Brownsville Station Identification (not a Brownsville, Texas photo)

1951 Standard Television Co - 1951 - 743 E Elizabeth St and then some....

1949 Brownsville Coffee Shop reopens on E Elizabeth St

 While researching a few businesses on E Elizabeth St during the 1950s from the Pat Rogers collection of photo negatives I compiled a few images which blew-up into a collage. 

 There's no history of the Brownsville Coffee Shop (which still exists in name) written as of yet. 

Circa 1930's Foto-Fix - Jose Cruz - Brownsville, Texas

Thanks to David Muñoz for his permission to share this photo of his grandfather

The following images show a progression from original to digitized enhancement.  

 Mr. Jose Cruz worked as a laborer and migrant farmer.  His grandson David Muñoz submitted this photo which appears to have been taken on a dry brush/dirt field or quite possible the dunes of South Padre Island.  The vehicle appears to be a 1928 Ford Model AA 1 1/2 ton pick-up truck which would have been the off-road vehicle of choice at the time.

Family members state that Mr Cruz worked fields north of what would have been known as "the boulevard" before being paved and named Palm Blvd. 

The city eventually built Brownsville's first large-sized brick edifice to house high school students for several decades (to known as Central Middle School / Brownsville Independent School District Administration building).  Brownsville originally boomed as a producer of cotton which lasted well into the late 1950s (if my historical recollection is correct) but other crops included citrus and other produce.

Mr Cruz also unloaded ships at the port of Brownsville (built 1936) which brought bananas from South America and other products when we were known as "The Gateway to the Hemisphere" (because we were a global hub that included a port (by sea) -- an airport (by air) -- a railway system (by rail) and roads to transport by the truckloads.

As a blogger I seldom write anything and intended to write about the process of enhancing the photo.  While it was impossible (beyond my capabilities) to uncover Mr Cruz's facial features it was not impossible to make an attempt to do a bit of digital body work to restore the ol' Ford pick-up truck.  I was fortunate to find a few images searching the internet to make this possible.  Mr Munoz and I agree that several enhancements look contrived but as a learning exercise I found this digitized photo restoration very challenging and once again thank David for allowing me the pleasure of attempting to bring out the details.  

1952 Fishers Cafe - Brownsville, Texas

photo by Pat Rogers

color by Bronsbil Estacion

1942 Arthur Rothstein colorized photo - Man at Market Square (1) Brownsville, Texas

Rothstein, Arthur, 1915-1985 ; United States. Farm Security Administration ; United States. Office of War Information ; United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration

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2012 0528 Elaine (a.k.a. "El Aguila" or the Eagle) at Market Square - photo by Javier Garcia

Digitized Photo Restoration -- F.C. Lopez of Brownsville, Texas

Photo--fix submitted by J.D. Lopez

I recently offered to do a few photo-fixes for friends and acquaintances on the Facebook page .  Here's a look at how a digitized restoration takes shape (and color, in this case) with a brief-bio of the subject as written by his son....

 F.C. Lopez. World War II United States Army Veteran -  5th Army. 34th infantry. The Red Bulls.  He was wounded twice fighting Hitler's Army in North Africa and Italy.

My Dad was Francisco Cardenas Lopez. His dad Andres Lopez my grandpa had a fruit stand at the old market in downtown. Back in the 40s. He had 5 brothers. Felipe, Ramon,Juan,,Roberto, Esteban 2 sisters Maria and Ofelia. He worked at the Brownsville Herald for over 40 years. He was the Pressman. He joined the military after Pearl Harbor. He was attached to the 5th Army, 34th Division. Red Bulls. Fought in North Africa and Italy. Awarded 2 Purple Hearts for wounds in Action and a Bronze Star. And other awards as I sent you the photo of the shadow box. My dad passed away in 1997. My mom Lydia Lopez is 95 and still going strong.

Many thanks to J.D. Lopez for submitting photo and allowing us to share it with you.