I saw this tweet recently from a fellow who photographs neat architecture throughout the Midwest:

Someone further down in the thread did the investigative work for me, but I too immediately wondered what this might have been. It doesn’t look like a retail establishment, with that big overhang. It looks more like a hotel office, or a movie theater, or a roller rink, or some kind of civic building—maybe a library.

The original poster guessed that maybe it was a bus station, which I thought was a very good guess. Others guessed indoor pool, car dealership, and post office.

The answer, revealed by an old Sanborn fire insurance map—a treasure trove of granular urban history—is not what I expected. It was a dry cleaners!

Tom Horsman @TomHorsman

@JoeGaleaEsq @JoshLipnik Dry cleaning business. I've fantasized about it being converted to a retro soda fountain, lunch counter restaurant

August 18th 2022

1 Retweet108 Likes

The structure dates to 1914—and perhaps it began life as something other than a laundry—but the façade was modernized in the midcentury era.

Tom Horsman @TomHorsman

@joetherocketman @JoeGaleaEsq @JoshLipnik And the building dates from 1914, but the facade was significantly modified

August 18th 2022

3 Likes

Perhaps it’s vacant because of contamination left over from dry cleaning chemicals, a frequent occurrence not unlike the contamination and redevelopment issues that face old gas stations. I’m not sure. But there you go—one of the most interesting looking dry cleaners I’ve ever seen!

Related Reading:

What Do You Think You’re Looking At? #24

What Do You Think You’re Looking At? #28

Land Your Plane for Pizza

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