Posts Tagged ‘Downtown Pensacola’
Random Images ….
Here are several images that I might or might not have posted before. The first one of the ribbon cutting at the Bay Bridge entrance is new, I believe. The rest I might have posted along time ago, but I had just run across them again and thought that I might post them again. Here we go …
The top photo of the ribbon cutting is new and if anyone recognizes any of the people, please comment. I have no clue who any of the people are, as usual, but I am interested in knowing who they are. The aerial photo was taken before the Municipal Auditorium was constructed, so that must have been around 1954 or so. I think that the auditorium was completed in 1955, but that is just a guess for me. This Dons group was 1959 I believe…how about that Hopkins Boarding Sign on the the back fence wall? If anyone knows anything about any of these photos, please comment. Thanks for looking and please check back … Frank
Miscellaneous Photos from the 1950’s …
Here are a few random photos from the 1950’s that I have not posted anywhere yet. They are from other groups or sets that I have posted somewhere – on my blogs or Instagram – but have never posted these exact ones. I will try to add what little I do know about each photo, so if anyone has anything to offer or remember being around when the image was taken, please feel free to jump on in and comment. Here we go …
This photo and the next are from the Fiesta of Five Flags Parade from 1955. I am sure this that the sponsor of this float was Coca-Cola, but I do not know who any of the people on the float are or what the theme of the float. Other than that is one huge Coke bottle! The buildings in the background are what draws my attention … the old San Carlos Hotel, the A&P Grocery Store on the left side of the frame and then the miscellaneous businesses in the buildings on the right. The photograph / scan is from a 4×5 negative, so you can read all the names of the businesses on the building. I just can not put that large of a file up on my blog for you read. Next …
This photo shows the Davy Crockett Foods push cart in the same parade. I guess that ol’ Davy had not sold enough “BearBurgers” or “CoonDogs” to justify springing for a parade float, so they opted for a push-cart that resembles an ocean liner. Or that is what it looks like to me. I like the little boys in the background following along with fishing poles trying to snag a bearburger or a coondog. Also, how about those to urchins that climbed up on the building above the Acme Stores sign for a better look? I wonder if this Acme Store sells the same Acme anvil that always flattens Willey Coyote in the cartoons? You have to have grown up in the fifties and watched cartoons on a b&w tv, kiddies, to get that reference. Next up is a celebrity photo …
This, boys and girls, is Denise Darnell, who stared in the classic 1950’s movie, The Strip Tease Murder Case. On my favorite app, IMDb, a fan – the only one posted, by the way – claimed that this movie is his nomination for ” Worst Movie Ever Made “. I won’t boar you with the rest of the revenue, you can go look it up yourself and read what John Howard Reid has to say in his post. In fact, I do not know why I even bothered to mention his name, since his review is the only one! One more interesting tidbit … the advertising poster claims that Denise Darnell is ” 6’7″ of Amazon Beauty “. And to be perfectly honest, this poster might be the best thing about the movie! But for those interested, you can go search for it yourself. Ms Darnell shows up in several of the photos that my father made and for some reason, I want to say that she might have been the “chaperone” for this group of celebrities that included Doc and Miss Kitty from Gunsmoke and Michael Ansara who played Cochise in the tv show ” Broken Arrow ” from the 1950’s. I only use the word chaperone very loosely, because I could not think of a better word / term – tour guide did not really seem appropriate. I am hoping that someone out there might remember seeing Ms Darnell here in Pensacola and will make a comment. I am not really holding my breath on any comments for The Strip Tease Murder Case, but who knows, all we can do is wait and see.
That does it for me. I am sorry that I missed posting something in December and that made the first month that I missed making a monthly post in years. I hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday season in 2016. We got to travel to Seattle to spend time with Lauren, Lukas and Travis, whom we had not seen since Christmas before last in Southern California. I have posted some photos from this years trip over on my personal blog, Frank Hardy Photo Blog .
Thanks for looking and please comment regardless whether you know something or not … I just like hearing from you. I know that people are looking because I see the stats, it just does not tell me whom, but I do know where. Also, don’t forget that I post fairly regularly on my Instagram account: @frankphardy .
