{"nrhp_refnum":"84001707","name":"Model Laundry","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"513-523 25th St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Galveston","county":"Galveston County","state":"TX","lat":29.303081333000023,"lon":-94.79613013799997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1984-08-14","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story reinforced concrete commercial building at 513-23 25th Street in Galveston, Texas, built 1913-14 with improvements in 1915 as a steam laundry. Contractor was Eubank & Dibrell.","why_significant":"The building represents a type of later commercial architecture not common in Galveston. It is also tied to a laundry business considered progressive for its time, run by Wm. A. Johnson, who was nationally known in the laundry trade. Model Laundry was the first laundry in Texas, and among the first industrial institutions, to provide life insurance for all employees.","narrative":"Model Laundry is a two-story reinforced concrete commercial building at 513-23 25th Street in Galveston, faced in brick and tile. Its square plan, flat roof, shaped corner parapets, flat pilasters, corbeled roofline and decorative colored diamond and square tiles set it apart from most downtown buildings. A later rear addition of yellow brick varies slightly in its window treatment. Maps and tax records place construction in 1913 and 1914, with further improvements in 1915. A 1913 city directory called it the laundry's new fireproof home, and it was then the only steam laundry in Galveston. Wm. A. Johnson, who arrived in 1909 to take over a struggling business dating to 1888, built the structure. He later served two terms as president of the national laundry owners' association. The company was the first laundry in Texas, and among the first industrial employers, to provide life insurance for all its workers. Laundry-related use continued through 1970, and the building now houses a paint and body shop.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Contractor Eubank & Dibrell; built under Wm. A. Johnson","architectural_style":"Commercial","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Present use is a paint and body shop; condition described as good.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:21.868274-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/77/9691/40969177/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/84001707.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84001707/bde1052868-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84001707/bde1052868-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Jim Evans","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Model_Laundry,_Galveston.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Jim Evans</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Model_Laundry,_Galveston.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40969177","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Model_Laundry","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q110002047"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/galveston-county/model-laundry-84001707/"}