Off Grand Avenue, beside Bikini Cocktail and across the street from Teen Challenge sits an integral reason for Phoenix's burgeoning downtown scene.
Wedged between an old upright piano and a red door emblazoned with stick on letters that spell out "The Trunk Space", this trailblazer is decorated with awards and a sign that reads "please use me."
About six feet tall with a stocky build and a funny hat collection, it's the only classic black and white photo booth in Phoenix.
"It has really made our space accessible to people," said Stephanie Carrico, photographer and co-owner of The Trunk Space, a mixed-use space that functions as a gallery and performance venue, among other things. A 20-year resident of Phoenix, she is a part of the team behind the metamorphosis of the downtown area.
"Photo booths are something everyone understands," she said.
Whether it's older folks searching for childhood comforts or the younger crowd searching for new MySpace pictures, the photo booth gives people of all ages a reason to visit the venue.
"People like to be a part of bigger things. They like to leave a footprint," said JRC, the other half of the innovation and ownership team at The Trunk Space. He opens the door behind the red coffee bar to retrieve the first two 'yearbooks' of photo booth pictures.
Carrico and JRC always leave out a book on the counter with plenty of blank pages for people to document their visits. The black and white square snapshots are cut up and pasted back together in personal ads and couple's declarations of love.
One reads, "I love this boy more than my life. 6/18/06." It's hard not to wonder how they feel today.
The black and white pictures are nothing less than colorful, especially when coupled with sayings like "Don't ask. We won't tell." The people pictured in the books practically make up a who's who of the downtown art scene, and the moments captured always have a story behind them. Carrico and JRC are eager to share what they know.
"For me, I feel like it is an opportunity for everyone to make a piece of art," says Carrico. When asked what she thinks the photo booth would say if it could talk, she replied, "I bet it has a lot of secrets."
"People go in there to make out all of the time," says Joseph McManis, 20, of Phoenix. He is a regular of The Trunk Space and other downtown venues. "It would probably say, don't take your pants off in me again."
People seem to take comfort behind the short curtains of the photo booth. Once in there, sitting on the tiny black stool and staring into the green focal light behind a plate of glass and dust, something completely unguarded comes out.
"It's a mixture of responsible use and vastly irresponsible use," JRC says mischievously.
"People are really creative for all of the photographs being the same size and shape," said Carrico. Being a photographer, she appreciates the smell of the chemicals and minutes you have to wait for your pictures.
"I think that we live in such a fast paced society now, a photo booth is a piece of the past you can still visit. They capture something regular cameras don't."
Underneath the baby blue paint and self-advertising signs pasted on the photo booth is a real cultural icon. It has been idolized in popular movies like the French film Amélie and songs by hot indie bands like Death Cab For Cutie. Catching the trend, many Apple computers now come automatically loaded with a program that turns the camera on a laptop into a portable photo booth.
The Trunk Space is planning on organizing a photo booth themed show in the future, and hinted that a local artist is doing a set of paintings inspired by the photo booth.
Underneath all of the deep meaning and social analysis lies something simple. When asked what he thinks the photo booth would say if it could talk, JRC guesses it would say, "I just want to bring joy to people."
Reach the reporter at: bettina.hansen@asu.edu.
