OCEANWAY CHRISTMAS PARTY

(Source of picture: Florida State Archives)

"Merry Christmas" from the Oceanway Fire Department of 1948!  This photo shows the firefighters at their holiday party.  Oceanway is a North Jacksonville neighborhood that's located southeast of the international airport.

After their celebration, some of the firefighters may've taken their wives or sweethearts downtown for a movie.  Forsyth Street glistened as the city's "Great White Way," with movie houses lighting up Forsyth between Main and Newnan.  Only the Florida Theater still stands as a reminder of the street's cinematic heyday.

What would the firefighters have watched in 1948?  Many of the year's top flicks haven't proven particularly memorable.  The most profitable movies were these:

#1 -- "Key Largo" (Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall)

#2 -- "Easter Parade" (Judy Garland, Fred Astaire)

#3 -- "A Date with Judy" (Wallace Beery, Jane Powell)

#4 -- "Words and Music" (June Allyson, Perry Como)

#5 -- "On an Island with You" (Esther Williams, Peter Lawford)

#6 -- "Arch of Triumph" (Ingrid Bergman, Charles Boyer)

Other 1948 films included "Johnny Belinda," "The Snake Pit," "Fort Apache," "Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein," and "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre."

CLICK HERE for more about moviegoing on Jacksonville's "Great White Way."

Contact the Website Manager

           -- Suggestions?  Comments?  Broken links?  Need assistance?