Mid-50's Bendix Machines in San Francisco

[aussie-plugs]

My partner and I visited San Francisco in June and had a fantastic time in and around the city, as well as in Yosemite Park. You have a wonderful country there and we'll be back to explore some more another time.

We were on a tourist bus being driven towards Nob Hill when I happened to look to the right and see a launderette with a row of very old, round Bendix machines in it. I quickly asked somebody (anybody!) to tell me where we were so I could get back there on foot later on.

Ben's Launderette is at 1107 Leavenworth Street, about two doors down from California Street. It's frontage is still very much in the 50's style and the owner has kept the front row of machines for show.

I know somebody on this forum was trying to get parts for models somewhat like these earlier this year. Perhaps a deal could be done with the owner of these.

Some pictures follow. I hope you all enjoy them as much as I did in finding this little treasure trove.

Ben's

maps.google.com.au

 

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[polkanut]

Is this launderette currently operating? If so, I would assume they have more modern machines located elsewhere in the building, correct?

 

[steve1-18]

How cool is that? I remember a coin-op laundry with similar set-up in New Orleans French Quarter when I was a teenager. When I went back as an adult, couldn't locate the place

With the cost of real estate and today's economy, my hats are off to the owners of the SF laundry that opt'ed to keep the old machines for display rather than replace with usable ones.

 

[rapidry1000]

The launderette is still in operation for service washes. There is also a coin operated laundry at the corner of this building. They were using harvest gold Maytags for many years but switched to Speed Queens after a major remodel. There is another launderette about 5 blocks south of this laundry that also had these original bendix machines but they were removed and replaced with manual timer controlled Speed Queens. I grew up in this neighborhood and my mother still lives in the area.

 

[jetcone]

Ohh I LOVE THOSE MACHINES!

I have been to SF many times but never saw that. Leave it to an Aussie collector with sharp EYES! Good on ya Nick!

Must flyout with dirty clothes and hit the owner up!

Great POST!

 

[qsd-dan]

Wow, I really have visit this place! Probably the only reason I'd even bother going to the city.

 

[syndets2000]

westinghouses too

I was there wandering around Chinatown, & saw a place that had some slant front westies- back in 81 I think-they had black boots too-

 

[rapidry1000]

Those were 1951 Westinghouse slant fronts with a huge stainless steel extractor right at the entrance to the laundry on the corner of Washington Street and Powell Street near the Chinatown Branch of the SF Public Library. The business and washers have long gone since the 90's. As a child in the 50's, I remembered walking past the laundry and seeing the stainless steel cart with the detergent and glass bottles of Clorox bleach and the customers clothes tumbling in the Westinghouse machines.