Altgeld Gardens Laundry Building

About this location

A few stories people tell about this place

1. At dusk, when Altgeld Gardens quieted down, a mysterious figure began appearing in the Laundry Building's window. A regular noticed it first and mentioned it casually during his weekly visit. Soon enough, everyone started noticing the silhouette of an old lady doing her laundry late at night. One day, a delivery driver joked that she was probably the ghost of someone who missed their washing machine back home. The story spread like wildfire until one evening, a neighbor brought over some freshly baked cookies as a thank-you for keeping the building clean. Turns out, it was just Mrs. Johnson from upstairs, who loved baking and hated noisy laundromats.

2. In the early morning hours, when Altgeld Gardens Laundry Building was usually empty, someone started leaving strange notes in the dryer compartments. They were always written in pencil and signed with just an initial: ‘J.’ No one knew who J was or why they left these cryptic messages. One day a delivery driver found a note that said simply, ‘Bring your own quarters next time.’ From then on, everyone brought coins, but no one ever saw anyone named J again. The mystery of J remained unsolved, except for one thing: now everyone in Altgeld Gardens had a good excuse to chat while waiting for their clothes.

3. In the late afternoon, as customers were leaving Altgeld Gardens Laundry Building, an old lady exclaimed, ‘I just saw someone putting quarters into that vending machine five times!’ Everyone looked around but saw no one. Since then, some claim to hear coins clinking after closing hours. One night, a delivery driver swears he heard the clinking getting louder and louder until it sounded like someone was dropping change right next to his truck. He jumped out, only to find himself staring at an empty parking lot—except for a stray cat who kept glancing up at him with a mischievous grin.

4. In the middle of the night, when Altgeld Gardens Laundry Building stood dark and silent, a regular’s dog started barking uncontrollably. No one else heard it—just him. The next morning, everyone asked the regular why his dog was so worked up. Turns out, the poor pooch had just seen a ghostly laundress waving from an empty window. The regular shrugged, saying, ‘She always waves like that.’