If you’ve followed the story on our blog, you know that a friend gave us a fabulous housewarming gift: a 12-pound photo album from the 1960s, packed with images from nightspots in and around South Philadelphia.
You also know that we’ve been on a grand hunt to identify the hundreds of entertainers, sports figures, business people, politicians and “just plain folks” cavorting on its pages, with the goal of donating them to Temple University’s Urban Archives for safe-keeping.
WHO ARE THEY?
The photos were collected by South Philadelphia newspaper columnist Arthur Tavani, and many are already on our website, along with whatever identifications we have.
In September, 2015, we added our first section of “Who Are We?” photos, asking for help in identifying the many unknown women in them. Today, we published 27 new photos on our website, all showing at least one person we can’t identify.
Some photos include famous Philadelphians….
Yes, that’s South Philadelphia singer Al Martino second from right, with columnist Art Tavani (far left) and Philadelphia council president Paul D’Ortona (far right). But who’s the man with the flower in his lapel?
Art Tavani shakes hands with local photographer Carl Verna. Mildred Trombetta was the editor and publisher of the South Philadelphia American newspaper, for which Art was a columnist. Louis Esposito (right) still reigns as a second-generation owner of Esposito’s Meats in the Italian Market.
(Linda Ferrino Hoffman and Bobby Rydell in 2014)
(Art Tavani’s magical photo album. 
(Singer Bobby Rydell with Art Tavani, left, and Philadelphia-based TV host Mike Douglas, center, around 1964.)
(John the Barber, Jr. reflected in a shop mirror below photos of his –
(From left: South Philadelphia nightlife writer Art Tavani, singer Jerry Vale, John the
(Art Tavani greets South Philadelphia’s Al Martino, bottom right. Not all the stars
(Native sons Al Martino & Fabian Forte)
Unexpected Philadelphia 