Paris Laundry (Closed)
Phoenix, AZ
Photo courtesy Elgin MacMillan

The Paris Laundry & Dry Cleaning building brought a little Space Age style to Seventh Avenue with its dramatic butterfly roof and drive-through cleaning lane. During a visit in June 2001, the owner believed the building and its roadside sign both dated back to 1957. He was right. 06-01

The sweeping canopy made Paris Laundry a fine example of Googie architecture, when even dropping off a few shirts could feel slightly futuristic. Customers could pull beneath the roof, hand over their cleaning, and continue toward downtown without leaving the car.

Paris Laundry remained in business until 2016. When the property went up for sale, preservationists worried that the low-slung building might be cleared for new development. Fortunately, this particular piece of mid-century Phoenix escaped the bulldozer.

Paris Laundry
Phoenix, AZ
Photo courtesy Elgin MacMillan

Modern Manor purchased the property and transformed it into a vintage furniture and interior-design showroom. Mid-century furniture displayed inside a 1957 Googie laundry building sounds like a pretty good match.

UPDATE: The former Paris Laundry building survives as Modern Manor. Its butterfly canopy has been preserved, while an original Paris sign panel was saved and placed on display inside. 09-26

Sparkle Cleaners 1998
Tucson, AZ
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

The Sparkle Cleaners sign lives up to its name, especially after dark when the neon lights up the corner of Stone Avenue and Drachman Street. Its unusual shape, mix of block and cursive lettering, and colorful top panel make it one of Tucson’s more eye-catching laundry signs. This photo was taken in 1998.

Sparkle Cleaners 1998
Tucson, AZ
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

The building and sign were originally created in 1955 for Wash Well Drive In Cleaners. Sparkle Cleaners began serving Tucson in 1961 and later took over the location, keeping the old mid-century sign as part of its own identity.

The sign from 1998 advertises the Mendels Wife the Tailor business next door

The lower reader board was once promoted as “Sud’n Service.” During the 1960s and 1970s, customers could submit clever slogans and laundry puns for a chance to win cash and see their words displayed beside the road. Apparently even dirty clothes could inspire a little poetry.

After decades beneath the Arizona sun, the sign was showing its age. Sign Magic, the Tucson Historic Preservation Foundation, and students from Pima Community College joined forces to repair the structure, repaint the panels, and rebuild the electrical system.

The restored sign was officially relit on January 11, 2013. Unlike many of Tucson’s surviving neon signs that were moved to museum displays, Sparkle’s remained beside its original building and active business.

UPDATE: Sparkle Cleaners remains open at Stone and Drachman, and its restored 1955 neon sign continues lighting the corner. More than 60 years after the Sparkle name arrived, the old cleaner still has a little shine left. 09-26

Mendel's Wife The Tailor
Tucson, AZ
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

The unusually named Mendel’s Wife the Tailor is the alterations side of Sparkle Cleaners, Tucson’s locally owned laundry and dry-cleaning company. Sparkle has served the city since 1961, while Mendel’s Wife handles the garments that need a little more than cleaning. 06-23

The tailoring department repairs uniforms, alters denim and leather, replaces buttons, and handles detailed work on bridal gowns. The story behind the name remains elusive. Whoever Mendel was, his wife apparently knew her way around a sewing machine.

During the 2020 pandemic, the shop shifted its sewing equipment to producing thousands of washable cotton masks. Sparkle also cleaned medical scrubs free of charge for local healthcare workers.

UPDATE: Mendel’s Wife the Tailor remains in business as the alterations and tailoring division of Sparkle Cleaners. Its signs continue appearing alongside the familiar Sparkle branding around Tucson. 09-26

Sparkle Cleaners sign close-up 1999 Tucson, AZ Photo by RoadsidePeek.com	Sparkle Cleaners 1998 Tucson, AZ Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

Melody Cleaners
Yuma, AZ
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

The Melody Cleaners sign adds a splash of color to the roadside in Yuma. Its bright geometric panels and mid-century lettering were designed to catch the eye of passing motorists, just in case somebody suddenly remembered a suit hanging in the back of the closet.

Melody Cleaners has served Yuma since the 1940s, beginning with the Sutton family. The business later passed to the Cook and White families, keeping the hometown cleaner going through several generations.

The colorful sign was installed during the mid-1950s, when businesses were finding increasingly creative ways to stand out beside the road. The result has outlasted plenty of newer and considerably less interesting signs.

Along with dry cleaning and laundry, Melody offers tailoring and alterations. The longtime business has also received local recognition for its service over the years.

UPDATE : Check out a few additional photos of the Melody Cleaners from 1998 and 1999. More photos to come.

UPDATE: Melody Cleaners remains open at its Orange Avenue location. Its wonderful multicolored sign survives as one of Yuma’s more cheerful pieces of mid-century roadside advertising. 09-26

Melody Cleaners marquee Yuma, AZ Photo by RoadsidePeek.com	Melody Cleaners deco building Yuma, AZ Photo by RoadsidePeek.com