California Laundry

California Laundry was an early 1920s business in Hollywood, California, and in its day, possibly the city's largest business institution outside of the film studios. It was located on Vine Street. At the time it was established, the California Laundray was one of the few laundry businesses in the country in which each machine was driven by an individual motor, eliminating the possibility of a breakdown which would cripple the entire plant. The machinery used in the California Laundry was the largest single shipment of laundry apparatus ever sent to the Pacific coast.

The owners acquired the entire block on which the plant was located. Situated just south of Santa Monica Boulevard, the property had a frontage of 284 feet (87 m) of Vine Street. Parking was available on Vine Street and Eleanor Avenue.

Established in 1921, the laundry, representing an investment of $225,000, was an important addition to the industrial section of Hollywood. The machinery used in the California Laundry was the largest single shipment of laundry apparatus ever sent to the Pacific coast, and was bought at an expense of $126,000, not including the boilers and water heat controlling machines. Initially, 70 people were employed. For the first three months, they worked without phone connections. Expecting that the plant would have to be enlarged, the company owned the property just west of their initial building, allowing for expansion.

The business was directed by Henry Newby and D. N. Childers. Newby, the president, was associated with banking institutions in Pasadena, California for twenty-five years. He resigned as chairman of the National Bank of Pasadena when he became assistant manager of the Hotel Alexandria, of Los Angeles. He was a director of the Troy Laundry Company, operating the Troy Laundry at Pasadena. Childers, the vice-president and manager, resigned his position as manager of the laundry of the Hotel Alexandria, a position that he had held for two years, to start up the California Laundry. Before becoming manager of the Hotel Alexandria’s laundry, Childers was superintendent of the San Bernardino Steam Laundry at San Bernardino. The construction of the California Laundry plant had been under his direct supervision. Charles Greenberg, a Hollywood attorney, was secretary. J. A. Henley, Roy A. Henley, Frank G. Hogan, and L. J. Killian were on the Board of Directors.

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