THE BEGINNING: STUDIO ON MAIN STREET
Bill Anderson and John Wood, boyhood friends, were trained as pilots during WWII. When they returned to Concord in the late forties, they photographed their home town from the air as it boomed with post-war development. The two young men set up a studio in the family-owned building above Anderson Market (now Main Streets Market and Cafe) where they had a bird’s eye view of Concord Center. Their business quickly expanded into portraiture and general photo business. The accumulated images from their jobs, as well as casual snapshots, leave a clear picture of the town in the second half of the twentieth century. John Wood left the partnership for academia.
Aerial Photo of Southfield Circle, Concord
The view from the first studio on Main Street above Anderson Market
THE NEXT STEP: PHOTO SHOP ON WALDEN STREET
In 1957, Bill moved the operation to a retail space on Walden Street. The move coincided with an explosion of interest in photography in America: a boom of babies to photograph, travel to record and a fascination with photography itself. “Anderson Photo” was a welcoming shop with a unique culture of employees and customers. Explore the link to “Anderson Photo” on the main menu for more about Bill’s photography studio and shop over the decades..
Bill Anderson with large format camera
Anderson Photo on Walden Street