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Looking Back: Historic photos from Naples (2011 edition)

When Daily News reader John Mayer's parents first visited Naples in 1955, they were approached by strangers on the beach to see if the Mayers cared to share the costs of a charter fishing trip. The results were so good that the Daily News' predecessor, the weekly Collier County News, came running with a camera to make this photo of part of the 500 pounds of kingfish at the Naples City Dock. From left, the anglers are John and Olive Mayer, Helen and Palmer Craig and the captain, Henry Earnshaw. The younger John Mayer has a brother, Jim, and sister, Joan Gavin, also living in Naples to this day.

When Daily News reader John Mayer's parents first visited Naples in 1955, they were approached by strangers on the beach to see if the Mayers cared to share the costs of a charter fishing trip. The results were so good that the Daily News' predecessor, the weekly Collier County News, came running with a camera to make this photo of part of the 500 pounds of kingfish at the Naples City Dock. From left, the anglers are John and Olive Mayer, Helen and Palmer Craig and the captain, Henry Earnshaw. The younger John Mayer has a brother, Jim, and sister, Joan Gavin, also living in Naples to this day.

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  • Looking Back In 1966 this Daily News picture was very important, as the Kiwanis Hawks were to play in Punta Gorda. No other information about the contest is available from the vintage clipping shared by Emolee Barrett of Naples, mother of the player who penciled "me" onto the photo. Barrett says the lads were 9 and 10 years old and comprised "a great deal of the boys who were in Naples at that time." "We were still a wonderful small town then," she writes. The caption from the original Daily News edition gave these names: Front row, left to right, Steve Russell, Jerry Hatcher, James Miller, Rodger Morris, Tommy Barrett, Roy Caple, Bill Longshore, Ted Stevenson, Toby Moreau, Curtis Hamm, Bruce Stevenson and Pete Winters; second row, left to right, Alex Winters, Mike Arthur, Tommy Eggelston, Greg Decker, Cary Howard, James Koliopuplos, Jeff Barber, Randy Gore, Jimmy Traer, Mike Bright, Bill Kilgore and Steve Johnson; back row, left to right, Paul Hazelwood, Albert Fortin, Tim Bell, Jim Decker, Steve Alander, Bruce Griffen, David Barkey, Lance Stahlman, Mark Sentovich, Dennis Hatcher and Walter Green. Their coach was Barry Kee.
  • When the big 'Naples Daily News’’ sign came down at Central Avenue, site of the newspaper’s former hub, a neighboring business saved it from the scrap heap. Robert McDaniel, a longtime local resident, put it in his Downtown Auto repair shop, which already hosted old signs for Coca-Cola and the Exxon station where he got his start at age 15 in 1976 at Sixth Avenue North and U.S. 41 North in Naples. The gas station site now has a bank on it; he has been at the Downtown Auto site since 1993.
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  • The Daily News' Aug. 14 feature about reader Mike Stanton's days as a pilot of the Douglas Skyraider fighter plane in the Korean Conflict generated lots of interest. The Daily News got a nice note and photo, which we published the next Sunday, from another pilot of the era. Now comes a letter from James W. Kissick of Bradenton Beach. He says the photo above shows him 'making the historic 50,000th landing on the USS Coral Sea in the mid-Atlantic, thereby winning the contest'' over the USS Midway and USS Roosevelt. The dated ticker tape on the bottom of the photo verifies his niche in history: 'Mr. Kissick in Plane 25 made the 50,000 (cq) landing.''
  • Little did they know that when they made these snapshots they would have such personal keepsakes of the World Trade Center. Ann Sprowls of Naples says she made the aerial view above, now discolored, en route to Europe in the mid- to late-1980s. Gervase Audette captured late afternoon sun on the twin towers from a cruise ship in 1997.
  • Little did they know that when they made these snapshots they would have such personal keepsakes of the World Trade Center. Ann Sprowls of Naples says she made the aerial view above, now discolored, en route to Europe in the mid- to late-1980s. Gervase Audette captured late afternoon sun on the twin towers from a cruise ship in 1997.
  • The photo from the same era's Naples Today magazine shows the "Old Gulf Station" at Third Street South and 12th Avenue South, which went on to become the Mole Hole gift shop and today's Handsome Harry's restaurant and retail store.
  • If the reproduction of this photo appears grainy and the colors slightly off, that is because it was made in 1956 — of early Port Royal. Gordon Pass would be off the bottom left corner; mangroves of Keewaydin Island are at lower right. Daily News reader Sheila Varnum said her sister, Pat Barnes, in High Falls, N.Y., spied the print at a street fair. A sticker on a plastic sleeve says "1956 Naples FL $9.00.'' Look closely to see the wood and rock groins that were early methods of beach renourishment; some fragments remain to this day.
