Corner of 12th Avenue and Gonzalez Street …
This is the corner of 12th Avenue and Gonzalez Street around 1949. You see my father’s first studio on the right side of the image. He opened it up in 1948 when he left the X-ray Department at the old Sacred Heart Hospital in 1948. He was in this location for 6 or 7 years until the Moulton Family built the building on 12th Avenue and he moved over to that location. I have several photos of this corner throughout this blog … my personal favorite is the panorama view showing all the kids that had just gotten out of Clubbs Junior High School two blocks north. I can remember it like it was yesterday … literally hundreds of kids walking and running around hollering and screaming at one another thirty or forty minutes. I was only 5 or 6 at the time and it always scared me. Well, that is another story … thanks for looking. If any of you happen to have been some of these kids, let us hear your stories or the ones that you can share with us Please check back … Frank
Billory Baptist Church, Holley Florida …
This was the original Billory Baptist Church in Holley Florida. I would guess that this was made back in the 1950’s. I want to say that this church has been torn down, because I know that another larger was built in the 1970’s. If anyone knows any history about this church, please share it with us. Thanks for looking and please check back … Frank
Oldsmobile / General Motors Parts Department …
The photo above was from a local Oldsmobile / General Motors car dealership in downtown Pensacola. The photo was made in September of 1948. Notice how the service tech is wearing a lab coat and how clean the parts department was. It looks as if the parts guy was even wearing a tie and might have had on a lab coat, also. If you look toward the back of the frame, you see a ” control center ” made of glass stuck above the cars … to monitor work production, not to catch any service techs goofing-off and not working. Now, this was back in 1948, so I can imagine the customer’s response to a facility such as this. After having dealt with a ” shade-tree ” mechanic, this was like going to a doctor’s office / hospital. I am sure that General Motors had this in mind when they had dealerships convert their service departments into spaces such as this … now when the customer received their bill, they might have to be taken to the emergency room from the sticker shock! Thanks for looking and all comments are welcomed … Frank
Miss America 1951 …
Here are a few more photos of Yolande Betbeze from Mobile Alabama who was chosen as Miss America 1951. The link goes to the Miss America web site, but you might want to go to her Wikipedia site and read what they have say. I am not going to go into it here, but she was one of the most controversial winners that the Miss America had up until that point. Here are several of her from a parade … most likely a Fiesta Parade, but I am not real sure which parade it was. Here we go …
The middle photo was taken on the corner of Palafox and Garden Street because see the Masonic Lodge building in the background ( which is now Vinyl Music Hall ). As far as any of the people in the background, maybe you might see someone that you recognize and identify. That policeman sure pulled some tough duty escorting Miss Betbeze around … he must be the chief or the chief’s relative, I am sure that this would have been a prized job to have. Thanks for looking and please check back … Frank
Shoob’s Camera …
Shoob’s Camera Store … I guess I could Google it and see if it is still around and in business, but I have been busy lately and just have not had the time. If anyone out there has ever heard of it or has ever bought a camera from them, let us hear from you. I hope you noticed that I have changed a few things on this site and my personal blog, Frank Hardy Photo Blog . I still am in the process of changing a few things around here, that I hope are for the better, but more on that later. I still have a lot of images to post and they should keep me busy for years to come, so please check back periodically. That should do it for know … thanks again for looking and all comments are appreciated … Frank
Mrs. Babe Ruth in Pensacola …
Back in the late 1950’s, a Babe Ruth baseball team from Pensacola won the national Babe Ruth Baseball Championship. It was a real honor for a small town baseball team to beat out all of the other teams from all of the fifty states. Mrs. Babe Ruth came to Pensacola to present the winning team a trophy and while she was here, she took in a Dons’ baseball game. My father made a photo of her with the team. I also recently ran across a news clipping in the local paper about her coming to Pensacola and I also found a nice looking drawing of the “Babe” that I am including.
If any one was in attendance at any of the festivities, please let us hear from you. The drawing of Babe Ruth and the news clipping are courtesy of my good friend, Rusty Bizzell. His uncle , who is in the newspaper clipping, was the coach of the Babe Ruth team that won. Thanks for looking and please check back … Frank
Another Paper Machine View …
No information or details on this image other than the obvious … a paper machine. I would guess that it could be one from the Pensacola News Journal that my father had made back in the 1950’s. I have a post somewhere on this blog of a man standing along side of the paper machine showing the scale of the machine. I wish that I had more info, but photos like this have always been interesting to me … I hope some of you out there find this interesting also. The more than anything else, it just shows how far technology has progressed in the last 40 or 50 years. Thanks for looking and please check back … Frank
First Baptist Church in Pensacola Florida …
This was the church building for the First Baptist Church in Pensacola Florida back in the 1950’s before the new sanctuary was constructed in the mid-to-later 1950’s. I have an interior view somewhere that I will post later. Here are several of the new sanctuary below …
This last photo is church letting out from the first service held in the new sanctuary. I have several interior views that I will post later and also several events like the ground-breaking for this church and several from the Easter Sunrise Service that First Baptist used to hold over at Bayview Park on Bayou Texar. Thanks for looking and please check back … Frank
Falstaff ….
Falstaff Beer, who can remember it? I can remember that Falstaff used to sponsor professional baseball games back in the 1960’s and I believe that Dizzy Dean and PeeWee Reese were the announcers back in those days. Now I was young back then, but that sounds vaguely familiar to me. I do not know who these men are. Here is one of the delivery men …
I wonder what ever happened to Falstaff beer? Let me know if you know what ever happened to Falstaff beer, or PeeWee or Dizzy … Thanks for looking … Frank
Alcaniz and Wright Streets …
This is looking south on Alcaniz Street. The street light straight ahead is at the intersection of Alcaniz and Wright Streets. This was most likely around 1956 or 1957. The liquor store on the right side is long gone and it is a vacant lot used mostly for parking when the Civic Center has events. The building on the left used to be a restaurant up until the 1970’s until it closed. It know houses several businesses … Gent’s Formal Wear, Bosa Alterations, The Emerald City ( don’t ask ) and the world famous Pensacola Photo Supply. All of these businesses have been opened for many years and if you are looking for tuxes, alterations or anything photographic, please stop by and see what they have to offer. Thanks for looking … Frank
Frank Hardy Made My Photographs Two 
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