Archive for the ‘1950’s’ Category
The Crestwood Tourist Hotel …
I had seen negative years ago and had thought that it looked interesting, but put it aside and did not run across it again until a few weeks ago. It had to have been made back in the 1950’s in one of my father’s trips out west to visit his sister out west. The first couple of images are of post cards that I ran across when I googled Crestwood Tourist Hotel. Since the image that my father took was at night, I thought that these post card images showed what the property actually looked like. So here are the post cards …
OK, now here is the shot that he made at night …
The negative was filthy and it took me quite a long time to take out all of the dust marks and scratches. I doubt that the hotel is still around … I forgot to mention that this hotel was located in Houston Texas. I did not see the location of the hotel, since the back of these post cards was not included with either of the cards. If anyone recognizes this hotel and knows where it’s location is / was, please let us hear from you. Also, if you have any stories about the place, go ahead and let us hear them. Thanks again and please check back … Frank
One more thing … This place is called a ” Hotel “, but to me it is more of a motel and not a hotel. That’s just my two cents.
Tate High School Football Team …
This is the football team that I had mentioned in the last post. It was in another folder and it was in fairly good shape, so I went ahead and worked it up and posted it. Like I said in the other post, this is from sometime in the mid 1950’s, but not sure of the exact year. These guys would be in their 70’s now. I know that someone out there will be able to tell us … how about that number 17? He has to be a lot tougher than he looks! I do not know if they had enough players to have both a Varsity and a JV team, so Tate might have only one team. I doubt that Tate was all that large of a school back in the 1950’s … the north end of Escambia County was still pretty much a rural area. There was not much north of Nine Mile Road, even if there was a Nine Mile Road in the ’50’s. Thanks for looking …
Tate High School …
This set of photographs was made sometime in the middle 1950’s … not sure of the exact years. If anyone has any idea who any of these people are, feel free to share it with us. I am just going to post all of the images, so here we go …
The last group of the coaches has several guys that look familiar to me, but none of the others do. I know that someone out there will know something about these photos. In the past, I would have broken all of these photos up into several posts. There are still several images from this set that I have not worked-up and I will get around to them in several months. Thanks for looking and please check back … Frank
Suter School Play …
With Suter School being in the news with their new school building completed and open for students this week, I thought that I would post a photo from one of the plays that the school used to put on in the 1950’s. I have several envelopes of negatives from plays back in the 1950’s … maybe ’54, ’55 and ’56 and there are thirty of forty negatives per bag. I have posted some in earlier posts and did not get many comments or looks, so I do not really expect much from this one. One bad thing about these negatives is that they are not in very good shape and take more work in Photoshop to get them ready to post. You can type in ” Suter School ” in the search button on the right hand side of the blog and the other posts should pop up. The more I think about it as I type this up, I might have had four or five comments from people who recognized someone in the play. One side note, the posts that get the most attention are ones from Modesto California … can you believe that? To me, I can not figure that one out. However, I do appreciate all of the people looking for Modesto photos from back in the 1950’s. Another interesting fact is that I never knew anything about the Modesto images until my father died and I ran across them when I was sorting through all of the tens of thousand negatives that I have. In fact, I did not know that a lot of the negatives where of Modesto until people started commenting on them. Thanks for looking and I did not mean to get off on Modesto … Frank
Another One From The Port of Pensacola …
This is one taken in a warehouse down at the Port of Pensacola from back in the 1950’s, maybe around 1955. I had posted another one like it with another man bending over loading a sack with this nitrate in the photo, but I removed him in this image. I have always thought that this photo had an interesting look to it. I ran it through the Lucis Art filter in Photoshop to add some contrast to an otherwise “flat” image. Thanks for looking and please check back … Frank
Pensacola Regional Airport Runway Construction …
Back before the Pensacola International Airport became ” International “, it was called the Pensacola Regional Airport. Sometime in the 1950’s, the airport runways were resurfaced and extended. This series of images shows the construction resurfacing process … I wish I new more about them, but I do not. I know that there is a lot more to it than just mixing up a batch of concrete and making sure that it is level. The strength of the concrete is determined by the ratio of sand to rocks and water, the amount of cement mix is a big factor and I am sure there are many other things that I have not mentioned, since I am not an engineer or claim to be. I always enjoyed this type of photographic work, since it was something that I knew nothing about but was interested in how things work. Hey, that could be the title of a tv show explaining how things are built and constructed … I might be on to something! Most all of the images are pretty self-explanatory, so I am going to dispense with the running commentary and stupid comments. Here we go:
The last two images maybe should have been shown earlier in the process, but it is what it is. The images of them unloading the equipment off of the barges was no where near where the airport runway is located, so my only guess that either they were taken at the Port of Pensacola or somewhere else in Pensacola Bay. But as usual, I do not know. If you look close in some of the photos you see the airport tower and the airport itself way in the background. I wish that I had some other photos of the airport itself, but I have pretty much posted everything that I have found taken at the airport. If any of you have anything of the Pensacola Airport from back in the 1950’s and 60’s, I would be interested in seeing what you have. Thanks for looking and please check back and don’t forget that I have my personal blog that you can get to by clicking on a link on the right side of the screen. Wishing everyone a happy New Year … Frank
Pensacola USO in the 1950’s …
I do not know what the ceremony here portrays, but it looks like it might be a July 4th celebration since I see some lady dressed up as the Statue of Liberty. The ceremony looks as if it were held in the building on Spring Street that was once the USO Building. I think it now is a storage / supply building that Escambia County uses for surplus office equipment. There were 15 or 16 negatives in the envelope, but I only bothered to work-up around four of the negatives … I might do some more later, but they seem to be all about the same as these. I am sure that some of you will recognize some familiar faces in these crowd shots. I am also not exactly sure of the date. Sometime in the 1950’s seems like a good guess …
OK, I had done five of these images, so I believe that I have eleven more to do. I have a box full of new negatives to scan and I will start work on them next year. I am up to almost four hundred posts and I am not sure of the total number of prints, but I would guess close to eight hundred images. I hope everyone has a safe and happy new years. This year 2014 has really flown by, however 2015 is starting out slow for me. Please check back and if anyone recognizes any of these individuals let us know … Frank
Pensacola High School Annona Ads …
These photos were shot to be used in ads for the Pensacola High School yearbook Annona. As usual, I have no clue who any of these young ladies are in any of these photos or do I know exactly which business they advertised. But I am confident that some of you out there will let us know. I am going to say that they are from the 1950’s, but they could be from the 1960’s. The one above is from some dress store in Pensacola and it most likely was downtown somewhere, since the malls did not come about until later ( I am guessing about that ) in the late 1960’s I would guess. Here are several more photos …
The last photo of the girls looking at the silver settings was made in side Elebash Jewelery store in downtown Pensacola I believe, bit I could be wrong. The girls in the cosmetic store is not familiar to me at all, so if anyone recognizes the store let us know. Thanks again and I hope looking at these photos puts you in the shopping mood for Christmas …. Check back and be safe … Frank
Coffee Cup Cashier …
This is only photo in my father’s files that I have of the Coffee Cup and it was made sometime back in the 1950’s. Look closely at the post card rack and you will see his photo of the Hotel San Carlos that I have posted on this blog several times. No clue who the lady is, I am sure that someone will recognize and identify her. The counter looks exactly the same today, some sixty years later. The photo was taken for the Cancer Society … here is one more photo …
I have not been in the Coffee Cup in a year or so, but I would not doubt if that same cash register is still sitting there. Now that I am thinking about the Coffee Cup, I am starting to get hungry for some biscuits with their famous tomato gravy. I guess that you would have to be raised in the South to appreciate tomato gravy and one more thing … they have the creamiest grits that you have ever tasted. I would go tomorrow and eat breakfast, but you regulars know how crowed that place is on a Saturday morning. If you do not get there by 6 or 7am, you will usually have an hour wait. That’s it for me now, I will be posting some more in the next few days … Thanks for looking and please check back … Frank
Pensacola Sign Company …
I could not read the writing on the negative envelope, so I am not sure if the sign company read ” McCurley ” or ” McCurdy “. However, it does not really make any difference. I believe that this business was located at W Street and Navy Boulevard where the Mercedes – Volvo dealership is today. I could be wrong with this, but for some unknown reason I believe I remember seeing this corner looking like this. And besides, the building in the background looks like the laundry cleaning business that is still there today. The next business I believe was located out on North Davis, just beyond West Florida Hospital …
The last sign is just a poster that went up in the 1950’s before the Interstate was built …
I have several long posts ready to go and will put them up in the next week or so. Thanks for looking and please check back … Frank
Frank Hardy Made My Photographs Two 
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