This shot was taken in early 1974. In this era, Chinese restaurants were almost synonymous with chop suey; milk was still delivered to homes (though not very much); and camera stores could be found every few blocks. Milk and chop suey are still around, but sadly, local camera stores have all but disappeared. The first nail the camera store’s coffin was the digital revolution. Film and processing had been their bread and butter. The last nail was the development of multi-function cameras, AKA cell phones, that were sold at deep discounts through big box stores.
A reader wrote in to say that this picture was taken on the 1100 block of Granville. “Mrs. Langtry, who was our neighbor on Glenlake, one block away, ran the (camera store/record shop). I got some of my first guitar picks there. She had a little box full of them. She always sold records at retail, so I usually bought them elsewhere. First tasted fried rice at Jame’s Luke Chop Suey. I worked as a delivery boy for Wunsch’s Pharmacy which would be just west of Langtry’s.” Ah, the memories!
For younger readers, “records” were the vinyl discs on which music was recorded before CDs replaced them in the early 1980s.