Candelot Building/Healdsburg Steam Laundry

The Candelot Building/Healdsburg Home Laundry is a stuccoed, concrete block, stepped false front commercial building with simple curved, boxed cornices. Though Art Deco and Art Moderne styles were popular at the time, the sturdy and simple designs of industrial buildings conveyed permanence and no-nonsense efficiency. The business had cutting-edge machines and employed as many as 30 staff members. Today the historic building graces the south entry to Healdsburg, while the sidewalks so hard-fought by Candelot invite you in for a pleasant wine tasting experience at Rockpile Vineyards tasting lounge. In 2004, the Healdsburg Museum presented a Commercial Restoration award to William Wheeler and Royce Meyerott for their renovation of the 1924 Firmin Candelot building.

The Candelot Building/Healdsburg Home Laundry is a stuccoed, concrete block, stepped, false front commercial building with simple curved, boxed cornices. Many commercial buildings of the 1920s and ‘30s opted for unadorned facades like this as styles moved away from the perceived "fussiness" of the Victorian era. Although elegant Art Deco and Art Moderne styles were used for commercial buildings, economical and practical reasons often dictated simpler designs. Such buildings were often built as industrial enterprises that did not deal directly with the public. Therefore, the structures lacked large display windows and other stylistic elements that would entice the consumer to enter the building. Industrial business owners wanted sturdy buildings that would convey a sense of permanence and a no-nonsense attitude towards getting the job done.

The Candelot Building/Healdsburg Home Laundry was built by Firmin Candelot in 1924 for just such a reason, to house a commercial steam laundry business. The 50 x 100-foot laundry building was completed for a cost of $6,000. It was equipped with state-of-the-art laundry equipment that was valued at approximately $20,000.[1] The Healdsburg Home Laundry employed up to 30 people during the peak summer months. Although the windows have been changed, little else of the building exterior has been altered.

Construction of the Candelot building was delayed by a land dispute between Candelot and the City of Healdsburg. Though the dispute was over a “small strip of land,” the case lasted years and went to appeal.[2] The City of Healdsburg claimed the property, which Candelot said it was his. Candelot built numerous fences to prevent what he considered to be trespassers on his land, which the city then had torn down. Eventually, in 1921 it went to court. The court sided with Candelot, although the city was allowed to pay for the property and damages for a total of $155, considered to be less than the value of the land. [3]

During the 1930s, E. Walter Murray purchased the laundry business from his father, E.J. Murray, then called the Sunset Laundry. In the 1940s, Walter opened the first laundromat in Healdsburg at the Healdsburg Home Laundry. The building remained a laundry for over 75 years. It housed various retail shops and a vegan café before becoming the current Rockpile Vineyards tasting lounge, promising the “best wine on the roundabout.”[4] We suspect that Candelot, a 1920s wine enthusiast (aka “bootlegger”), would approve of the business shift from laundry to liquor in the building he built. In 1925, during Prohibition, a deputy sheriff and two Federal operatives raided his Dry Creek Valley home. They seized a total of 1,800 gallons of wine, a large quantity of “jackass,” and two stills from Candelot’s basement and barn.[5]

Today the historic building graces the south entry to Healdsburg, while the sidewalks so hard-fought by Candelot invite you in for a pleasant wine tasting experience at Rockpile Vineyards tasting lounge. In 2004, the Healdsburg Museum presented a Commercial Restoration award to William Wheeler and Royce Meyerott for their renovation of the 1924 Firmin Candelot building.

[1] The Healdsburg Tribune, $6000 Laundry Permit Allowed, Volume XXXVI, December 6, 1923, pp 3. The Healdsburg Tribune, New West St. Laundry Building Near Completion, Volume XXXVI, March 6, 1924, pp 3.

[2] Press Democrat, Candelot Carries Condemnation to Appellate Court, Volume XLVIII, March 23, 1921, pp. 4.

[3] The Healdsburg Tribune, Candelot Is Given $155.00 for His Lot, Volume XXXIIL, January 6, 1921, pp 1.

[4] Russian River Recorder, Healdsburg (Quality) (Home) (Steam) Laundry, Spring 2005, Issue 88, pp 14-15

[5] The Healdsburg Tribune, Wine Seized in Dry Creek Valley, Volume XXXVI, March 12, 1925, pp 1.