Archive for the ‘Frank Hardy Photography’ Category
Pensacola in the 1950’s …
The first photo is one of Ginn’s Restaurant that was on the corner of 12th Avenue and Gonzalez Streets. You see the old Winn-Dixie Grocery Store to the west and the old Sacred Heart Hospital would be across 12th Avenue to the east just out of the frame of the photo. This photo is a panorama image made with a Wide-Lux camera that my father owned and was burnt up in the fire, which will be another post very shortly. Here is the image …
How about that old Cadillac parked out front on 12th Avenue? The next is just a parade shot from a Fiesta Parade back in 1955 … nothing spectacular about the image ( the Cadillac in this image is carrying the then Governor of Florida – LeRoy Collins ) and I have a better view somewhere in this blog already. But the reason that I am mentioning that here and now is that I just found movie film that my father shot of the 1953 and 1954 Fiesta Parades. Not the three inch reels , but full ten inch reels. And in Color! No sound though. I know that it can be transferred over to digital, but all of the quotes have been in the hundreds of dollars per reel and I am not that interested in spending the money right now. However, that does not mean that I won’t in the future … we will have to just wait and see. Here is the image …
Just imagine all of those horses and riders and cars moving across the screen in COLOR! For the time, this will have to do … but who knows what the future will bring? I have posted quite a few images from this vantage point ( ground level ) that my father has taken in the past. If you type ” LeRoy Collins ” in search field above on the right side, it should pop up … I have not tried it yet, but I am pretty sure it should because I know it is posted somewhere on this blog.
Thanks for taking the time and looking … I have been busy lately and I have neglected this site and my personal photography blog, but I have several ready to post and will get around to posting them shortly … Thanks for all the comments also … Frank
Logging Truck Accident …
This is one of the logging truck accident photos that I mentioned in my last post. The coloring and texture over-lay is my doing … don’t ask why. At the time II did this seven or eight months ago I thought that it looked sort of interesting, but now I do not know. I did not feel like re-doing the image and you still get the point and besides the photo of the ” Gulfarium ” sign in the background looks interesting. I just happened to run across this file as I was trying to clean-up my desktop … thanks for looking and please check back … Frank
Happy Labor Day 2014 …
I ran across these negatives maybe ten years ago and thought that they were some what interesting, but I just never did anything with them. I really never had a reason for posting them and then yesterday, I ran across them again and thought that they be good for a Labor Day posting. So here they are. My father took these back in the mid – 1950’s in Flomaton, Alabama, which is just across the Florida Alabama line. The lettering on the door of the Ford truck reads ” Gulf & Southern Transportation ” and judging from the trailer they must be hauling lumber / wood. Timber is still a big industry in this area of southern Alabama and the Florida Panhandle. I know I have at least one post on this blog showing photos from a tractor trailer hauling trees accident on a road in this area. As usual, I know nothing about the truck driver in the photo, other than the fact that he is a hard working individual. Here are several more photos …
I made a mistake identifying the location of Gulf and Southern Transportation, I said that it was located in Flomaton and I should have said ” South ” Flomation. I honestly did not know that there was a South Flomaton. For those of you who have never before been to Flomaton. it is maybe three blocks long ( and that is being generous ), but I made an error and wanted to correct it. The one thing that I always remember about Flomaton is that’s where we would go and catch the train when we would go to visit my uncle in Chicago. After the railroad station in Pensacola was closed in the 1950’s ( see prior post ) and you wanted to travel anywhere by train, you would drive to Flomation and catch the train there at the train station. Well, that is all that I can think of to share with you about Flomaton today … if any one has any comments about trains, Flomaton, lumber or truck hauling, please share them with us. I wish everyone a safe and happy Labor Day … try not to work too hard today and please check back. Stay out of trouble … Frank
Pensacola In The Early 1900’s …
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
Fiesta Car Wash …
I had posted something on the Fiesta Car Wash on the other blog, but I cannot remember ever posting anything on this blog. There are more negatives on this car wash and I will post them when I run across them. This was before my time, so I do not know where this car was located or anything about business in particular. I have a lot of negatives that I need to scan and I plan on to in the not too distant future. If anyone remembers the Fiesta Car Wash, let us hear from you. Thanks again for looking and please check back … Frank
Weeki Wachee Springs and Bok Tower Gardens …
Here are several transparencies that I ran across recently from our trips to South Florida in the 1950’s and 60’s. The first one is of one of the Mermaids from Weeki Wachee Springs. Here is a link to the Springs web site. The place has an interesting history and it is still around today. This is one of the mermaids that my father made in the under-sea theater on Kodachrome back in 1958 …
The next is an exterior of Bok Tower at Bok Tower Gardens …
And here is a link to the Bok Tower Gardens web site. I had forgotten that this is the highest point in Florida at 298 feet. Bok Tower is in Lake Wales Florida and I am sure that it has been fifty years since I have been to the Tower and Gardens. I have been busy these past few weeks and have not had a chance to post much, but I have several ready to go and will get them up in the next few weeks. One is on the fire back in 1975 that burnt the block down that my father’s studio was in on 12th Avenue. The others are just random photos that I have scanned. So please check back in the next several weeks. If anyone remembers going to Weeki Wachee and seeing the Mermaids, feel free to comment … If any of you guys ever met and married a Weeki Wachee Mermaid, that is a story everyone would be dying to hear! Thanks for looking and please check back … Frank
