Preston Fleet
Preston Mitchell Fleet (February 26, 1934 – January 31, 1995), nicknamed Sandy, was the founder of Fotomat. Fotomat was a once-widespread retail chain of photo development drive-thru kiosks located in shopping center parking lots. He was a son of aerospace pioneer Reuben H. Fleet.
Fleet founded Fotomat in San Diego, California in the 1960s; the first kiosk was opened in Point Loma in 1965). The company went public in 1971 and was listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in 1977.[1] At its peak around 1980 there were over 4,000 Fotomats throughout the United States, primarily in suburban areas. Fotomats were distinctive for their pyramid-shaped gold-colored roofs and signs with red-lettering, usually positioned in a large parking area such as a supermarket or strip mall, as the Fotomat huts required a minimal amount of land and were able to accommodate cars driving up to drop off or pick up film.[2]
He was a co-founder of San Diego's Reuben H. Fleet Science Center and Space Museum He helped design the Science Center to have a special movie projector, Omnimax, housed in a dome wall and ceiling that makes the audience feel as if there are moving like the camera did when filming. A decade earlier he had been a founding director of the San Diego Air and Space Museum.
Fleet's hobbies were aviation and playing theater organs.[3] He was for a time the president of the National Theatre Organ Society. He also was an inventor and co-founder of WD-40.
He attended Culver Military Academy. His wife is Beth Fleet.[4]
See also
- Imax made after Omnimax.
- Chronos (film) Preston Mitchell Fleet help make.