Stewart's Photo Shop opened in 1942. This sign has been there since at least 1957. [photo thanks Sean Flynn] [map]

Loomis Camera was established in 1950. In 1957, the company moved to their current location in Elyria, Ohio, and had this sign built. The plastic letters are original but the giant camera feature has been replaced a couple times. The original folding 4x5 press camera was replaced with a Kodak 126 Instamatic in the 1960s. The sign currently features a Pentax 35mm SLR camera about four feet tall. The camera's flashing mechanism was turned off around 2004 when complaints were filed with the city. Prior to that, Loomis Camera fought and won an II-year battle to keep their sign. In the 1990s, the City of Elyria ordered the sign removed due to new building regulations. The community rallied to save the sign and it was finally determined that the sign deserved historic status. In 2012, it was announced that the store would be closing. The sign was purchased by the American Sign Museum in Cincinnati, OH.

In 2005, the Huron Camera store became the Image Gallery. The lens cover of the camera sign was changed to reflect the new name. These photos were taken in 2007. By 2011, the store and the camera sign were gone. For more, see this website.

The Darkroom camera shop opened in the mid-1930s. It is one of the most famous examples of mimetic or programmatic architecture (i.e., buildings shaped like things). The Walt Disney Company recently built replicas of this building at their Hollywood, Paris, and Orlando amusement parks. While the freestanding neon letters were installed on a ledge above the Darkroom, the real sign was the facade itself. The storefront is a nine-foot-tall representation of a contemporary 35mm camera. The camera's body is faced with black Vitrolite glass and surrounded with glass block. Clear glass was used on both sides of the lens for display windows. The facade is a protected landmark. Of the freestanding letters, all but the "K" were saved by the Museum of Neon Art in Glendale.

After the Darkroom closed in the late 1970s, the building housed several restaurants. For many years, it was occupied by El Toro Cantina which had installed an aquarium behind the storefront. From the street, swimming fish were visible in the display windows. From 2014-2022, the building housed the Spare Tire Kitchen & Tavern. The building is currently vacant. For more, see these websites: 1, 2, and 3. [map]

The Shutter Shak building functioned as a sign for a photo-developing business. It was located in Westminster in the late 1970s but may have been built earlier. The building is now installed at the Westminster Historical Society. The original flash cube on top of the building has been lost. For more, see this website. [map]

The Giant Camera is installed on the roof of a building at the Big Fresno Fair. I don't know how old it is or where it came from.

This "Joe's Photo Shop" sign at Joe's Italian Ice appears to be modern. It was installed sometime between 2020 and 2022. The bulb inside the circular flash flashes on and off. [map]