Preservation Hall, the institution so integral to the American cultural and musical heritage we now know, stands on St. Peter Street in the heart of the French Quarter. The people revealed and preserved in these wonderful images by photographer, Bob Coke, were the unique musicians who shared their passion, their vision, and their hearts for years in the old historic building, the quaint venue where jazz musicians and listeners were welcome, but photographers and cameras were not.

The late C. Bennette Moore, who passed suddenly December 8, 1939 at the height of his career, was born in Sauk Center, Minnesota in 1879. As a very young man he enlisted for the Spanish-American War and following his discharge from the service, entered the employ of Emile Rivoire, famed French photographer of New Orleans. In 1904, he purchased the studio, re-named it and proceeded during the following thirty-five years to establish a reputation for portraiture which made his name known throughout the south.

In the 1930s he, along with other photographers such as Leon Trice, Pops Whitesell, Clarence Laughlin, Phyllis Moore, etc. formed the New Orleans Camera Club to socialize and enhance their expertise. A commercial photographer; his clients were D.H. Holmes, Orleans Manufacturing, Taaka Vodka, United China, Adler's Jewelers, Tabasco (McIlhenny), NOPSI, WDSU-Channel 6, Standard Coffee, New Orleans Opera Association and many more.

In the mid 1930's, Gene Leingang's eye turned to photography. Intent on capturing images of life in New Orleans, he carried a camera everywhere he went. His favorite place to take pictures was at Pontchartrain Beach. He was there with his camera when it opened in 1939, and continually photographed the Beach until he was called to overseas duty.

"Many artists create art from a blank canvas or a chunk of clay. For me, the art is first in 'seeing' something special, whether it is as mundane as rotting boards on a house, or as beautiful as the landscape in a swamp. After 'seeing' that special something, I record it on film. Only then do I have an idea of where that 'moment in time' will take me." Harriet Blum's work is featured in collections including the New Orleans Museum of Art, Roger Ogden Museum of Southern Art in New Orleans, Mobile Museum of Art and the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago.

Mr. Beech is a graduate of the Fred Archer School of Photography in Los Angeles, CA. He originally pursued magazine editorial photography, working through the New York Agency and Black Star Publishing. Mr. Beech later formed Industrial Photography, Inc. in New Orleans and established a reputation as a corporate photographer, the mainstay of his work being industrial, oil fields, aerials and advertising. He is now retired and living in Mandeville, Louisiana.