Joliet's last independently-owned photo and camera shop closes its doors

JOLIET — The last independently-owned camera and photo shop in Joliet closed its doors Friday, a move that will allow the store's owner, Steven Eberhard, and his wife, to focus on his battle with cancer.

Barbara Eberhard said she and her husband decided earlier this year that closing Camera House West, 114 N. Larkin Ave., would be best as he goes through rounds of chemotherapy and focuses on his health.

“It's very sad. This is his business,” she said.

Barbara spent Friday afternoon at the store, attempting to sell the few items that remained on the shelves — discounted photo frames, film and other merchandise. She wants everything cleared out, including the display cabinets, before the shop's lease ends Aug. 31.

Her husband started working at Camera House — which previously had a second location on East Jefferson Street in downtown Joliet — when it opened in the mid-1970s, she said. He spent many years as an employee before taking over as owner about a decade ago.

The couple's love for photography brought them together, Barbara said, adding she was a longtime customer.

"We met here. He was a Canon shooter and I was a Nikon shooter,” she said. “And we'd always get into these little arguments about which was better.”

The two have been married 13 years. Though the store is closing due to her husband's illness, Barbara said technology has played a big role in the photography business's changing landscape.

As more photographers made the switch from film to digital, she said in recent years Camera House went from primarily developing prints to focusing on photo restoration, transferring slides to digital formats and creating prints out of antique negatives.

Her husband's knowledge and expertise about photography is one-of-a-kind and will be missed by loyal customers, she said.

“The people at the big-box stores don't have any knowledge of what they're selling," Barbara said. “So many people are coming into the store wondering where they're going to go with questions now."