"I Used To Be A Fotomat" Part 2

In my perpetual fascination with architecture conversions, the Fotomat still holds a dear place in my heart and I photograph them when ever I can. Like Taco Bell's from the 60's with their stone-like arched brick facades or the blue roof tops of the local I-Hop, Fotomats were very distinctive structures that you could spot from a mile away. They were usually placed in large shopping mall parking lots.

You may be looking at this image of "Hartz Flowers" in Danville, California wondering where the structure of the original Fotomat could be. I too would be hard pressed to think it ever began its life as a Fotomat, that is if I didn't actually grow up in this town and visit this very Fotomat as a teenager! This Fotomat lived right across the street from my high school, just south of the donut shop we used to hang out at. This is a very rare extension of the traditional Fotomat structure. Completely remodeled and expanded, all that is left of the original structure that I can see lays underneath the awning.

This converted Fotomat in Glendale, California on the other hand still retains its signature 70's structure complete with its distinctive roof that reminds me of camera bellows. This cigarette hut continues to provide the convenient drive up window. No need to get out of your car for a pack of smokes!

The rear of the hut still looks as if you could you drive up to the kiosk and drop off your film for one day photo processing instead! The color scheme, although drab enough to be from the early 70's, is unfortunately not original. Fotomats started out in the 1960's with bright yellow roof tops and light blue siding.

Nice to see that the fluorescent lighting is still intact although uselessly lit during the day... No longer visible are the spotlights on top of the roof or even a cement island built around the structure. But there is not doubt when you pass this smokers hut that in its former glory, a Fotomat once stood.

Last but certainly not least, I spied this former Fotomat in lovely Dublin, California. Completely in tact with spotlights, drive-thru kiosk and cement island this little abandoned hut still lives in the middle of a shopping mall parking lot.

I'm not quite sure what this structure was converted into, as it was empty when I found it. If I had to guess based on the color palate they painted the poor thing, I would say it would have been a flower or tchotchke stand.

Well kept, this former Fotomat has kept its original charm and structural integrity. 

The formica drive-thu counter and old aluminum window was still intact.

Inside I found an old folding chair and an elf staring out the window, watching the world go by. The sorting station, where packets of prints and negatives were stored, was still there. What always freaked me out the most, is how a human could withstand the claustrophobic work space inside the Fotomat. No matter how cool this structure looked from the outside, I would have never been able to force myself to work in those cramped quarters.

Luckily they didn't process any images inside!

Julie Pavlowski Green
January 4, 2014