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Roach Studios has been a fixture on Broadway since the 1970s, but the enterprise itself
dates back to 1936, when the late Otto Roach established it in Lakewood. The specialty of the house then — as it is today — was custom photo enlargement. In 1958, Roach sold the business to his young assistant, Dutch Walla, who still owns it along with his son, Jay, a legend in the darkroom. In December, the Wallas opened Gallery Roach in the front of the shop — now located on Broadway — with Two Men, One State of Mind…Colorado, a show focused on classic black-and-white landscapes by Roach and the elder Walla. The exhibit proved that fine work from the past stands up to the best the present has to offer.