V-day Photobooth Crawl

I have always loved photobooths. Back in college, my friend Meghan and I, would go to the K-mart in Orem, Ut, on a weekly basis to take pictures together for a $1. We even took a few to Kinkos to blow up HUMONGOUS to put on our wall.

I made this book for Meghan with all the pictures we have together.
These were just a few of the pictures we took.
On the right page there is actually a strip that has Pat in it from when we were 19.

Also, Pat and I have a few of these photos as well, from when we were dating. We have one framed in our apartment from the first month or our relationship.


With my love for photobooths already in full swing, last week I read on a photo website, that a great way to spend Valentines day is by participating in a "Photobooth Crawl" in your city. Since I already knew what a "crawl" was, and that they are way fun to do with Hot Chocolate, I knew it had to be fun with photobooths as well. I had to do it.

Preparation for Photobooth Crawl:

1. Locating Photobooths-
In the past I have used the website: photobooths.net to locate photobooth in the area where I currently resided. It is an excellent resource and a great place to start (but seems to have some security problems, enter at your own risk). However, that is not the end all because often the places have closed down or the photobooths are out of order.

2. Sorting by Location-
There were a good number of photobooths in Manhattan. However, if this was going to be a "crawl," and we were going to have to walk from photobooth to photobooth, then they had to be close to each other. I found the addresses to each photobooth and sorted by Manhattan neighborhoods.

3. Picking a location-
After I sorted out the photobooths by Manhattan neighborhoods I found that the largest cluster of photobooths were located in the East Village.

4. Mapping-
I printed out a Google Map and plotted the photobooth locations.


5. Calling to Confirm-
As I said before often times the information on this site is incorrect. In order for us not to waste or time on our crawl I called each of the locations to confirm that they in deed have photobooths. Amazingly only one place was closed down. This left 5 different photobooths in the East Village!

6. Planning our Route-
By looking at the locations of the photobooths and subway stops I planned our "Photobooth Crawl" route accordingly.

7. Get those Bills-
The average cost of each photo strip is $4, so plan according and go to the bank and make sure you have enough cash.

The Night:
I invited our friends, the Mathney's, to dinner and to the Photobooth extravaganza. I was planning on surprising Patrick about the whole "Photobooth Crawl" after we ate dinner, not simply for the excitement of being surprised, but because I didn't think Pat would really want to go. However, Pat and I ended up spending the whole day together so I didn't have the chance to slip out by myself to get one dollar bills for the evening, so I had to spoil the "surprise."

We met the Matheny's for dinner at "The Smith," a nice restaurant and conveniently our first stop on our crawl. I really liked the restaurant. It had good food, good ambiance, it was to caliber for a Valentines date dinner, and most importantly it had a Photobooth!

After enjoying our delicious meals of muscles, steak and slow roasted pork we headed down stairs to where the photobooth was located. Photobooths NEVER get old. I love everything about them: Trying to figure our funny faces, being close to the one you love, the laughter that inevitable comes, an excuse to kiss, waiting for your photos, the moment your photos drop out, looking at your photos, and cracking up over what the camera caught.

The night was absolutely perfect. We walked from photobooth to photobooth having more fun with each stop. It was so fun to see all the different print styles of each photobooth. Each have their own unique characteristics.

The Smith


Otto's Shrunken Head


Lakeside Lounge
Vazac's Horseshoe

This definitely was a Valentines Day date for the books.

If you live or are visiting Manhattan and want to have a Photobooth Crawl of your own,
here are their locations!

Midtown West
Manhattan Mall, New York (100 West 33rd Street -btw 6th and 7th)
The Door Lounge, New YOrk (508 9th Ave- btw 38-39) (no # to call)

Chelsea Area
Trailer Park, New York (271 W 23rd Street, btw 23-24) (212) 463-8000 *temp out of order*
Daffy's Herald Square, New York (1311 Broadway-btw 33rd-34th) (212)736-4477

Lower West Side
The Living Room, New York (154 Ludlow Street-btw Rivington&Stanton) (212)673-5179
Bubby's Pie Company, New York (120 Hudson Street - btw Moore and Franklin) (212)219-0666
Ace Hotel, New York (20 West 29th Street-btw Broadway and 5th Ave) (212) 679-2222

East Village
The Smith, New York (55 3rd Ave, btw 11th-10th) (212) 420-9800
Otto's Shrunken Head, New York (538 East 14th St- btw 14th-13th)(212)228-2240
Lakeside Lounge, New York (162 Ave B -btw 10th and 11th)(212) 529-8463
Vazac's Horseshoe, New York (108 Ave B-btw 6th and 7th) (212)677-6742
Niagra, New York (112 Ave A-Corner of 7th Street)(212)420-9517 (same as Vazac's Horseshoe photobooth)