Village Cleaners (Gone)
Hobart, IL
Photo courtesy Kevin Heggi

Here's another look at Village Cleaners in Hobart, Indiana, with a familiar Norge globe adding some color above the property. Those patterned balls could make even a routine laundry stop worth a second glance. 06-09

Norge Village locations used the globes as recognizable roadside markers, sometimes retaining them long after the original branding disappeared. Hobart Village Cleaners was particularly unusual because it had two pole-mounted examples, one at each entrance. This view may show the same property as the preceding Norge Cleaners entry rather than a separate downtown business.

UPDATE: The shop's later operating history and the globes' current status remain uncertain. The available documentation doesn't establish a separate Village Cleaners location or confirm that its sign was removed. An address would help distinguish this entry from the twin-globe property. 07-26

Boyd Cleaners
Greenville, OH
Photo courtesy Alan Culley

That yellow arrow makes Boyd Cleaners in Greenville, Ohio, hard to overlook. Sweeping beneath the neon lettering, it points customers toward the entrance with the kind of confidence only an old roadside sign can manage. 06-09

Located at 501 East Main Street, Boyd dates to the late 1940s, although published accounts differ slightly on the founding year. The business has offered dry cleaning and laundry services for generations, with its distinctive marquee becoming a familiar part of the downtown approach. The bright arrow certainly helps separate it from an ordinary storefront.

UPDATE: Boyd Cleaners remains listed in operation at its longtime address, and the vintage sign continues to be a Greenville landmark. It's good to find a neighborhood business whose advertising still has this much personality. 07-26

Norge Cleaners (Gone)
Hobart, IL
Photo courtesy Kevin Heggi

One Norge Ball would have been enough to catch your eye, but Norge Cleaners in Hobart, Indiana, had two. A globe stood at each parking-lot entrance, giving motorists a double helping of colorful laundry advertising. 06-09

Later known as Hobart Village Cleaners, the property was an unusual example of the Norge Village look. The patterned globes were associated with the chain's mid-century laundry locations, and surviving examples became favorites among sign enthusiasts. Hobart's matching pair was distinctive enough to draw the attention of local preservation officials in 2021.

UPDATE: The original Norge identity is gone, but reports that both globes were removed into a private collection in 2021 couldn't be confirmed. Their latest documented roadside inventory still lists the pair at Hobart. The precise current status needs clarification before calling them saved or lost. 07-26

Ranburn Cleaners (Closed)
Gary, IN
Photos courtesy Kevin Heggi

Here's the Ranburn Cleaners Norge Ball keeping watch over Gary, Indiana. Perched above the property, the colorful globe gave the cleaner a roadside presence that an ordinary flat sign couldn't quite match. 06-09

Ranburn operated from a former Norge Village Laundry, retaining both the globe and a separate business-name panel. By 2017, the cleaner had closed, and the owner was reportedly looking for someone to purchase the signs. The familiar ball outlasted the lettering below it, becoming a reminder of the property's laundry days.

UPDATE: Ranburn remains closed, with the building documented as vacant. The lower sign panel is gone, but the Norge globe is still recorded atop its pole. Fortunately, this piece of the old laundry's advertising has managed to hang on after the business disappeared. 07-26

Glen Park Cleaners (Gone)
Gary, IN
Photo courtesy Kevin Heggi

The Glen Park Cleaners Norge Ball took a different position above Gary, Indiana. Instead of standing on a tall roadside pole, this colorful globe sat on the roof, giving the building an unmistakable finishing touch. 06-09

The sign connected the cleaner with the recognizable Norge Village advertising style. Its patterned surface made it stand out even without elaborate lettering, and the rooftop placement gave motorists a good reason to look up. These globes often survived business changes, becoming neighborhood landmarks in their own right.

UPDATE: The reported 2022 closure and removal of this particular globe haven't been independently confirmed. Available specialist records still describe the roof-mounted sign. Its present status remains uncertain, so the Gary location shouldn't be confused with the unrelated Glen Park Cleaners in San Francisco that suffered a fire in 2022. 07-26

Clairmount Laundry (Gone)
Berkley, MI
Photo courtesy Richard Weiss

Here's Clairmount Laundry along Woodward Avenue in Berkley, Michigan. The neon lettering stretched across the facade, giving this corner business a presence that was especially easy to appreciate after dark. Sometimes the best advertising was attached right to the building. 06-09

Located at 27455 Woodward Avenue, the laundry served customers for decades before closing during the pandemic in 2020. Its prominent lettering belonged to the era when neighborhood cleaners used neon to make an everyday service stand out along a busy commercial road.

UPDATE: Clairmount Laundry is closed, and the neon lettering has been removed from the facade. Its eventual destination hasn't been confirmed. The business is listed among Michigan's closed dry-cleaning facilities, ending a longtime presence along one of the Detroit area's best-known roadside corridors. 07-26