That’s all Doc … ( one more feeble reference to 1950’s b&w cartoons that I grew up on ).
Pensacola Pier ….
I ran across this negative years ago and just set it aside. Someone had brought me this print to copy back in the 1980’s and I made me an extra copy. This is the end of Palafox Street and I want to say that this is taken in the 1930’s. The strip of land on the back side would be where the Port Royal Development is built today. No idea who took the photo, but if anyone has any information on this image, please feel free to comment and share anything that you might know. Thanks for looking and please check back. One of my New Year’s resolutions for 2017 is to try and post several times a month. I have been busy with other ways to share my photography ( Instagram is the main one ) and have sort of ignored my two blogs. But no worry, I still have thousands of images to work through and post, so don’t give up on me yet.
Delchamps in Downtown Pensacola Florida …
I posted over on my personal blog about this image if anyone is interested. A link to my blog is listed over in the right side margin. Thanks for looking …
Pensacola Fire Department …
This is in the square at Palafox and Government Streets sometime back in the 1920’s. That is the Escambia County Courthouse in the background. Look at the facial expressions on the fire fighters … also look at all of the activity in the background. Everyone is busy and going someplace. Even though this is a black and white image ( toned actually ) it seems that black or some dark color is the predominant color for suits, dresses and cars back in the 1920’s. As usual I have no clue who any of the fire fighters are or what they are doing, but it doesn’t matter. Here is one more from a different direction …
Here you see the TT Wentworth Museum in the background, that at one time used to be the Pensacola City Hall. Even I can remember going down to the City Hall back in the late 1960’s and up into the 1970’s and doing business there. So it must have been in use up until the new City Hall down on Main Street was built back in the 1980’s. I have some photos that I took when they were building the new City Hall over on my other blog that I have showing my photography. If anyone knows anything about either of these two photographs, please feel free to comment. Thanks again for looking and please check back … Frank
Home Show at the Pensacola Municipal Auditorium …
I am going to start off with this young lady displaying the new colorful rotary dial phones from Southern Bell and Telegraph. It comes in a variety of beautiful colors, however, since color film did not become used wide-spread until the 1960’s and this is 1956, you are just going to have to take this lady’s word for it. There is only one model of phone at the present time, but it does come in eight beautiful colors … as you can tell from the various tones of phones. Be the first on your block to get rid of your basic black phone … the start of phone envy!! Moving on to soft drinks …
Two magnetized Royal Crown Oven Mitts for only 50 cents and two RC bottle caps. I almost will wager that this is one of the first promotions in stores back in the 1950’s. It is hard to believe that before this time the retailers had yet to utilize store promotions. All of that untapped consumer advertising gone to waste for those previous years. Well friend, no need to worry, because in the next thirty years or more they would more than make up for years of no promotions. It is hard to even imagine the decades before without in-store promotions. And let’s not forget the radio stations and TV stations getting involved, along with magazines and newspapers. Your head should be spinning now in ” promotional heaven “… It has only just begun! Thanks for looking and if any of you remember this Home Show down at the Pensacola Municipal Auditorium, please let us hear from you. Thanks again … Frank
1930’s Delchamps Basketball Team …
Back in the 1930’s, my father worked at Delchamps Grocery store when it was located at the corner of Garden and Baylen Streets. He played on their basketball team and he is the guy standing, second on the right side of the photograph. This photo might have been taken between 1932 and 1934. He graduated from PHS in 1934, so I know that it was not after that time. The photo was taken in the old gym that was located on the corner of Baylen and Belmont Streets, but it is no longer there. Note the walk-around that surrounds the court behind the backboard. I scanned this photo years ago and have been looking for it because it has the names of all of the players written on the back. I am sure that there are some “old-timers” out there that will recognize some of the names. Carter Photography on Palafox in downtown Pensacola made the photograph, but I just put my tag on it for identification. This is also the original tone of the photograph and I did not bother to alter the color just because it looked interesting to me. If anyone has any photographs of this old basketball gym, I would like to see them. I am not sure if the building might have been the original YMCA before it moved to it’s present location on Palafox, but if anyone knows please comment. Thanks for looking and as always, all comments are welcomed and appreciated. Check back … Frank
OK … I have found the back of the above photo with the name of the players:
The names are as follows: from the left – Delmar Jones, Clarence Dannelly, Murdock Campbell, Albert Swain, Mr Roberds_Manager, Mr Aiken_Frank’s Boss, Albert McLellan, Frank Hardy, Jack Britton.