Hoffman Dance Group …
These images are from a dance group that my father used to photograph out at the auditorium at Pensacola Naval Air Station. He photographed this group for many years and I remember going out there with him when I was seven or eight. I remember walking up and down the halls looking at all of the military photographs on the walls. Nothing in particular other than how large and deserted the place was when I was out there. I ran across these negatives recently and they were in fairly good shape and did not look like they would take me too long to get them ready to post. There were quite a few negatives in the envelope, so I just randomly found six to clean-up and post. I am not going to make any comments about any of them, so here it goes …
The negative envelope said ” 1956 ” on it, but I am not sure about that date. If it was 1956, I would have only been three and this would have been too young for me to have gone. However, this was something that he could have photographed for many years and I did not go until later. I do remember this fairly well and I am pretty sure that I went with him for several years a kid. I would imagine that these children’s fathers were in the military or they worked out at the Naval Air Depot on base. If anyone sees these photos and know anything about this ” Hoffman Dance Group “, please let us hear from you. I am interested personally about who Ms. Hoffman is and how long that she had these dance recitals out on the base. Thanks for looking and please check back … Frank
Harry James In Pensacola …
The tall guy with the black jacket is Harry James, famous trumpet player and band leader. What he was doing in Pensacola, as well as who the other people in the photo are, is a mystery to me. In fact, the only thing that I knew about Harry James was that he was the first big-band leader to hire Frank Sinatra back in 1939. Here is a link to his Wikipedia site. I also saw that he was married to Betty Gable at one time in his life … that I am impressed with. Betty Gable, I believe, had the number 1 pin-up / photo for the guys in WW II. If anyone recognizes any of the other people in the photo, please let us know. Also, if he was in Pensacola to play a concert or whatever, let us know. Thanks for looking … Frank
A Few More From The Dons File …
These two images are ones that I found in my files from the Dons, but neither one have anything to do with the baseball team. The photo above is the secretary / office manager / business manager … I guess she was the one that kept the wheels on the truck for the Dons. Notice the bare concrete block walls in the office. I do not believe that sheet rock was used in the construction industry until the late 1960’s or even the 1970’s. I know that most houses built in the late 1950’s used a type of plaster over plywood on room walls. If anyone is familiar with the construction industry in the 1950’s and 1960’s could tell us about the plaster walls and tell us when sheet rock started being used. The photo envelopes in the right hand corner was the type of photo mailers used back in the 50’s. I have one or two of these laying around, but I know I have not seen one used in thirty five years or so. The photo below is one that was from the body building contest photos that I forgot to include. I do not know who these guys are, but they look vaguely familiar … I am sure some one out there will recognize one of these guys.
One more thing, if anyone out there has a color photograph showing a player or the team, I would be interested in seeing the photo. All of the photos that I have of the team are all black and whites. I am interested in seeing what color the Dons team logo is on the player’s uniforms. Also, if anyone ever runs across a home movie made at one the Dons games, please let me hear from you. It is funny that there can not be any film shot during a Dons game that is lying around in someone’s file cabinet On the other hand, I do not think that the home movie business started until the 60’s. You had color transparency film back in the 1950’s and a little in the 1940’s, however it was used mostly by the military and the magazine photographers. Color film for the general consumer was not available until the 1960’s and I wanted to say mid-1960’s before it became common place.
Well, that is all I have for this post. Let me hear from hear if you come across any color movie film or color photographs on the Dons. I hope everyone has a safe Fourth of July. It is hard to believe that 2014 is half over and that Christmas is just around the corner. Thanks for looking and please check back … Frank
Pensacola Dons with Bo Belinsky …
This is a group photo of the pitching staff of the Pensacola Dons from 1959. I am not 100% on the year, but I am pretty sure that was the year. Belinsky in the the back row on the far right side. I do not have a clue who any of the other pitchers are at this point … I will have to do some checking and see if I can find some names. I ran across a folder that I have scanned, but I have not cleaned any of the photos up and gotten ready to post. There might be 40 or so negatives that I have scanned in this folder. Some negatives are of a group of male body builders in their bathing suites and some girls giving them their awards. I have posted a photo of a beauty queen receiving a trophy from a ball player, but I have not done anything with the guys. I guess management figured if they did something for the men in the stands that they had better do something for the women so that they would not have a riot on their hands. I will work them up in the next few weeks and post them. Maybe the Blue Wahoos could learn a thing or two from the Dons, however the way that they pack that new stadium every game, they are certainly doing something right because it sure ain’t the way that they are playing!! Thanks for looking and please check back … Frank
One more thing, here is a link to Bo Belinsky’s Wikipedia page. He was really an interesting guy, so just google him and read about him ….
Frank Hardy Made My Photographs Two 
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