Drennan, John P., 1906-1986. Photographs, C.1920S-1985

1) Drennan, John P., 1906-1986. Photographs, c.1920s-1985. Special Collections Department/Long Island Studies Institute Contact Information: Special Collections Department Axinn Library, Room 032 123 Hofstra University Hempstead, NY 11549 Phone: (516) 463-6411, or 463-6404 Fax: (516) 463-6442 E-mail: [email protected] http://www.hofstra.edu/Libraries/SpecialCollections Compiled by: [M. O’Connor] Date [ Nov. 28, 2012] Completed: [M. O’Connor Updated: August 7, 2015] Drennan, John P., 1906-1986. Photographs, c.1920s-1985. 4.8 cubic ft. Born on March 25, 1906, John P. Drennan was a news reporter and commercial photographer. He worked at Roosevelt Field (located in what is now East Garden City) from c.1927 through c.1951, except during the war years of 1942-1945. After Roosevelt Field closed in 1951, he moved his business, Drennan Photo Service, to a two-story building that he purchased on First St. in Mineola. Drennan started out as an aviation photographer and was acquainted with and photographed a number of famous figures from early American aviation history, including Glenn Curtiss, Douglas “Wrong Way” Corrigan, and Charles Lindbergh. In 1927, he photographed Lindbergh taking off on his historic solo non-stop flight from Roosevelt Field to Le Bourget Field in Paris. In 1938, in the week before his famed transatlantic flight from Floyd Bennett Field (Brooklyn, N.Y.) to Ireland, it was reported that Corrigan borrowed Drennan’s New York Times every day to check the weather report. Over the years, Drennan also specialized in construction worksite “progress” photographs for architects and contractors; was hired by New York City newspapers to cover Long Island stories; and, photographed and reported on virtually any type of newsworthy event, including the Vanderbilt Cup races, for newspapers like Newsday and the Long Island Press. His “Photo by Drennan” tagline was well-known, particularly on Long Island. It may be as an accident photographer, however, that Drennan was best known and although he had been involved in accident photography for years, it became a main focus of his work after Roosevelt Field closed in 1951. He hired a team of photographers that were tuned to police short-wave radio twenty-four hours a day, and they covered virtually every accident in Nassau County. The photographs taken by Drennan and his team were sold to lawyers and insurance companies who would use them to help negotiate claims. Drennan was also a veteran of World War II. In 1942, he enlisted in the United States Navy, in which he served as a Pacific Fleet still picture officer, eventually achieving the rank of lieutenant commander. In November 1945, shortly before returning to his business at Roosevelt Field, he was awarded the Bronze Star for “meritorious service in connection with operations against the enemy in the public information section on the staff of the Commander in Chief, United States Pacific Fleet and Pacific Ocean Areas, from September, 1944, to August, 1945.” The medal was presented to him at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, by Admiral Chester W. Nimitz. Drennan worked as a photographer and reporter until his death at age eighty. The longtime Mineola, N.Y., resident collapsed and died on March 13, 1986, while snapping a photograph of an automobile crash. He was survived by a sister, Margaret M., and had a brother, James (Joe) Drennan, who died in 1968. Collection includes photographs, film negatives and glass plate negatives. The photographs span from 1920s-1973 and are mainly black and white, with a small number in color. Also included is a small amount of Drennan’s business and personal papers, which span the years 1941-1971. In addition, the collection contains collected photographs, mainly of Hempstead Village in the early part of the twentieth century. Notable among the materials in the collection are prints and negatives of construction worksite progress photographs that Drennan took for D. Fortunato, Inc., a general contracting company in Floral Park, N.Y. Many of these photographs, the majority of which were taken in the 1950s-1970s, help to document the rapid expansion of Long Island after World War II. Subjects include buildings at the site of the 1964-65 World’s Fair, office buildings, schools, churches, municipal facilities, and buildings at the shopping center and industrial park at Roosevelt Field. Also noteworthy in the collection are a large number of images of auto collisions, which are reflective of Drennan Photo Service’s specialization in accident photography. The collection contains aerial photographs, as well as photographs of buildings, cars firefighters, roads and intersections, and people, including celebrities such as entertainer Eddie Cantor, singer Perry Como, members of the singing group The Bobbettes, and radio personality Jack Barry with showgirl Lillian Moore. SUBJECTS Names: Drennan, John P., 1906-1986. D. Fortunato, Inc. Drennan