Washington Laundry

About this Property

#Previous Tenants

The Groden Center, a specialty learning center, was a tenant of this building until 2004, when they purchased and moved into the Dyerville Mill. The property was on the market for a time and was home to Bond Brothers (construction) and was an Exit Realty office. It was leasable again after that.

#Current Events

The building is the current home of Nicki’s Liquors, a craft beer and wine store. They have been at this location since 2015.

#History

No official history so far.

The adjoining yellow brick building at 36 Branch Avenue was built circa 1930. This building at 32 was likely built at the same time. Aerial photos seem to show it in place in 1939, but it is hard to tell as there is a seam between two photos at this location. The 1927 map referenced below does not have either of these buildings in place but the 1937 map does — the date of construction is therefore between 1927 and 1937.

The construction is very nice, and typical of brick buildings of the time. While the façade is asymmetric, it feels very balanced from right to left. A two-story facade with offset main entrance and pillars with windows that go from the ceiling to the floor on the first floor. Thin concrete lintels frame the windows and other simple concrete and brick details adorn the roofline in an art deco style. This style was popular in the 1920s and 30s which gives us reason to believe the 1930s as a build date is appropriate.

Maps

• 1889 Sanborn Insurance Map, Volume 2, Plate 56 — The northern portion of the block bounded by Mechanic Ave. to the west, Thurber Lane to the north, Branch Ave. to the east, and Livingston Ave. to the south is labelled “Frank F. Carpenter Lumber Yard.”
• 1899 Sanborn Insurance Map, Volume 2, Plate 116 — The same block is labelled “George D. Lansing & Son Lumber Yard.” Thurber Lane has been renamed Dryden Lane.
• 1920–1921 Sanborn Insurance Map, Volume 2, Plate 77 — Still shows “Lansing Lumber Co.” as the owner of this portion of the block.
• 1926–1927 G.M. Hopkins Insurance Map, Plate 24 — Still shows “Lansing Lumber Co.” as the owner of this portion of the block.
• 1937 G.M. Hopkins Insurance Map, Plate 24 — This building is now in place, labelled “Washington Laundry.” Abutting to the north is “Autocar and Studebaker Trucks” located at 36 Branch Avenue.
• 1920-1951 Sanborn Insurance Map, Volume 2, Plate 77 — “Washington” has been replaced with just a simple “Laundry” label. In the G.M. Hopkins maps, both the #32 and #36 buildings are shown in pink which should indicate brick construction. Here, Sanborn shows the #36 building in blue, indicating stone construction (the “C.B.” label indicating cinder block is not present).