Archive for June 2011
Pensacola Regional Airport …
This photo is from the old site … an Eastern Airline Silver Falcon Turbo Prop Jet unloading at the Pensacola Regional Airport sometime in the 1950’s. I can remember flying in this type of plane when I was younger. My father and I used to fly to Chicago to visit his brother back in the 1960’s in this type of aircraft. We also flew several times to the National Convention of the Professional Photographers of America. The one thing that I always remembered was how the cabin would fill with a low level smoke when the air conditioners would cut on … it must have been condensation on the cooling elements being blown out into the cabin. Now, if something like that was to happen, everyone would think that the plane had caught on fire! One more thing, look how the men are dressed coming off the plane, no casual wear among any of these men. Anyone wishing to share their past flying experiences from the Pensacola Airport are welcome to post them here. Thanks for looking …
Al’s Bicycle Shop …
This is not a Frank Hardy Photograph, but a copy someone had brought us to photograph. I usually only saved something if it interested me and for some reason, this one did. Do not know where this business was located, but it looks as it was downtown Pensacola. Judging by the looks of the old car in the photo, this might have been in the 1920’s or 30’s. If this jars anyone’s memory, please let us know.
Spearman Brewery …
The next several posts are new and were not on the old site. This is a photo of Spearman Brewery that my father made. The brewery was located on Barrancas Avenue, just down from Government Street. I do not know any of the history of the plant / beer, but would be interested in hearing some. Note how the top of the main building flares out at the top. That is something that you seldom see in building construction today. When the building was torn down, the steel framing was left in place for years and was left there for what seems to be 10 or 20 years. I can remember the steel frames up in the 1970’s and some of the 80’s when I used to go down to Coast Photo further down Barrancas. I am interested if anyone has any comments on this photo … I will have to add this to my list of places to look up when I go back down to the Pensacola Historical Society. Thanks for looking.
Dreamland Skating Rink …
This is the Dreamland Skating Rink that used to be located on Pace Blvd and this was made sometime in the 1950’s. Notice that all the windows were opened, so this was way before air conditioning. This photo was run through a Photoshop plugin ( Lucis ) to add contrast and bring out detail in the shadows. Below is just a b&w scan …
The Lucis added photo has a little more “snap” to it and I have run it on several other photos. I doubt that I will do it on all the posts in the future, only the ones that I think are improved by it. Next are some interior panoramas done the same way.
With Lucis and the bottom photo is without.
The bottom photo seems to have enough contrast without the Lucis filter being run on it. You can almost imagine the place packed on Friday and Saturday nights. And you know that the place had to be steaming hot with all of those teenage skaters. When these photos were taken, it was before my time, but I can still remember going to birthday skating parties here in the mid-1960’s. I cannot remember if this place was still around in the disco era … if it was, you know that the funk was rising!! As usual, all comments are welcomed and appreciated.
Note: That was the only part of “Disco Inferno” that I could remember. I apologize in advance for not knowing more of the song. Frank
Twelfth Avenue in Snow …
This is a view of the park on 12th Avenue in snow … I cannot remember right now if it was 1955 or 1958, but the more I think about it I want to say 1958. That is me in the photo and judging from my size, I would say that I look closer to 5 than 2. I posted a smaller photo of the park and someone emailed me and asked if it was sand … it almost looks as if it is. I have a few photos from this snow that I posted on the old site that I plan to re-post here at some point. If anyone has any memories from this time, please share them because I am sure everyone would be interested in hearing them.
Fishing Fleet at “F” Street …
In keeping with the nautical theme, I thought that I would post this one of the fishing fleet down around “F” Street. This is the area where Joe Patti’s Seafood is located today. I would venture to say that some of these boats are from the Patti fleet. On the building in the back “Spearman Brewery” in painted on the back side of the building. This is one of my all – time favorite images that I have ran across in the past several years.
Palafox Pier Panorama …
This view at the foot of Palafox Sreet shows where the Pitt Slip Marina is located today. This view is looking toward where the Port Royal Development is built. Again, this was made sometime in the late 1950’s.
Bayou Texar Aerial …
You see Bayview in the bottom left and Johnson’s Marina is on the other side to the right. As you can see, the community center had not been built yet … it was just an area for swimming. It is hard to believe that this area had so few houses in the 1950’s when this image was made.
Al’s Bar …
This is Al’s Bar on Gulf Beach Highway. It was located four or five blocks out from Navy Blvd, almost across from Sunset that runs in front of the old Navy Point Shopping Center. I do not know if Al’s is still there, most likely not since this photo was made in the 1950’s. I know one thing … Al’s patrons sure had a fine taste in cars!
First Methodist Church …
This is the First United Methodist Church on Wright Street and it was made sometime in the 1950’s, maybe 1955. Notice the old lamp post and parking meters that used to be all up and down Wright Street. Also, note the tree that was out front of the church during this time and you can just barely see the old YMCA building in the background on the left side. This image has been run through a Lucis Photoshop filter to bring out the detail in the stone. When I find the original view, I will add it to this post as a comparison. Thanks for looking …
Frank Hardy Made My Photographs Two 
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