Car Wash, 1913 -- "A Car Laundry!"

When the car wash was called the car laundry! The car wash season is soon upon us as the weather is getting colder and salt on the roads is around the corner.  As a treasured object, owners obviously cleaned cars from the beginning of the era. When it turned into a business, however, is not clear. This is an early example for sure.

From the Digital Collections, Detroit Public Library

Library Descriptor:

Interior view of Automobile Laundry; car wash employees stand near cars; three men wearing hats and overcoats stand in foreground. Floor of building is wet; hoses suspended from ceiling. Printed on front: "Automobile Laundry, 1221-1229 Woodward Ave., Detroit, Mich." Printed on back: "Get the 'look new' habit. Dear Sir, Having installed special equipment and processes for cleaning and polishing automobiles and cleaning engines, we take this means of inviting you (whether you wash your car or leave it to others) to visit our Auto Laundry at 1221-1229 Woodward Ave., between Palmer and Hendrie Aves., and see what we have for your convenience and the betterment of your car. We have a large, light, roomy garage, specially equipped for the washing, polishing and thorough cleaning of automobiles. While you wait. Washing and polishing, 1.50; engine cleaning, 1.50, transmission cleaning, $1.00. Automobile Laundry, 1221-1229 Woodward Ave., Phone North 2302, 'Everything back but the dirt.' 443, pub. by A.C. Dietsche, Detroit, Mich." Card is postmarked June 18, 1913.