After opening a Photo Booth Museum in San Francisco earlier this year, photo booth supplier Photomatica has brought the concept to the heart of Silver Lake. Styled as a 1970s living room, the “museum” is not a museum, as such. There are print-outs detailing the history of each machine, but beyond that, don’t expect to learn a ton about the inner workings of photo booths. But that’s probably not why you’re here, anyway. You’re here to take flattering photos behind the curtains of four vintage machines—made by L.A.-based photo booth manufacturer Auto-Photo in the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s—that have been lovingly restored by Photomatica so they’re in pristine working condition. There’s also one retro-style (and adorable) digital photo booth from the 2020s.
Inside the vintage booths, be ready to strike a pose as soon as you push the button—you get very little warning. And afterward, expect to wait three to five minutes for your film strip to print. When the strip does come out, be careful—it’ll be wet with the chemicals used in the rapid, darkroom-style development process. There are blow-dryers plugged in throughout the space to help with that.
There’s no admission fee to the Photo Booth Museum, but you can expect to pay $7.50 for each turn in a film photo booth or $6.50 in the digital booth. That adds up to $36.50 if you want to sample each once—plus an extra $10 if you want to hit up the key chain booth, where you can choose one of your shots to frame and decorate with charms. That fee also includes a scan of your photos—you’ll give an employee at the desk your email address and receive a digital backup of your pics.
The museum is located on the corner of West Sunset Boulevard and Hyperion Avenue—a very central Silver Lake location—so there are lots of walkable spots in the surrounding blocks. Typically, a photo booth moment is a fun addendum to a night out, not the whole attraction. But I can see the Photo Booth Museum being a popular stop on girls’ nights out or a date-night destination when paired with Pazzo Gelato next door.