68 Middle Abbey Street

Last week I dropped a dress and shirt into the drycleaners and picked them up two days later.  I was a little nervous about the dress.  It's a Kate Spade and really nice silk material - of two different colours - a pale pink top and a deep wine skirt.  Because of the mix of colours and because it was its first cleaning I had to sign a waiver of indemnity so I was relieved when I went to collect it and all was well and it's immaculately clean with no colour running or damage.

New York Dry Cleaners are quite the institution of Dublin having been situated in Abbey Street for a long time. I would have said from the 60's anyway, but I see from their website that they actually have been there since 1944!  Quite an interesting story actually:

It was set up by two brothers, Harry and Myer Singer. They travelled to America to buy top quality dry cleaning equipment. There they purchased a complete plant, one piece was a pressing machine called a ‘New Yorker’. This inspired the trade name New York Dry Cleaners.

Can you see from this photograph the number 68 on the large white window frame?

New York used actually be located in this building - where the business with the green and blue signage is.  And I used to work in an office above them!  I worked a magazine publishing company which I really really loved. Unfortunately it was a little small business with no opportunity for development or promotion - and the pay was not great either so with regret I moved on. That was around 17/18 years ago.

Then about 5/6 years ago there was a fire in the whole building - and this is why New York have now come to be located in 69 Middle Abbey Street.

The buildings above Tour America caught my eye. 

Can you see the sign on the right hand of the photo - displayed length ways down along the window frames.  Café Ritz is not looking very ritzy is it!!!

To see a FANTASTIC photo from 1975 when Café Ritz was in its hey day click HERE!