Point Cadet itself is one of Biloxi's oldest neighborhoods. It was:

Originally settled under French and Spanish colonial rule.
Home to Biloxi's booming seafood industry during the late 1800s and early 1900s.
Populated by Croatian, French, Polish, Italian, Vietnamese, and other immigrant fishing families who helped build the Gulf Coast seafood economy.
Before the casinos

When this photograph was taken, Point Cadet looked very different from today.
The area contained:

Seafood packing plants
Marinas
Small neighborhoods
Parks and museums

Beginning in the 1990s, Mississippi legalized dockside casino gaming. Point Cadet was transformed with developments such as what are now the Golden Nugget and Harrah's (now Margaritaville) resorts, dramatically changing the waterfront.

Hurricanes changed everything

The park survived several storms but suffered repeated damage over the years.

Hurricane Camille (1969) caused major destruction throughout Point Cadet.
Hurricane Katrina (2005) devastated the entire waterfront, destroying many historic structures and reshaping the area. Much of what appears in your photograph no longer exists in its original form.
A piece of Mississippi history

Today, the area is home to:

The modern Maritime & Seafood Industry Museum
Point Cadet Plaza
Public boat launches and marina
Casino resorts
Walking paths along the waterfront

For longtime Coast residents, Gulf Marine State Park is remembered as a favorite destination for school field trips, family outings, fishing, and enjoying views of Biloxi Bay before the modern redevelopment of Point Cadet.

This photograph is a valuable glimpse of a Mississippi Gulf Coast landmark that many residents remember fondly but that has largely disappeared from the landscape.