Norge Laundromat!

[washerlover]

Well, not really, but the signage is still shown in this photo of a dry cleaners/laundromat in Ukiah, CA. Was there today for a meeting and have passed by this place umpteen times and thought I'd share a photo. Love the "Norge Globe" that must have twirled proudly back in the day and one can only imagine the machines that must have been clunking away in that laundromat!

 

[whirlykenmore78]

WOW! Love to see the old storefront

What is in there now? I would suppose Speed Queen, Wascomat, Hubesch, or Dexter. Can you get some inside pics?
WK78

 

[norgeway]

You Might be surprised

The old Laundromat in my hometown STILL has a few Norge front loaders running from the 60s!Also they have a row of big OLD Milnors!!!And a bunch of aNCIENT Cissell Dryers from the 50s and 60s, it was a segregated laundromat until 1964 and all they did was take down a partition and so most of the old details are the same.

 

[washerlover]

Sorry, didn't have time to venture inside -- will try to do that next time I'm in the area! Just loved the signage...

 

[lorainfurniture]

I have a much smaller version of that Norge globe at my shop. It's a hanging light fixture

 

[brucelucenta]

I think there is still a "Norge" sign of some sort on an old laundromat here too. The only Norge coin op top loader I remember seeing was a row of the ones made after the 14 pound one came out. They had the black bakelite agitators and had a ring below the small upper fins signifying load level no further up than that. I did see an old coin op Norge with the solid tub once, but that was in the salvage yard.

 

[gyrafoam]

Bruce, I recall what you do. I do remember coin op solid tub Norges, but the Norge Villages I remember came out later when the perf tubs came out. I remember the little ring at the top of the agitator as well, although, most folks ignored it and just stuffed the machines as usual. There was a place out on South Cobb Drive in Marietta, years ago, and I think there was one in Ansley Mall. I recall the front loading Norges there lasted forever. Would love to find one of those big Norge balls for sale.

 

[cornutt]

Were the solid tub machines the ones that had a lever on the front of the cabinet that you had to lift to reset it if the unbalance sensor tripped? The Norge Village here had a bunch of those.

 

[duke]

That Globe is sweet.Sure would make a great shot with cars out front from the 60s or early 70's. Thanks for the view.

 

[gyrafoam]

Bottom front left corner facing the machine.

 

[lesto]

There was a Norge Village in my neighborhood in southwest Atlanta. The front row of machines closest to the door were mid 60's perforated tub models with the black bakelite agitator and blue ring to indicate load level. I believe these were 14 lb machines. The back row had all the older solid tub models with the overflow rinse. When the laundry first opened in the late 50's it had all solid tub models but as they got old and died they were replaced with the perf tub models. the sold tub machines that still worked were relegated to the back row. I always preferred watching these to the perf models. there were also a few Norge front loaders with the detergent door built into the glass window.

 

[brucelucenta]

One thing for sure about Norge, whether solid or perforated tub, they did a really good job of washing, rinsing and spinning out clothes.

 

[lvbearam]

When I grew up in Canoga Park, California (in the Valley, of course), there was a Norge Village--a narrow building adjacent to the Food Giant on Fallbrook Avenue. Thanks to the fact our Kenmore broke down with a fair amount of frequency, my mother and I would pack the dirty clothes and laundry additives in the car and drive to the Norge Village, where we'd use the Norge top loaders and giant dryers. It also had a dry cleaner, which Mom used occasionally. Ah, the washday memories!

 

[gyrafoam]

Bruce, I think you are right. They were not as dependable or as long lived as some of the other brands,however, they always cleaned and rinsed well!
I think it was a great blue-collar workers machine. Field hands and working farms and dairies, factories, lots of active children's clothes. Loads full of unionalls and jeans were no problem. Oh yeah, just be careful with delicate items! Even on low-speed my '62 will thrash the hell out of everything. I use it like a Fabric-Matic alternating agitation with soak, manually. The solid-tub machines had a lengthy spray-rinse in the first spin and went right into the rinse fill. From there about 4 minutes of overflow rinse. There was another spray rinse shortly after the throw-out in the final spin. Very thorough cleaning.
I think they were better at cleaning than the solid-tub SQ machines, many of which had abbreviated first spins and over-flow rinses in commercial laundries.

 

[washerlover]

Thorough Rinsing

I remember my Grandma's '62 Wards Signature had the spin/spray rinse after the wash cycle that went right into the fill for rinse. Overflow rinse, with the water shutting off for the last minute or so. Then another spin/spray during the final spin. After my Grandma passed away in 1971 and still had the Wards machine, my Mom's '63 Frigidaire gave out the same year, so she took her Mom's machine. We lived in an area (Oroville, CA -- pre-dam spillway damage!) that had a lot of rust in the water, so the white loads always came out tie-dyed brown thanks to the solid-tub and the final spin/spray. My Mom was not pleased with the results so we dashed off to Montgomery Ward a couple years later to replace Grandma's '62 with a '75 Wards perf tub. No more tie-dye! I still miss that '62 Wards machine...

 

[gyrafoam]

Oh yeah, a '62 Wards machine would be a great addition to any collection!

 

[speedqueen]

In Mount Clemens MI...

...we have a Maytag coin laundry. Soon I may stop and get photos.

 

[pumper]

Grandma's LNC-6223?