Rendered obsolete by technology, hundreds of abandoned Fotomat drive-thru photo development kiosks still stand in suburban shopping center parking lots.

Founded in the mid-1960s, Fotomat specialized in drive-thru, “One Day Photo Service”… that’s right kids, people once had to wait until the next day to see photos (presumably of dinosaurs) they took with their clunky analog cameras. By 1980, over four thousand yellow & blue, pyramid-roofed Fotomat kiosks were scattered across suburban parking lots from coast to coast. Built to last on cast-concrete berms, hundreds of abandoned and re-purposed Fotomat kiosks still stand, reminding us of better days and good times cast in Kodachrome.

Wooden It Be Nice

Fotomat Corporation sold out to Konica in 1986 – a timely move to be sure, considering the late-1980s advent of film processing minilabs that reduced photo development time from a day to just an hour. Now that’s progress! The subsequent introduction of digital cameras and then, camera-equipped smartphones were the final nails in Fotomat’s coffin.

While some Fotomat booths were re-purposed into key-cutting kiosks, coffee drive-thru’s and so on, others were reborn in wholly unexpected ways. Flickr user Patrick Cummins (collations) brings us this odd ex-Fotomat located in a shopping center parking lot in northern Toronto, Canada. The kiosk appears to have been made over as some sort of naturist art project before being abandoned for good.

Unloved In Lovington

When you’re a Fotomac or Fotomate (as male and female staffers were cutely called) staffing a Fotomat kiosk in Lovington, New Mexico, your worst nightmare would be when the air conditioner conked out. At least one could compare miseries with whomever staffed that curious windmill booth in the near background. Flickr user Luis Capwell captured the poignant essence of this roofless abandoned Fotomat on March 5th of 2011.

A-Peeling

This faded & abandoned Fotomat kiosk in Dayton, Ohio lost its appeal long ago – even the OPEN/CLOSED sign has seen better days. “Yes, We’re Open”? No, you’re not.

A weathered coat of desultory grey/brown paint grudgingly reveals the booth’s original sky-blue walls through cracks encouraged by numerous bitter Ohio winters. Even the concrete is peeling. Flickr user Rob Anspach (Circa71) visited the decrepit former Fotomat at the Linden Shopping Center in April of 2009, if only to take photos – not leave them.

Forlorn & For Lease

“The cute little hut with the big yellow roof”… now there’s a Kodak moment for ya! On August 21st of 2007, Flickr user Joe Balynas (muledriver) photo-documented the above ex-Fotomat (most recently, a drive-thru coffee shack) looking for a further reincarnation. The jumbo add-on fluorescent sign should help.

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Oh Snap 15 Abandoned Shuttered Fotomat Film Kiosks

If your mobile device runs out of batteries on the streets of Grenoble, simply find one of these machines, specify a desired duration, and receive a free printed short story to read in a park or on a train.

Deployed by the publishers of Short Édition, these automated kiosks are online 24 hours a day with a selection of 600 short stories, works selected by a community of over 140,000 subscribers. Would-be readers are directed to select the length of story they wish to read, then wait a few moments while the tale is printed.

No one is suggesting we stop traveling with our cell phones on hand, but for people who need a break from the screen or desire some alternative entertainment, this provides another option. The project creates not just printed stories but focal points for urban interaction, changing the way we think about and connect with cities and one another.

That said, the ‘stories’ component is still a critical component of this civic intervention: “Stories are an important part of our life. We need them to construct who we are as individuals. More and more people don’t take the time anymore to sit and read a book. This is a way to have a little ‘bite’ of a story, just for a couple of minutes.”

Easy come and easy go (just like their product), hot dog stands like these abandoned frankfurter kiosks are the fly-by-night black sheep of the fast food trade.

Now gone but not forgotten thanks to the wonders of photography and the internet, the abandoned Carney’s Corny Dogs stand (images c/o Noel Kerns above and Steve Snodgrass below) stood unloved and unappreciated long after the last piping-hot, mustard-swathed frank was served.

For better or worse, images of the decrepit kiosk were for a time the most popular photos taken in southwest Shreveport, Louisiana.

It’s Crunch Time

Standing alone and neglected with its skewed striped awning flapping in the breeze, this squarish hot dog stand in Munkfors, western Sweden appears to be closed for the season… wait a minute, it’s mid-July of 2008 according to Flickr user Rolfen – that IS the season! Perhaps the unfortunate closeness of “hamburgare” and “glass” on the sign tended to put off potential customers.

Friendly Ghost Town

Established in 1929, Kasper’s Hot Dogs in Oakland’s historic Temescal neighborhood was closed to perform temporary maintenance… in 2004!

Hopefully city authorities will find some way to preserve the unique flatiron-style structure from the wrecking ball. Kudos to Flickr users Ian Ransley and japanesejack for the above images taken in 2014 and 2010, respectively.

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Mustards Last Stand 10 Abandoned Hot Dog Kiosks