Frank Hardy Made My Photographs Two

These are images that someone had brought to me thirty years or so ago to copy and make prints.  I must have given the negatives to the person because all I have are the prints.  The thing that impressed me about these images was how sharp they were.  Whom ever the photographer was that photographed these scenes must have had an incredibly sharp lens, along with fact that were shot on 8×10 film.  I have seen 8×10 images that were no where near as sharp as these prints.  The prints that the person brought to me were contact prints, so I am sure that that played a part in the prints sharpness.  The image above was of the Escambia Hotel.  I have no idea where the hotel was located, but I would imagine that it was either in North Hill or in downtown Pensacola.  I also believe that these prints were taken somewhere around 1910.  The next one is of the train station in downtown Pensacola …

This is the old L&N Train-Station in downtown Pensacola.  The Crown Plaza Hotel across from the Pensacola Bay Center on Garden Street is there now.  The street in the back of the station is Wright Street.  I can remember this station as a kid in the 1950’s.  I would go down there with my father and pick-up packages that would come in on the train.  The floor inside the station was black and white tile in these geometric patterns.  It was all open – no air conditioning – and I always remember it having lots of people coming and going, sitting around waiting for their train or to pick-up someone or moving packages all over the place.  I was too young to really understand what was going on, but it did fascinate me with all the activity.  The next image is one of Ferdinand Square on Palafox Street …

The building on the left side of the frame is what today is called the TT Wentworth Museum.  At one time it was the Pensacola City Hall.  You can read the signs on the side of the buildings in this image and the ships in the harbor is visible.  This park is still pretty much today as it was over a hundred years ago, except with more foliage from the trees and the shrubs.  I do not put up many other photos from other photographers unless I think that the images are somewhat relevant to Pensacola or are related to other photographs that I have posted in the past.  And I think that these fall into that last category … anyone from Pensacola can relate to these images.  Thanks for looking and I have some more current images that I will post shortly.  As always, all comments are appreciated … so if anyone out there remembers the old L&N Train Station or the Escambia Hotel, please let us hear from you … Frank