Plenty of Closet Space for All That Dry Cleaning
Two Silver Spring sites have been approved for redevelopment by the county planning board, the Washington Post reports. Say goodbye to the 5-story St. Charles apartment complex on Cameron and Spring Streets. Say hello to Cameron House, a 15-story building that will hold 325 apartments and ground-floor retailers. Meanwhile, the National Institute of Dry Cleaning--a Spanish mission-inspired brick building on Georgia Avenue at East-West Highway--will be incorporated into a new 210-unit apartment building.
The news is incredible: There was a National Institute of Dry Cleaning?!?
Founded in 1907 by Milwaukee fabric dyer Julius Frederick Ermisch, this obscure institute moved in the 1920's to its Georgia Avenue home. There, it trained generations of aspiring dry cleaners in the art of stain removal and finishing. In 1972, it merged with the American Institute of Laundering to form the International Fabricare Institute, which keeps a training facility on Tech Road off Columbia Pike. It's unclear when the Georgia Avenue facility closed its doors for good.
Now you know.
"Projects Approved" (Washington Post)
3 comments:
hehehe on the Institute of Dry Cleaning.
Let's imagine the course offerings: Pit Stains 101. Advanced Defunking.
I'm lovin' the Penquin, A. Kiss, kiss.
Diane
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Because The Daily Penguin is a non-profit (read: shit broke and out of luck), it can only offer you its humble gratitude. And maybe one round of free dry cleaning.*
* Offer not valid on leather, suede , down blankets or stains/odors of indeterminable origin. Items not retrieved after 30 days will be donated to charity.
My father and his brothers trained at the National Institute of Dry Cleaning in the 1930's and 40's, and the family went on to grow the largest dry cleaning chain in Indiana by 1970. I visited the Institute on Georgia Avenue in about 1971, just before the merger with the Am Inst of Laundering. It was a "finishing school" (pun intended) for generations of entrepreneurs seeking this path in business. Pit stains and advanced defunking were easy. Try Port wine on light suede. Dad is retired and living in coastal San Diego, California.
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