Drive thru Fotomats - Life in America

A look back at Fotomat's drive thru photo processing.

In the 1960s, everyone used film to take photos, and they had to get their photos processed and printed somewhere, so the Fotomat company was born.

Fotomat was founded by Preston Fleet and the first kiosk was opened in Point Loma, California, in 1965. The concept offered a “drive-thru” service for overnight film development.

Within a few years, the company had expanded to 1,000 locations.

Fotomat was one of the first companies to offer movies for rent on videocassette, which was a new concept back in 1979. Customers would browse through a small catalog, call a number and order the movie of their choice. The following day, the customer could pick up the cassette at the Fotomat kiosk of their choice along with their photos.

Fotomat preferred to hire female employees to work in their small kiosks. They wore a royal blue and yellow smock top and were called “Fotomates.” Male employees were called “Fotomacs” and they wore light blue polos.

By the 1980s, Fotomat’s overnight development of photos became obsolete when 1-hour mini-labs were installed in supermarkets and pharmacies.

In 1983, Fotomat announced plans to close 1,000 of its nearly 4,000 kiosks to save money, but the closings continued until virtually all locations were closed.

As digital cameras became popular, Fotomat shifted to an online editing and storage website where users could manage their photos. This website existed until 2009 before it too was closed.

Hundreds of abandoned Fotomat drive-thru kiosks still stand in suburban shopping center parking lots. Many of these have been converted into coffee kiosks, key cutting shops, and ice cream stands.

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