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Anthony Kozla Collection, Circa 1930-1950

 

Summary

Extent:
3 Hollinger Boxes
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

Anthony Kozla Collection, Broward County Historical Archives, Broward County Library.

Background

Scope and content:

The Anthony Kozla Collection contains 469 photographs Anthony Kozla took during his professional life and personal activities. These photographs include portraits of groups, individuals, and national and local celebrities. They are also a good source for documenting Fort Lauderdale's local life from the 1930s to the mid-1950s through events, pictures of local communities, and recreational activities. The Anthony Kozla Collection also helps understand the evolution of Fort Lauderdale and Broward County's urban development with 101 aerial views and photographs of buildings and streets.

Biographical / historical:

Anthony Kozla was a Floridian photographer. He was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1909 to a Bohemian father (region of former Czechoslovakia and actual Czech Republic) and an American mother[1]. Anthony Kozla moved with his family to Fort Lauderdale in 1926[2]. He had two sisters, T. J, Clark DeLand, and Anna Barrett, as well as three brothers, Frank, Louis, and Charles.

Anthony Kozla had his studio on 628 N. W. 3rd Avenue[3]. His photography activities led him to work for newspapers[4]. Starting 1948, many articles from the Fort Lauderdale Daily News and Evening Sentinel credit "Tony Kozla" for his photographs. It is mentioned that Anthony Kozla has been an "official photographer for the Ft. Lauderdale police department" and for his local group theatre[5].

Anthony Kozla was active in Fort Lauderdale's local life. He was part of a Boy Scouts Troop and an amateur actor for Park Temple Civic Players[6]. He was also part of the Knights of Columbus[7] and the Fort Lauderdale Camera Club for which he won the third price during an exhibition in 1946 for his picture "Sunset"[8].

Anthony Kozla died from a heart attack in 1954. He is buried at Evergreen Cemetery.

Notes: [1] 1940 US Federal Census. [2] Fort Lauderdale Daily News and Evening Sentinel, September 29, 1954. [3] Anthony Kozla Photo shop business License, 1953. [4] The Fort Lauderdale Daily News and Evening Sentinel, July 25, 1936. [5] Fort Lauderdale Daily News and Evening Sentinel, September 29, 1954. [6] The Fort Lauderdale Daily News and Evening Sentinel, July 1, 1937 and July 7, 1937. Several other newspaper articles from the 1930s credit Anthony Kozla for his participation in theatre plays. [7] Fort Lauderdale Daily News and Evening Sentinel, September 29, 1954. [8] Fort Lauderdale Daily News and Evening Sentinel, February 20, 1947.

Processing information:

The Anthony Kozla Collection was processed at the item level by Axel Surot in September 2024. Additional materials were processed and the finding aid updated by Erin Purdy in March 2026. This finding aid may be updated to reflect new descriptions as well as acquisitions to the collection.

Arrangement:

The proposed series includes: Series I: Professional Papers, Series II. Personal Papers, Series III. Photographs, Series IV. Slides, Series V. Postcards, Series VI. Documentation.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

The Anthony Kozla Collection is open for research.

Preferred citation:

Anthony Kozla Collection, Broward County Historical Archives, Broward County Library.

Location of this collection:
Broward County Historical Archives, Broward County Library
100 S. Andrews Avenue
Fort Lauderdale
FL
33301
USA