Archive for the ‘Downtown Pensacola Florida’ Category
The Rev. Henry Bell Hodgkins …
These portraits of Rev. Henry Bell Hodgkins from Christ Church on Wight Street were made back in the 1950’s. I went to Episcopal Day School from 1958 to 1965 and Rev. Hodgkins was there at the church during this time, so remember him fairly well. He was a big man with a big voice … you could hear him from the pews in the back as well as you could hear him from the ones up front. And this was before the days of sound systems! He was also extremely nice and was friendly to all of us kids … I can never remember him being mad or angry the whole time I was there. Here are a few more of him …
This last image is how I remember him, more than the other three. I do not think that I have ever seen any of these images all of the years that I have been going down to the church … even though it has been years since I have gone to the church offices. I posted one of these photos on the old site, but I do not believe that I posted all four of them. Thanks for looking …
John ” Duke ” Wayne in Pensacola Florida …
Here is a photo of John Wayne that my father made back in 1955 or 56, I am not sure exactly of the year. Duke was here in Pensacola making the movie, The Wings of Eagles , a John Ford film about a Navy aviator. He was staying at the Town House Motor Lodge and Mrs. Head, the owner, asked him if she had a photographer come over would he mind having his photo made for her ” celebrity ” wall. Fine with him, he told her. So my father went over and met Mrs. Head and Duke outside of his room. Mrs. Head introduced my father and Duke said that he remembered him from the airport taking photos when he got off of the plane. Mrs. Head then said that he was there to take his photo for her wall. To which Duke replied, ” I told you that I would send you a real nice photo when I got back to Hollywood. ” He then looked at my dad, put his arm around him and said, ” You know, that sounds as if I do not think that you can take a good photograph? ” . My dad said he just stood there, not knowing how to respond to the number one movie star in America at the time. Duke then said, ” Well, come on in my room and Frank you can take anything you like … just tell me where to sit and what you want me to do. ” My dad said that he could not have been nicer and said that he would send him a couple of photos and autugraph any photo that my father made. I have scanned the photos that he sent and I will post them next … I cannot remember if I posted the autographed photo that he made, along with the one of hime getting off the plane, so I will go back and check.
If anyone has any stories to share of John Wayne when he was here making The Wings of Eagles , please let us hear from you … or for that matter, any John Wayne story that you might have. Thanks for looking and I appreciate all comments. I hope all of you father’s have a Happy Father’s Day …
Another of the San Carlos Hotel …
Someone gave me this photo of the old San Carlos Hotel sometime back and I just got around to cleaning it up recently. My dad did not make this photo and I rarely post other people’s photo, but what makes this photo interesting is ????? Can you guess …. I will give you another couple of minutes. No little Johnnie, this is not the best photo of the front of the San Carlos showing the Fiesta Lounge that I have, although that is a good guess. No little Suzy, not because there is no wheel-chair access ramp at St. Michael’s Catholic Church. You are correct, Cleroy ( that would be Leroy, but with a “C” … a Southern name ) this photo shows the Christmas decorations that the City of Pensacola used to put out back in the 1950’s. In fact, I can remember these same decorations being used up into the 1980’s, maybe even the 1990’s. How is that for some mileage? I am sorry Cleroy, but my budget does not allow to give you a prize, but if you go down to City Hall, I bet Mayor Hayward and the City Council would dig around and they could probably find some of these decorations for your yard. Good luck, Cleroy and thanks for looking … As usual, all comments are appreciated.
Garden and Palafox Streets …
This is the corner of Garden and Palafox Streets in downtown Pensacola. It was before the Hotel San Carlos was built, so I am not sure of the year that this photo was made. This was a photo that I had found in a box of photos and it looked like the original photograph. Notice the fountain that is in the intersection. I have seen several photos of it and I might even have one around somewhere. It looks as if it is a funeral procession with the hearse being drawn by a horse. As usual, all comments are welcomed and appreciated. Thanks for looking …
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 …
Morrison’s Cafeteria …
How many of you can remember Morrison’s Cafeteria down on Romana and Jefferson Streets? I can, but I cannot remember it ever looking like this. They must have remodeled it in the 1960’s, because I do not remember it ever looking like this. On the left side of this photo, you can see the old Pensacola Buggy Works Automobile Dealership in the background that was owned by the Turner family. It is now a parking lot for Seville Quarter. Below is another view of the exterior of Morrison’s …
I had posted these two photos above on my old blog, the two below are new. I have found several others, but they need some work and I will get to them later. First, here is one of the dining room …
I never remember the dining room looking like this. I am not sure of the year, but I would imagine that it was sometime in the 1950’s. Next is one of the kitchen …
It looks as if one of the ladies in the back on the right side is sitting down shelling peas or peeling potatoes. This was before the day of everything being processed and frozen, so everything had to fresh from the farm. All comments are welcomed, so feel free to share them with us and thanks for looking …
First Methodist Church …
This photo of the First Methodist Church in downtown Pensacola Florida must have been made around 1920 or so … and that is just a guess on my part. This image was made from a copy negative that I scanned years ago, in fact, I do not remember it all. So I do not know where it came from and I hesitate to say that my father made this photo … he was born in 1915 and this had to have been made around that time. Notice that there are trees out front and there is no railing on the front steps. I have never seen this photo anywhere before and I have seen a lot of photos showing the different ” stages ” of First Methodist Church on Wright Street in Pensacola Florida. Maybe some First Methodist Historian can give us a clue. Thanks for looking …
Skipper’s …
Before Skipper’s was a dive shop, it was a fishing tackle store. I do not remember it as a fishing tackle store … I just remember it as a dive store. In fact I got my diving certificate from Joe Kingry ( the owner ) back in 1969 … 43 year ago. I have not been scuba diving in years, but I have snorkeled down in Belize in the last 7 or 8 years. One good thing about getting your scuba diving certification is that it is good for life, so you can rent scuba gear wherever you travel. In fact that reminds me to go find my scuba card …
Thanks for looking and as usual, all comments are welcome …
Downtown in a Hurricane …
This is looking west at the intersection of Garden Street and Palafox Street. You see the Blount Building on the left side of the photo and the corner of the San Carlos is on the right side. Next to the Blount Building is Marston – Quina Furniture store. The showrooms were on different floors and you would ride the freight elevator to get to each floor. It was a real highlight for a ten year old kid … our cousins the St. Johns owned the business, so when I went with dad ( or mother ) to visit them, I got to ride the elevator up and sown for what seemed like hours … the high-light of my day! I do not know what hurricane this was when my father made this photo, but I have posted one other one looking down Palafox Street during this same storm. Not sure of the year, but I am sure it was the mid 1950’s. Thanks for looking …
Fiesta Parade …
Here is another Fiesta Parade photo … I would just guess this to be 1959. It is a decent shot of downtown Pensacola looking south on Palafox. Thanks for looking …
Frank Hardy Made My Photographs Two 
You must be logged in to post a comment.