Yale Union Laundry Building

Portland, United States

Open to visitors

The interior is normally open, possibly ticketed.

Strollie cannot guarantee access — always check before you travel.

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Heritage registerNational Register of Historic Places↗

In southeast Portland, Oregon, the Yale Union Laundry Building stands as a brick structure built in 1908 and embellished with Italian Revival and Egyptian Revival decorative elements. Originally a two-story commercial laundry operated by businessman Charles F. Brown, the building was expanded with two-story additions in 1927 and 1929 that transformed it into an L-shaped configuration. It changed hands several times—purchased by power-laundry consortium Home Services Company in 1927, later used by American Linen Supply and automotive fabric maker Perfect Fit Manufacturing—before being acquired by Alter LLC in 2008. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007, the building is now home to Yale Union, a contemporary arts center. Its preservation acknowledges both Portland's industrial laundry heritage and the building's connection to women's labor and the rise of the American middle class.