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Passing of an Era: Dury’s Camera Shop in Nashville Closes After 138 Years

Passing of an Era: Dury’s Camera Shop in Nashville Closes After 138 Years

Nashville’s venerable Dury’s camera shop opened for business in 1882. It was killed by COVID.

Vintage print ad for Dury's in Nashville. Established in 1882, the store announced its closing in 2020.
Vintage print ad for Dury’s in Nashville. Established in 1882, the store announced its closing in 2020. Courtesy of Nashville Public Library.

It’s with a sad heart I must report that my local camera store, Dury’s in Nashville, is closing its doors permanently after 138 years in business. Below is the press release copied directly from Dury’s Facebook page.

After very careful consideration, I have made the difficult decision to close our doors for good. This is something that when I started working for this company in 1991 I never in a million years thought I would ever be doing. In the last eight weeks I have seen our business and lives turned upside down. I have spent countless hours working with advisers and thinking through every angle I could. I have consulted with our board of directors and accountants. Unfortunately, closure was the decision that we reached.

We will not be taking in any further lab orders. If you have an order that you have already submitted, we will be posting hours that we will be open for you to pick up your order in the next few days Some of them have been completed and some of them we will be giving you a recommendation on who can do the order for you.

I know that people in Nashville and all our other customers are going to need a source to get their needs met in the future. Roberts Camera is one of the leaders in our industry and UsedPhotoPro is a part of the Roberts family. We have been partnering with them the last year on our Buy, Sell, Trade events and I think you will find them to be a great company to work with.

I want to thank all our customers for your loyal support over the years and I am sure we will see you again. I also want to thank our staff for their long years of service. Many have worked for the company for ten years or more and I can not thank them enough for the hard work that they have put in.

We will continue to post updates as we know more, and we hope that everyone stays safe and healthy.

From our family to yours

Charles Small
President/CEO

Clearly, the market for locally-run camera stores has been falling for years. Dury’s had been forced to cut back on services to remain profitable, but still, it’s sad to witness the passing of an institution.

Union Street in Nashville circa 1920, with Dury's sign visible on the left. Courtesy of Nashville Public Library.
Union Street in Nashville circa 1920, with Dury’s sign visible on the left. While the 1920s Dury’s building is gone, the block of buildings on the near right are still extant. Courtesy of Nashville Public Library.

Nashville Public Library wrote a fantastic blog post on the history of the Dury family and the camera store in Nashville. It includes lots of historic photographs and illustrations. Go check it out.

Thanks for reading.

Be sure to visit me on FacebookInstagram or Pinterest, or on my website at keithdotson.com.

~ Keith

1 comment

  1. The end of an era – so sad to see the effects that COVID-19 has had on the legacy shop of Nashville. Hopefully the community will band together in effort to save these smaller establishments.

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