Troy Laundry Building

About this property

The Troy Laundry Building, is an historic building located at 1025 Southeast Pine St. in Portland, Oregon. It was designed by Ellis F. Lawrence in the early 1900s. It is considered a mixture of Colonial, Egyptian, and Renaissance Revival architecture. It is known for its large windows, tall brick walls, and decorative brickwork. While the Troy Laundry Building is classified as Colonial Revival, it also features some characteristics of other architectural styles. The towering brickwork with the tall, double-layered windows and the decorative brickwork at even intervals underscore the mixed architectural styles. The building also has hints of Renaissance Revival architecture, which drew inspiration from a wide range of classical Italian styles. Egyptian Revival architecture is also present in the building, as it also incorporates motifs and imagery from ancient Egypt. In addition, the building's high stone walls and angular wall faces and design attributes in the upper portions of the building are central to this style. The building also has elements of Colonial Revival architecture, as shown by the angular brickwork, small stacked windows, and symmetrical features. Colonial Revival style is often associated with Centennial Exhibitions, which reawakened Americans to the architectural traditions of their colonial past. The Troy Laundry was established in 1889 by John F. Tait, who came to Portland, Oregon, from Scotland, where he had apprenticed in the laundry trade. His knowledge of the business and his well-respected management skills led to the establishment of a successful, long-running laundry business. The original Troy Laundry building was located on the west side of the Willamette River, but was destroyed by a fire. After the fire, Mr. Tait moved the laundry into a building on the east side of town. In 1892, he ran advertisements for the laundry, which showed how large his operation had become. Tait has set up additional locations throughout Portland, as well as Vancouver and Oregon City, where laundry could be picked up. Troy Laundry became one of the two largest laundries in the city and catered to both commercial and residential clients. Within 25 years of its establishment, Tait has over 150 people working for the laundry. A pioneer in the industry, Tait was one of the first people in the laundry industry to switch to an eight-hour work day. By 1913, the laundry had outgrown its earlier building, and a new Troy Laundry building was built at the corner of 10th and Pine St. The new building incorporated a variety of innovative features, including a large employee dining room and lounge, its own electrical generators, new engines that ran 44 washers, and 22 extractors. The new building also had standard oil burner dryers, steam equipment, and drying systems, including a tumbler – technologies that were evolutionary for their time.

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Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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