Cars line up at the El Patio Auto Laundry and Gas Station, 260 S. Vermont Ave, Los Angeles, 1927

Cars line up at the El Patio Auto Laundry and Gas Station, 260 S. Vermont Ave, Los Angeles, 1927We’re so used to the word “car wash” that I think I just assumed they were always called that. But this photo from 1927 shows that they were also called an “auto laundry.” Or, at least, that’s what the El Patio Auto Laundry and Gas Station at 260 S. Vermont Ave called it, and I think I like their version better. It was called “El Patio” because of the large building with the ornate towers on the left. It was the very popular El Patio Ballroom, which was later known as Rainbow Gardens.

These days, that site is a supermarket parking lot. This image is from February 2021.

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3 responses to “Cars line up at the El Patio Auto Laundry and Gas Station, 260 S. Vermont Ave, Los Angeles, 1927”

  1. chris koss says:

    Go in on a dirt road, most likely come out on a dirt road, so much for keeping car cleaned. Lol

  2. Bill Wolfe says:

    In the Canadian TV series Murdoch Mysteries, which is set in the first decade of the 20th century, one of the characters once referred to an “auto stable.” That makes sense, given the predominance of horses prior to the car, and it strikes a similar note as “auto laundry.”

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