Frank Clair Pruett and Mary Elizabeth Pruett founded the company in 1932 after having worked in the photographic studios of Strawbridge & Clothier Department Stores. The company name, Clair Pruett, was chosen because Clair, his middle name, was different and more distinctive than his first name, Frank. Our first studio opened at 52nd and Walnut Streets, Philadelphia with a second studio opening almost immediately on the Wildwood Boardwalk, New Jersey. Frank and Mary Pruett worked non-stop during those post-Depression days, and during World War II, the crews worked during the night sending photographs to our servicemen overseas of their hometown sweethearts. Frank Pruett’s brother, John D. Pruett, also came north from Florida where the Pruetts were raised, to operate a studio at 5th and Olney Avenues, in the Olney section of Philadelphia. Shortly thereafter, another studio was opened in Ardmore on Lancaster Avenue.

Mary and Frank had three children, Ronald, Richard, and Anne Marie. Each one worked at the 52nd Street studio during their high school and college years. Both Ronald and Anne Marie chose to pursue other interests, while Richard stayed and opened the first Delaware County studio with his wife, Mary Ellen, in 1966. The Drexel Hill location was our fifth branch and at that time we only had one other studio open, the Olney branch, which was owned and operated by Uncle John. He retired as did Frank in the late Sixties, leaving Richard and Mary Ellen with the solitary Drexel Hill branch.

In 1988, Mary Ellen opened a branch in the Strafford-Wayne area of the Main Line in the Shoppes of Spread Eagle Village. It was an immediate success. And in 1989, after 23 years of steady growth at the Drexel Hill studio, it was decided to move the company’s flagship facility into a much larger building with a larger studio and much more parking. After having looked for years, we had finally found a run-down English Tudor house on Route 1 at Route 320. After much planning, we completely renovated it taking 1 year, as well as a lot of patience and resources to finish restoring this building. Springfield, our seventh branch, was to be our new flagship.

Shortly after opening the Springfield location, the John Wanamaker Department Stores asked us to open a number of studios within their facilities. We agreed to open a trial studio in downtown Philadelphia. This studio was not only engaged in our standard products, portraits, weddings, and copy & restoration of old photographs, but it also offered instant Santa photos and videocassettes of the famous John Wanamaker Light Show. In 1995, however, the John Wanamaker Department Stores were sold to Hecht’s and in early 1996 we decided to close this studio and concentrate entirely on suburban units.

While all of Richard and Mary Ellen’s children, Rich Jr., John, Kara and Kristin, worked for our studios over the years, Rich Jr. decided to make it his career. In November of 1995, he married Amy R. Reese. Amy has worked for us for several years as our Springfield office manager and continues to improve customer service and make great contributions to our growing business.

In May of 1999, Clair Pruett opened its ninth location in Greenville, Delaware. Originally, we leased a 950 square foot studio to start in. After one full year, we knew we had to move. We looked around at the nearby centers and finally found our new home, located Greenville Center near Talbot's and the Brandywine Brewery. This 2,000 square foot facility would give us more flexibilty in the camera room for our Portraits and better room for servicing our customers.

 

Then, in January 2002, we located our 10th (in history) studio in Blue Bell, PA. This Clair Pruett Studio is located in the prestigious Shoppes of Village Square on Rts. 73 & 202. The Blue Bell studio hit the ground running as a full Digital Studio, on July 1, 2002. "Everyone's excited. We are now able to show our customer's images from a Portrait session within minutes, versus a two week turnaround from an out sourced Lab."

Going forward, Rich and Amy Pruett third generation owners continue to give their customers the best service and product at reasonable costs.