Dale M. McDonald Collection--approximately 5,000 color slides and photographs of Key West, 1935-2000. color slides and photographs of Key West, 1935-2000.

Collection Number: N2003-10
Creator: McDonald, Dale, 1949-2007
Title: Key West slides and photographs, 1935-2000.
Quantity: 5,653 photographs (color & B/W Slides and prints)

Description: This collection contains slides and photographs of various scenes in Key West, Florida. Most images in this collection are photographs taken by Dale McDonald between 1980 and 2000. In addition, several are earlier photographic images of Key West which Dale McDonald collected. Slides and photographs document art exhibits, businesses, boating events, attractions, community events, landscapes, residences, and street scenes. This collection also documents economic development and environmental changes in Key West during the twentieth century.

Rare photos of the Beatles are included in the collection. John Lennon, George Harrison, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr are shown at the Key Wester Hotel on South Roosevelt Boulevard. The band was on its way to a concert in Jacksonville but was diverted to Key West by Hurricane Dora in September 1964.

Historical Note: Firefighter and photographer Dale McDonald was born in Key West, Florida on October 2, 1949. McDonald began taking photographs while a student at Key West High School. After graduation in 1968, McDonald enlisted in the United States Air Force. During his service in the Air Force, McDonald was assigned to Mather Air Force Base in Sacramento, California as a Still Photographic Specialist. McDonald left the Air Force in 1972 and returned to Key West, where he began a career as a firefighter with the Naval Air Station. McDonald was promoted several times and, in 1987, he became an Assistant Fire Chief.

With the help of his wife Ann, Dale McDonald opened his photography studio, "Keys Photographic Services," in 1993. The McDonalds performed aerial, underwater, wedding, and other types of photography assignments. In 1986, they began taking photographs of the Key West Fishing Tournament. Until 2000, they captured images of prized fish and tournament contestants. In 2001, Ann McDonald succumbed to breast cancer and diabetes. Following her death, Dale McDonald closed his photography business and retired from the fire service. He continued to take photographs for documentation and archival purposes. Dale M. McDonald passed away on April 22, 2007.