Photo Service. New York World’s Fair (1964-1965). Subjects: Construction--New York (State)--Long Island. Events. Traffic Accidents. Places: Mineola, (N.Y.). Roosevelt Field (N.Y.). Form and Genre Terms: Negatives. Photographs. Occupational terms: Photographers. Reporters. The John P. Drennan Photographs collection is arranged in Five Series: I. Photographs, c.1920s-1973; majority in black and white, some in color. Arranged by subject. Aerial Photographs Auto Crashes Buildings and Houses Cars and Other Vehicles Construction Firefighters D. Fortunato, Inc. (General Contractors) People Roads and Intersections Roosevelt Field Mineola Fair Teen Safe Driving Competitions Rainbow Division Monument Vanderbilt Cup Race 50th Anniversary Other II. Film Negatives, c.1939-1985; majority in black and white, some in color. Arranged by subject. Aerials Auto Crashes Buildings Cars and Other Vehicles Firefighters D. Fortunato, Inc. (General Contractors) People Roads Roosevelt Field Schools Storm of November 1950 Vanderbilt Cup Race 50th Anniversary Other III. Glass Plate Negatives, c.1920s-1953; all in black and white. Arranged by subject. Aerials Auto Crashes LILCO Glenwood Generating Station IV. John P. Drennan Business and Personal Papers, 1941-1971. Arranged alphabetically. V. Collected Photographs – reprints of photographs, the majority of which are of Hempstead Village during the early part of the 20th century. Also includes some Camp Mills and Mitchel field photographs. Drennan, John P., 1906-1896. Photographs, c.1920s-1985 Box and Folder Listing Series I: Photographs All photographs are black and white unless otherwise noted. Box/ Description Location Notes Inclusive Dates Folder Aerials 1-1 Aerial view of Franklin National Bank Garden City 8” x 10” c. late 1960s Building, R.H. Macy, Roosevelt Raceway and Mitchel A.F. Base 1-2 Aerial view of Garden City, looking Garden City 8” x 10” c. late 1950s southeast (2 photos) 1-3 Aerial view of Garden City, looking Garden City 8” x 10” c. late 1950s south 1-4 Aerial view of Hempstead Village, Hempstead 8” x 10” c.1950s looking south down Main St. and North Franklin Ave. 1-5 Aerial view of Jones Beach, looking Wantagh 8” x 10” c.1950s west (water tower at center) 1-6 Aerial view of Levittown Levittown 8” x 10” c.1950s 1-7 Aerial views of Lord & Taylor Garden City 8” x 10” c. late 1950s (4 photos) 1-8 Aerial view of Meadowbrook East Meadow 8” x 10” c. early 1950s Hospital 1-9 Aerial view of Mercy Hospital. Rockville Centre 8” x 10” c.1950s (2 copies) Aerial views of Northern State Westbury, Old 3” x 4” c.1950s Parkway and neighboring Westbury communities of Westbury and Old Westbury (8 photos) See Box 7, Folder 1 Aerial view of Atlantic Beach Bridge Lawrence 4” x 5” c. late 1950s See Box 7, Folder 2 1-10 Aerial views of Atlantic Beach Bridge Lawrence 8” x 10” c.1955 (4 photos, 1 copy) 1-11 Aerial view of buildings near train Montauk 8” x 10” c.1950s depot. Montauk Manor in middleground. (1 photo, 2 copies) 1-12 Aerial view of unidentified swimming Unidentified 8” x 10” c.1930s pool and surrounding area 1-13 Aerial views of the Cherrywood Wantagh 8” x 10” 1953 Shopping Center (4 photos) 1-14 Aerial view of Point Lookout, Point Lookout 8” x 10” c.1930s Meadowbrook Bridge in the background 1-15 Aerial views of the Triborough Bridge Queens 8” x 10” 1940s and the Hell Gate Bridge. 1-16 Aerial views of Southern State South 8” x 10” c. late 1950s Parkway expansion, including images Farmingdale of parkway exit numbers 30, 32 and 35. (4 photos, 1 copy) Article (carbon copy) accompanying photographs in 1-16. 1-17 Aerial view of unidentified football Unidentified 8” x 10” c.1930s and baseball fields. 1-18 Aerial view of Red Star Towing Unidentified 8” x 10” c. late 1950s tugboat between two oil barges. 1-19 Aerial view of unidentified beach Unidentified 8” x 10” c. late 1950s facility with pier. 1-20 Aerial view of Roslyn Viaduct and Unidentified 8” x 10” c. late 1950s Hempstead Harbor. 1-21 Aerial view of the Long Island Roslyn Heights 8” x 10” Sep. 1, 1957 Expressway under construction, looking west from Mineola Ave. Article (carbon copy) accompanying photograph in 1-21 1-22 Aerial view of two recharge basins Unidentified 8” x 10” c. late 1940s (sumps) and surrounding areas, including a development site. Auto Crashes 1-23 AAA tow truck removing a car Unidentified 8” x 10” c.1950s 1-24 Accident in front of a house on Garden City? 8” x 10” c.1940s Tanner’s Pond Rd.? 1-25 Auto in accident with Park Square Hicksville 7” x 9” c.1951 Lumber Co. truck at Old Country Rd. and McAlaster Ave. (2 photos, 1 copy) Article (carbon copy) accompanying photographs in 1-25 1-26 Bell System-New York Telephone Unidentified 8” x 10” c.1960s truck with left front-end damage, parked in a garage Bell Telephone truck and another Unidentified 4” x 5” Reprints of vehicle both flipped over near corner photos taken of Bedford Ave., police and crowd c.1930s gathered at scene.

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