Postwar Florida (23318)

Scope and content:

Photo archive of 40 items including 19 silver gelatin print with 21 accompanying original and duplicate lage format negatives, ranging from 3 x 4 to 4 x 5 inches, Clearwater Beach and Clearwater, Florida, 1953-1955. Nine original George Fulmer studio envelopes identify assignments including "Pelican Restaurant," "City Beach Pump House," "Signs Beach Apts.," "Wallace Apts. Beach," "Our Bay Restaurant," "Weekend in Clearwater," "Hickey," amd "Broadmore Motel," with Broadmore envelope dated January 14, 1955. A low motel court opens onto a central lawn and walkway occupied by seated adults and children; a man and woman stand beside a parked car under a sign reading "WALLACE APTS. / VACANCY / OVERNIGHT"; interiors contain sofas, lamps, dining sets, venetian blinds, and compact kitchen areas prepared for seasonal renters. Exterior signs advertise "20 ROOMS $4.00 DOUBLE Apr. 1 to Dec. 1," "15 UNITS $5.00 DOUBLE APRIL 15 NOV. 15," and "SUMMER RATES $5.00 PER COUPLE FROM APRIL 15 TO NOV. 15." Bay Restaurant frontage carries lettering for "SEA FOOD," "PACKAGE GOODS," "STEAK CHOPS," and "CHICKEN," while performers stand at microphones in the "Weekend in Clearwater" assignment, with a pianist visible behind one stage setup. A Hickey-Freeman Customized Clothes storefront adds a downtown retail component to the commercial landscape documented here.

By the early 1950s, Clearwater's economy depended heavily on seasonal tourism tied to automobile travel and winter migration into Florida. Motels, apartment lodgings, restaurants, package stores, entertainment venues, and retail storefronts competed for travelers arriving along expanding Gulf Coast highway routes, often advertising directly through roadside signage visible from passing cars. Fulmer's archive is strongest where it preserves those everyday commercial mechanics in named businesses rather than generalized resort imagery. Light curling, corner wear, and handling marks to prints and negatives; studio envelopes toned and worn with manuscript annotations. Overall good condition.

(From seller's item description).

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