O'banions Washateria

About this location

A few stories people tell about this place

1. At dawn, when most laundromats are quiet as a library, O’Banion’s Washateria came alive with an unusual sound—a gentle humming from inside one of the dryers. A regular noticed it first and thought nothing of it until the humming turned into whistling, then singing. Soon enough, every morning, a different tune emerged from that dryer. One day, a delivery driver heard ‘Imagine’ so clearly that he swore John Lennon himself was doing the laundry. Another time, a neighbor insisted it was Maria Callas practicing her scales. But the best part? The dryer always finished its cycle exactly on key—never too fast or slow.

2. Late one night, a delivery driver pulled up to O’Banion’s Washateria with a heavy box of detergent. As he unlocked the door, an unexpected sound echoed through the empty hallway—someone humming along to an old-timey tune. As he approached the counter, a friendly voice called out from behind it: ‘Hey there, delivery guy! Need some help?’ It was just Mrs. Jenkins, a regular who always seemed to appear whenever anything unusual happened around here. The delivery driver laughed and said, “Just my usual load, ma’am.” And so, another late-night adventure at O’Banion’s ended with a smile—and maybe even a free cup of coffee.

3. At midnight, when even city streets fall asleep, a delivery driver pulled up to O’Banion’s Washateria with a mysterious box. Inside, everyone later whispered, lay something far stranger than any laundry could ever be. Inside was an old pair of socks that smelled like week-old coffee and had a note scribbled on them: ‘To keep your whites whiter—try these!’ Everyone laughed it off as just another prank from a neighbor until they tried them out—and sure enough, their whites did look brighter than ever before.

4. At dusk, when neighbors were settling down for dinner, a delivery driver pulled up to O’Banion’s Washateria with a mysterious box under his arm. The driver knocked on the door, and an old lady peered out curiously. ‘What have you got there?’ she asked. The driver grinned sheepishly, holding up the box: ‘Just some new detergent samples from the factory.’ As he left, everyone heard a faint humming sound—apparently, it was just the latest prototype of a self-washing machine they’d accidentally delivered.