Archive for the ‘1940’s’ Category
Out West … Again …
I have been going through old 120 film strips that my father shot out west somewhere. I do not have a clue where they were made ( as usual ) , but they are still interesting to me. These were made way before the interstate system was started and you took two lane roads through small towns, deserts, whatever. Back then you used to see and experience America, however it was slower. Now, everyone is in a hurry to get to their destination and all of these places are just areas on a map.
Here is a ferry somewhere out West … who knows, this could be the Mississippi River, but I sort of doubt it.
Two lane black-top was all you had for the 40’s, 50’s, 60’s and 70’s until the interstate was built. No wonder it would take you almost two weeks to get across America from Jacksonville to Los Angeles. That is all I have for these images. Let me hear what you think … thanks for looking, Frank
WSRE’s ” History of Baseball in Pensacola ” …
This is an ad that I clipped from the WSRE site advertising the airing of the next “Baseball in Pensacola”. I saw the first airing on November 8 and it was Part 1 of the history. Part 2 is interviews with baseball players from Pensacola that went on to play in the majors and I missed that one. So, I am not sure what the Friday November 23 show will be, but it will be a repeat of one of the two episodes or it might be both. You will just have to tune in and see, but if you are a fan of baseball or a history buff of Pensacola, you will enjoy what you see. Some of my father’s photos of the Pensacola Dons was used, as were some of his views of Pensacola from the 40′, 50’s and 60’s are scattered through the first episode. I know that they will show it again and if you missed it now, I am sure that it will be re-broadcast in the future. Plus, I am sure that copies of it will be for sale … just go to WSRE’s site here. Thanks again for WSRE for thinking of me / my father. Please check back later and thanks for looking … Frank
Swimming in the Rio Grande …
This image is one that my father made back in the 1940’s on one of his trips out West to visit his sister. The photo was made from a bridge looking down at these kids swimming in this river … it must have been made with a wide angle lens because this negative was mostly all water and the kids were a very, very small section ( maybe about a quarter of the size of a “Forever” stamp ) of the negative. They are sharp, since you can see their features at this magnification, and I think that you can see how much fun they are having. What struck me was how ” muddy ” ( I did not want to say dirty ) this river is … however it does not seem to bother these boys. Coming from Florida and swimming in the Gulf and the rivers and bays in this area, I can never remember swimming in water that looked like this. But it sure looks like these kids are really enjoying themselves and the clarity of the water looks like the last thing on their mind … it makes me wonder if this was rain water or if it was just a lake with a sandy bottom. Whatever … thanks for looking and please check back … Frank
Chapel in the Old Sacred Heart Hospital …
This is still one of my favorite images from the old hospital. I ran it through a filter … Lucis Art Filter … and this filter really brings out the detail in images. Just look at the altar and all of the trim around the ceiling. Believe it or not, I can still remember this chapel in the old hospital. The room itself was not very large, maybe 15 x30 feet. I have several prints of this in the works right now … check back with me later and I will let you know how and where you can view them. If any of you remember this chapel in the old hospital, let us hear from you. Thanks for looking … Frank
Rodolfo Guglielmi Valentino …
You knew him as Rudolf Valentino … this is where he is enshrined at Forrest Lawn Cemetery in Los Angeles. I have had this negative laying around for a while and could not decide if I should post it or not, but I just figured why not? If it upsets anyone, I can always take it down. I wish that I some type of interesting story to accompany this image … give me some time and I will come up with something. Thanks for looking … Frank
Palafox Street Through the Years …1940’s to the 1980’s …
Here are several photos that I have of Palafox Street through the years. The first one is from sometime in the 1940’s I believe. It is a photograph that I scanned that I have had laying around for years. It has no real significance other that it is of the intersection of Palafox and Garden Streets …
If anyone has a date on this photo, please let me hear from you. The next one is from the 1950’s … it looks as if the Florida Theater was showing ” Gone With The Wind ” and people were lined-up waiting to get into the matinee.
Can anyone remember the ” Tiny Waffle ” Shop … that’s a new one on me. I know that I spent many a Saturday at the Florida Theater back in the 1960’s . Now we are going to jump forward to the 1980’s …
This is looking south down Palafox Street … the line of people waiting to get into the Florida Theater would have been standing on the left side of the frame. One more thing, I had posted a photo of James Cagney riding in the back of a car in a parade a while back … that photograph was made at this intersection here, Palafox and Gregory Street, and Hannah’s Pharmacy was in the background ( I do not know if you can recognize it in that photo, but that is it ) . I am not sure of the exact year that this was made, but I would guess that it would have been in the mid-1980’s. And finally, a photo right before the San Carlos Hotel was demolished …
And finally, we are back at the corner of Palafox and Garden Street … sometime 1985 or 86 or 87. I do not which one, but all I can say is what a big change! I hope everyone liked that look through the ages … I did not know if any of them were worth putting in a post by themselves, but run together they were sort of interesting. Thanks for looking and let me hear what you think of these … Frank
A Few More Unknowns From Out West …Actually From Dallas Texas …
These two photos were found with the ones of Modesto California, so I would imagine that they were made somewhere near the Modesto area. Since I have never been to this area, nothing even remotely looks familiar. The old cars crossing the bridge into the ” big ” city makes this photo look interesting to me. Somewhere back, I posted a photo my dad made by a shore with boats and it looked to me to have been made on a lake … I wonder if this bridge might have been across that lake. I know that we might never know for sure, since my father died four years ago, but it is interesting to speculate. The next photo is downtown somewhere …
The ” Hotel Whitmore ” sign is sure prominent in this photo … I wonder if this could be downtown Modesto? Maybe that was the city off in the distance as you crossed the bridge? I am sure that some one out there might know the answer. It is interesting to look at the downtown photo and see all of the street-car wires suspended above the street. Could you imagine going to a city this large now and looking up and seeing all of those wires … I am sure there is still a city out there today that looks like this, but I sure have not seen one in years. That is all for now. Thanks for looking and all comments are appreciated …
UPDATE: Someone commented and said that these two images are of Dallas Texas. The image above is Commerce Street in downtown Dallas, because the Hotel Whitmore is still there. The image before is a skyline of Dallas coming across some … I do not know which one, but is anyone knows, please let us hear from you. Thanks … Frank
Helen Cooper’s Dress Shop …
Helen Cooper’s clothing store for women was located in the 200 block of West Garden Street. The building is no longer there and I think that the 200 block of West Garden Street is where the Sun Bank Building is located today. The 200 section would most likely be where the Artisana Gift Shop is located and that is just a guess. I can vaguely remember this little building, but I cannot say for sure. If anyone has any recollection of Helen Cooper’s, please let us hear from you. Thanks again for looking …
WCOA …
For some reason, I want to say that this photo was taken when WCOA had it’s studio up in the San Carlos Hotel. But that is pure speculation on my part. If anyone has a better guess, please let us hear it. I do know that before WCOA moved to the studio it was in out off of Barrancas Avenue, it was located on the top floor somewhere of the San Carlos. This looks like it mught fit the decor of the hotel, so that is what I am basing my guess on. If anyone recognizes any of these people in the photo, please let us know. Thanks for looking …
Tucker Taxi …
I had a good friend that had a funny saying about calling a Tucker, but it is not something I would want to put here. I bet this cab has a story ot two to tell if it could talk … Thanks for looking
Frank Hardy Made My Photographs Two 
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