  • It seems so quaint now, with Internet access to nearly any medical information we please, 24/7. In 1982, according to this ad from Gulfshore Life Magazine, the rage was a telephone service called Tel-Med with pre-recorded health advice courtesy of the former Fort Myers Community Hospital.
  • State-of-the-art travel these days might mean the latest nonstop to Europe from Southwest Florida International Airport or private jet service from Naples. Thirty years ago, commercial flights from Naples and Marco Island airports were big with the in crowd who read Gulfshore Life Magazine. These are ads from the February 1982 edition.
  • State-of-the-art travel these days might mean the latest nonstop to Europe from Southwest Florida International Airport or private jet service from Naples. Thirty years ago, commercial flights from Naples and Marco Island airports were big with the in crowd who read Gulfshore Life Magazine. These are ads from the February 1982 edition.
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  • Looking back Headlines these days about a makeover for the Publix at Naples Plaza, across U.S. 41 North from Coastland Center, remind us of this view of the original facade of the landmark. The fins resemble the design of some cars from the 1960s, right? The photo is from an ad in the 1966 yearbook of Naples High School, another neighbor of Publix, to the east.
  • We estimate the time frame of this tourism map to be the early 1970s, with titles of places and things such as Everglades Parkway, Renuda Ranch Estates and Jungle Larry's Safari. The featured Surfside Resort Motel at Hickory Boulevard and Bonita Beach is not there anymore. There are many more landmarks these days from Sanibel to Everglades City that would be included on a 2011 version. (Courtesy of Daily News reader Kathy Hunt)
  • Take a stroll down memory lane and see how many of these Naples Third Street South shops are still there. Clue: Not many. The list and artwork of Third Street landmarks of the era is from a 1974 edition of Naples Today magazine provided by Daily News reader Kathy Hunt.
  • Those were the days ... Forty years ago, Robert Iamurri of Naples, now famous for coaching softball and inducted in the Florida High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame, was a ballplayer himself. The 1971 Naples Little League All-Stars were, from left: Jerry Scott, Rudy Alzamora, Iamurri, Kenny Leiter and Ronnie Haines; second row: Willie Taylor, Mark Church, Gary Turner, Tim Poore and Mike Pike; third row: the late coach Roy Reim, Phil Osborne, Tim Muldrow, Jeff Stall, Jim Lytle and manager John Iamurri. The elder Iamurri is Robert Iamurri's father and helped start Little League in Naples. (Naples Daily News clipping courtesy of Mike Deason)
  • Looking back The Sunshine Ace hardware brand that now reaches to six stores throughout Collier and south Lee counties started with the Wynn family taking over a Western Auto store adjacent to their supermarket on Fifth Avenue South in Naples in 1958. Above is Larry Wynn, eldest of the four Wynn brothers who, along with sister Linda, expanded the family businesses through the years. This photo is among many framed and on video monitors at the remodeled Wynn's supermarket and hardware stores at Second Avenue North and U.S. 41 in Naples.
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  • Three generations: Founder D.R. House Sr. with son Daniel Mark House, in 1956.
  • Three generations: Daniel Mark House (company vice president) with son Daniel Brian House (president) today.
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  • The 1981 mother-daughter photo was made looking east on Gulf Shore Boulevard North.
  • Sherry Brooks' mother, Janette Englehart, still of Naples, says this photo of the family boat was made at Crayton Cove and the Naples City Dock in 1972 — before The Dock restaurant, which would be at far right today, was built. The 1981 mother-daughter photo was made looking east on Gulf Shore Boulevard North.
  • When Daily News reader John Mayer's parents first visited Naples in 1955, they were approached by strangers on the beach to see if the Mayers cared to share the costs of a charter fishing trip. The results were so good that the Daily News' predecessor, the weekly Collier County News, came running with a camera to make this photo of part of the 500 pounds of kingfish at the Naples City Dock. From left, the anglers are John and Olive Mayer, Helen and Palmer Craig and the captain, Henry Earnshaw. The younger John Mayer has a brother, Jim, and sister, Joan Gavin, also living in Naples to this day.
  • Parking was an issue even in the 1970s, says this ad from the former Know Naples Guide magazine. A bank on Fifth Avenue South (now the site of the Inn on Fifth) used parking as a reason to bring your business there. Magazine courtesy of Daily News reader Don Smith
  • There is plenty of history represented on this 1973 cover of Know Naples Guide magazine. As the editor's caption says, "Mr. and Mrs. Charles Baird Price are shown with a portrait of her grandfather, Walter N. Haldeman, one of the founders of Naples. The Haldeman family has been part of Naples since 1885." Magazine courtesy of Daily News reader Don Smith
