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 co-founded WD-40 in 1953, then went on to co-found Fotomat in San Diego, California, in 1965; 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 they 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.^{[citation needed]}

Fleet's hobbies were aviation and playing theater organs.^[2] He was for a time the president of the American Theatre Organ Society.

Film Credits^[3]

• Chronos (Consulting Producer)
• Shinbone Alley (Producer)
• Run If You Can (Executive Producer)
• Cabaret (film) (Producer)
• The Man Who Would Be King (Producer)