Inside an abandoned video store in Georgia that sits frozen in time after closing about two decades ago – with Disney’s The Lion King and Beauty And The Beast among the sought-after VHS rentals

• The photos were taken by urban explorer and photographer Leland Kent at an unknown location in Georgia
• They have taken viewers inside a family-owned video rental store which opened in the 1980s
• The shelves are still meticulously organized with thousands of VHS tapes from the 1980s and 1990s

Movie buffs might want to press pause here. 

A fascinating series of photos capture an abandoned video store, with the shelves still meticulously organized with thousands of VHS tapes from the 1980s and 1990s.

Each of the tape boxes features a colored sticker with a unique number, so they could be catalogued accordingly. The photos highlight some of the popular releases of the day, with the haul including the VHS releases of Beauty And The Beast and The Lion King.

The photos were taken by urban explorer and photographer Leland Kent at an unknown location in Georgia. 

A fascinating series of photos capture an abandoned video store, with the shelves still meticulously organized with thousands of VHS tapes from the 1980s and 1990s

Each of the tape boxes features a colored sticker with a unique number, so they could be catalogued accordingly

The photos highlight some of the popular releases of the day, with the well-organized haul including the VHS releases of Beauty And The Beast and The Lion King

The photos were taken by urban explorer and photographer Leland Kent at an unknown location in Georgia

The cameraman, who is well-known for capturing deserted and forgotten places across the Southeast, revealed in an accompanying blurb on his website that the family-owned video rental store opened in the 1980s.

He explained that it went on to serve ‘as a communal space where neighbors and old friends could chat as they looked over the latest releases or picked up a favorite movie they’d seen a thousand times.’ 

However, as the days of VHS rentals slowly declined and DVDs came on the scene, the store lost its allure. 

Kent notes: ‘After more than 30 years of serving the town, the owner closed the video store which has since been left abandoned.’

While he often explores interesting spaces, he said the video rental store was a particularly ‘cool’ one as he got to see some of his favorite movies on VHS.

Although some of the old tape cases are a little bleached by the sun the store looks in excellent condition, and, barring a few cobwebs, ready for business.

Proving its place in the heart of the community, one of Kent’s photos reveals a montage of personal photos of Halloween and Christmas parties being thrown at the store.

Another of his shots captures a ‘junk space,’ with ‘hoovers, cleaning supplies and board games’ left in a jumble. 

The cameraman, who is well-known for capturing deserted and forgotten places across the Southeast, revealed in an accompanying blurb on his website that the family-owned video rental store opened in the 1980s

The store served ‘as a communal space where neighbors and old friends could chat as they looked over the latest releases or picked up a favorite movie they’d seen a thousand times’

Kent also stumbled across a ‘junk space’ in the shop where he said ‘hoovers, cleaning supplies and board games seem to have just been left’

One of his photos reveals a montage of personal photos of Halloween and Christmas parties being thrown at the store

Video rental stores began opening across the United States in the late 1970s.

The first store opened in West Los Angeles, California in December 1977.

As the popularity of video rental exploded, more and more stores opened in the following years, providing access to movies and other media to consumers across the country.

By the mid-1980s, video rental stores had become a staple of suburban life.

With the advent of the world wide web, internet services which streamed content such as Netflix became increasingly popular starting in the mid–2000s.

All the new ways of watching movies greatly reduced demand for video rental shops, and many closed as a result.

Kent adds that the only VHS stores remaining today are considered ‘specialty stores.’

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