical cooling turned summertime attendance at movies, plays, and concerts into a public habit. The air-conditioned workplace improved air quality and increased industrial and corporate productivity. Air conditioning and refrigeration also altered the postwar American home forever. Air conditioning hastened the elimination of porches and ushered in large picture windows and sliding glass doors.
Refrigeration remade the kitchen and dining room with deep freezers and frozen foods.
These new postwar homes could be built anywhere across the country. The engine of air conditioning helped fuel the explosive postwar growth of Sunbelt cities like Houston, Phoenix, Las Vegas, and Miami. Before air conditioning American life followed seasonal cycles determined by weather. Stores and theaters also closed down, unable to comfortably accommodate large groups of people in stifling interiors. Cities emptied in summers as people fled the city for mountain and seaside resorts.