Some of the names of the players I recognize – McLellan, Campbell, Dannelly are all familiar to me. If anyone recognizes any of the other names, let me know. Thanks for looking and please check back … Frank
Another First Methodist Photo …
This is not a great photo … it is not as sharp as I would like it to be. I have several different variations of this view and I have been working on one for the longest trying to remove the telephone pole out of the photo. I have about half taken out and I have spent too many hours on it already, but I will finish it one day. In the mean time I thought that I would just throw this one out. My father made this back when it snowed fairly hard in Pensacola back in February of 1958, I believe was the year. If I am wrong, please correct me. You also see in the corner on the right side of the frame, the old furniture company building that now houses The Wright Place. I wish I could remember the name of the old furniture company, but that was before my time. I remember that Rhodes Furniture occupied the building on the other side of Wright Street across from Christ Church. If anyone has any comments, please let us hear them and thanks for looking … Frank
NOTE: The image that I mentioned in the above post is up on the blog and it does have the telephone pole in the image. I have been working on taking it out and I will eventually. I am not sure of the date that I posted it, but it is only about 20 or so posts back from this one. You can go up to the ” search ” button on the top right side of this blog and type in ” First Methodist Church ” and it will pop up with a few other First Methodist posts … Thanks
Pensacola Mardi Gras …
Not sure if this Mardi Gras photo is from the 1920’s or 30’s. All of the people on the float are wearing black masks for some reason, making them even more scarey. The man on the podium is giving someone in the krew the key to the city. I have seen some other photos similar to this one, but not with the key to the city being handed over. The man doing the handing could either be the Mayor of Pensacola or maybe the City Manager … someone important for sure. Who knows, it might even be a relative to Quint Studer or some other mover and shaker back then, If anyone knows anything about this photo or anything from this era, please share it with us. I am curious about this one. I also hope everyone is enjoying their Mardi Gras Tuesday and will make it to church tomorrow for Ash Wednesday, if they are not too hung-over. As always, all comments are welcomed and appreciated and please check back … Frank
One more thing, my father did not take this photo. I just had a copy negative that I scanned for this image. Someone must have brought him the photo to copy and make prints. If anyone has any idea who the photographer was, please let me know. Most photographers from this era put their mark somewhere on the print to identify the photographer / artist, but this print did not. I am sure that it was photographed with a view camera because of the sharpness. The photographers back during this time names could have been ” Bell “, ” Turpin ” and ” Cottrell ” and would have had their names somewhere on the negative or print if they had made the image. Thanks again ….
The Corner of Baylen and Government Streets …
I found this image years ago and just set it aside … it really did not do anything me until it dawned on me that the Professional Building was torn down to make the new Court House Annex / Clerk’s Office. Also, this George’s Grill was popular with the Downtown Crowd. I have no idea why my father made this photograph, but I am sure it was for an insurance adjuster … must have been a bad accident here at this intersection. You are looking east toward Palafox Street and you see Mayes Office Supply and Printing business next to the Professional Building on the north side of Government Street. I can still remember when Mayes and the Professional Building were there in the 1960’s and the 1970’s, but I do not remember George’s Grill.
One more thing, this is my 300th post on this blog. I never made it this far when I had it over on Blogger. I hope to keep this going for quite some time because I still have thousands of negatives and photographs that I can post. One of the most important things that I have learned is that just because an image does not have any “meaning ” to me, someone out there on the internet usually recognizes someone in the photo or the location in the photo and will comment. Making me glad that I took the time to post the image. One such image is the one that I titled ” First Methodist Musicians “. I have received some nice comments and a few calls about that image … and I sat on those images for years before I posted them. So thanks for looking and as usual, all comments are appreciated and I do respond to all of them, even though it might take me a while to getting around to writing. Please check back … Frank
Frank Hardy Made My Photographs Two 
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