The Foto Hut was a photography store chain started in 1972 by Frank Sklar (March 22, 1921 – December 1, 2009) in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

. The chain eventually went out of business in 2003 because of competition with larger retail corporations such as

Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...

and

Target Target may refer to: Physical items * Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports ** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports ** Aiming point, in field artillery, fi ...

and because of the popularity of digital media. Customers would deliver rolls of film negatives to local Foto Hut stores, then return to collect their finished photographs. The Foto Hut business model included hand delivery of photographic film from franchised retail outlets to a central developing factory and then redelivering processed images to the Foto Hut franchisees. The franchisees also offered camera sales and repair services. The factory was located in an 1881 Victorian Renaissance building on East Carson Street in Pittsburgh. The factory closed abruptly in 2003. Final customers had to wait over a month to receive their photographs.

In popular culture

In ''

That '70s Show ''That '70s Show'' is an American television Period piece, period teen sitcom that aired on Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox from August 23, 1998, to May 18, 2006. The series focuses on the lives of a group of six teenage friends living in the ficti ...

'' the character Leo owns a Foto Hut franchise. The follow-your-dreams

dramedy Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

, ''

Gypsy 83 ''Gypsy 83'' is an American 2001 drama film, written and directed by Todd Stephens. The film is about two young goths, Gypsy and Clive, who travel to New York for an annual festival celebrating their idol, Stevie Nicks. Filming took place in Haz ...

'', features a vulnerable

goth A Goth is a member of the Goths, a group of East Germanic tribes. Two major political entities of the Goths were: *Visigoths, prominent in Spanish history *Ostrogoths, prominent in Italian history Goth or Goths may also refer to: * Goth (surname) ...

heroine who works at a Foto Hut in Sandusky, Ohio.Kehr, Dave (April 16, 2004). ''The New York Times''. Arts and Entertainment section, p. E22

References

{{Reflist Defunct companies based in Pennsylvania Companies based in Pittsburgh American companies established in 1972 Retail companies established in 1972 1972 establishments in Pennsylvania Retail companies disestablished in 2003 2003 disestablishments in Pennsylvania