  • Looking back Publicity of the demise of a vintage house a block east of Naples Pier rekindles memories of another classic cottage whose loss saddened the community in late 2002. It was called the Gingerbread House or Carriage House, actually a guest house one block south of the pier. This is a photo — not a painting. The flowers were added by artists — making outer walls into huge, delightful murals. This photo, loaned by Daily News reader Don Smith, is inscribed only "Maison Des Fleurs" by J. Shelton.
  • Looking back This will be all news to most readers of the Daily News today, as the subjects of this ad are no longer with us. A 1980 edition of the high-society Gulfshore Life magazine included an ad for The Naples Star, a weekly newspaper that specialized in business news and the social scene, featuring the late Addison "Ad" Miller. He was a founding pillar of Naples. His real estate motto was, "Naples sells itself; Ad Miller helps you buy wisely." He was a pioneer in condo development and was easily noticed around town by his trademark hat.
  • Aerial made in December shows whtat's going on with the $11 million improvementproject at the North County Water Reclamation Facility on Goodlette-Frank Road just south of Immokalee Road. Veterans Park at top left and the Victoria Park neighborhood at top right. The effluent holding pond at upper right has been lined with plastic to prevent percolation into the ground.
  • Photo shows ballfields at Veterans Park, upper left, and more of Victoria Park. Collier County photos (2)
  • Chester Keene of Naples, retired from a 42-year career in Southwest Florida law enforcement, has loads of great stories to share. One is about Collier County's first TV. Keene says in 1949 Motorola rewarded the man who fixed so many of its radios, E.B. Smith of Copeland, with a TV featuring a rabbit-ear antenna that brought in Cuba stations clearer than images from Miami. He says Smith, left, who celebrated his 100th birthday last year, still has the TV on display in his home in Golden Gate Estates.
  • Undated photo of Smith relaxing with a pipe and a good read while listening to the radio at home in Copeland.
  • Smith's TV, rabbit ears and all. Smith family photos (3)
  • By 1954, Third Street South was already one of the most desirable business addresses in Naples. The Seminole Market and the popular Beach Store, which had a soda fountain and served up famous hamburgers, lined the road on the right. This view looks to the north, with Broad Avenue South not far ahead. Moviegoers depended on the Naples Theater for their entertainment, owned and operated by Margaret and Arnold Haynes until 1974. Yes, it was the famous quonset hut moviehouse, which had to turn off the show due to noise when it rained. Discover more of early Naples and its unrushed lifestyle at the newly-restored Naples Depot Museum, located downtown at the intersection of Tenth Street and U.S. 41. This scene is part of a display featuring a 1957 Chevy. Look behind the car and you will see a mural-sized version. The museum is free and open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays. (Photo and caption courtesy of the Collier County Museum.)
  • In the late 1950s, this was the view looking northwest toward the original Gordon River Bridge on U.S. 41 East. The development area to the left on the south side of the bridge is the predecessor of today's Tin City. To its right is Boat Haven, the predecessor to part of today's Naples Bay Resort. The Naples Depot is seen to the left of center; if you look hard you can see the railroad tracks coming right to it. The rest of that part of the city looks like a rural area. Photo courtesy of Art Ullmann of Naples. Readers with local memorabilia to share are encouraged to the call the Perspective editor at 263-4773.
  • The 10th anniversary edition of the former Naples Today magazine in 1979 included this gag, with the caption at lower right saying: 'This big pile of rubble and all those bath tubs are all that's left of probably the most famous landmark in Naples' history, the old Naples Hotel at Broad Avenue South and Gordon Drive, 1892-1978.' The hotel was where the Plaza on Third Street is now; an all-new boutique hotel with an old-fashioned motif may take its place.
  • In 1979, the former Naples Today magazine, dedicated to high society, published a 10th anniversary edition with the articles featured on the cover plus features headlined “Seen on Third Street,’’ Real Estate-wise, Naples Is Still Booming and Blooming,’’ Chinese Marriage Guide,’’ “Heavy Foreign Capital Pouring Into Marco,’’ and “My, How Things Have Changed.’’ Courtesy of Daily News reader Kathy Hunt.
  • This late-1950s aerial shows Naples Bay looking north from Naples Yacht Club. How many landmarks can you find? How many of them are still there? Art Ullmann

These classic photos were published in 2011 in the Sunday Perspective section of the Naples Daily News.

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