New England Linen

Passing by 149 Derby Avenue often prompts a double take. The building may initially appear conventional, or perhaps drab—but further inspection reveals that it is a rambling, complex, inter-connected collection of structures that envelop the corner of Ellsworth and Derby Avenue. The space has catered to the manufacturing and care of textiles since its conception in 1898: It served as the home for the esteemed Monarch Laundry Company for nearly 100 years, and now houses a linen company. Nowadays, the building is an industrial landmark of the West River area.

1898: Charles M Dobbs, of Monarch Laundry, builds 149 Derby Avenue. The business has three owners over the course of its 100-year history: Charles M Dobbs, followed by his wife, Marjorie A Dobbs, followed by their business partner, Salvatore J Alea.

1997: New England Linen purchases 149 Derby Avenue.

At the beginning of the 20^th century, this area of New Haven had not yet been fully developed: the Sanborn Maps from 1901 depict only one other building on the block that houses Monarch Laundry.[i] As the city expanded, Monarch Laundry did, too. The Sanborn Maps from 1924 reveal the addition of another building. This building is listed under 169 Derby Avenue in the New Haven Tax Assessor’s database, but it was owned by Monarch Laundry throughout its existence, and transferred hands to New England Linen at the same time that 149 Derby Avenue did.

Charles M Dobbs built the building in 1989. Dobbs served as president of Monarch Laundry for 63 years, until his death in 1961. His wife, Marjorie A Dobbs, has been vice president up until this time; following her husband’s death, she became president. When Mrs. Dobbs retired in 1978, Salvatore (Sam) J Alea was named president. Alea began working for Monarch Laundry in 1929 at age 15 as a bundler, but “worked his way up to stock clerk, purchasing agent, assistant superintendent, superintendent, a member of the board of directors, and, finally, [at age 65,] president.”[i]

Over the course of its history, Monarch Laundry served a wide array of customers. It did laundry and dry-cleaning for many Yale students, for the ship-crews in the New Haven port, and for Ringling Bros.-Barnum and Bailey circus when it came to New Haven.[ii] The majority of its work, however, came in the form of home-delivery to residents across the Greater New Haven area.

Monarch Laundry was, for many years, a prominent New Haven business. Dobbs was a well-known figure—in 1920, his portrait was featured on the front of the National Laundry Journal.[iii] In its heyday, Monarch Laundry had 6,000 customers per year, a fleet of 35 Model Ford trucks, and 150 employees working at 149 Derby Avenue. By 1978, these numbers had decreased substantially: the company had 3,000 customers per year, a fleet of seven Model Ford trucks, and a work force of 50.[iv]

While 149 Derby Avenue was Monarch Laundry’s first and principal location, in 1944 Dobbs bought another property for fur storage, located on Park Street between Chapel and Crown.[v] Monarch Laundry also had a public storefront at 82 Wall Street. Advertisements for Monarch Laundry can be found in city directories and newspapers spanning many years.[vi] One photograph from the early 20^th century depicts a Monarch Laundry billboard on the corner of Whitney Avenue and Audubon Street. It reads: "Say Old Bird / Go Home and Tell Your Mother / An Average / Weekly Family / Washing & Ironing / Costs about $2.50 / Monarch Laundry.” [vii]

           In the late 1990s, Monarch Laundry went out of business. 149 Derby Avenue, however, was maintained for a similar use: New England Linen—a textile company that specializes in uniforms for chef, kitchen, and food service workers. [viii] The company also has locations in New York and Boston.

The New England Linen building is located on the corner of Derby Avenue and Ellsworth Avenue. It’s less than a block from West River memorial park, which comprises the Yale Bowl and many of the Yale Athletic Fields. West River is primarily a low-income neighborhood. The streetscape of Derby Avenue is somewhere between urban and residential: There are no stores in the direct vicinity of the building, but one can find Dunkin Donuts or a Chinese Take-Out restaurant within a two-block radius. Across the street from the building is a bus stop, and behind that is Barnard School—an environmental studies magnet school for children in Kindergarten through eighth grade. Moving further down Ellsworth Avenue, the street becomes more residential, made up mostly of multi-family homes with lawns, fences, etc. Given the somewhat spread out, non-commercial nature of the area, this stretch of Derby Avenue does not have much foot traffic aside from nearby residents. The industrial, private nature of New England Linen’s company certainly contributes to this fact, seeing as a typical resident of the area would have little reason to walk around the company’s premises.