Overview

The Despatch Laundry is significant for its unusual Moorish Revival architectural style. 

• Location: 2611 1st Avenue South 
• Neighborhood: Whittier 

Historic profile

The Despatch Laundry is significant for its unusual Moorish Revival architectural style. 

It was built in 1929 to expand the Rauen family's prospering laundry service business. It started as a small family business in the late 1800s with 10 employees. By the 1930s, the business had over 150 employees. It grew to more than 30 offices and plants in Minneapolis, St. Paul, and Rochester by the 1980s. The plant used artesian well water to clean clothing, curtains, rugs, and specialty garments like knits and furs. 

Minneapolis architect Louis Boynton Bersback designed the building in the Moorish Revival style. This was a unique style choice for an office and rug cleaning facility. The exotic commercial building stood out among the neighborhood's vernacular 19th-century houses. 

The one-story building has a long and narrow footprint. The tan brick façade is symmetrical. There is a large bay window in the center with a bulbous copper dome. Small glazed tiles frame it. Multicolored brick arches cap the windows and main entrance. Four rounded brick pilasters extend above the front roofline. A copper and glass ornament tops each column. There are three inverted V shapes cut into the north and south sides of the building. These unique cuts form windows that allow for natural light to fill the interior.