Chinese Laundromats on Albert Street
Washing the clothes of the Nation's capital
Chinese laundromats were some of the first businesses established by local entrepreneurs moving from across the seas. The business was easy to get into, and soon earlier arrivals were hiring later ones to come work in their businesses. Over the course of the first half of the 20th century, the vast majority of Chinese labourers in Ottawa worked in laundromats. In 1901, 56 of the 58 laundromats in Ottawa were Chinese owned, and 45 of the 46 Chinese men who lived in Ottawa worked in laundries. This concentration decreased as new immigrants expanded into other professions, especially establishing restaurants. Around 400 Chinese were living in Ottawa prior to the Second World War, from whom 168 had identifiable professions within the Ottawa City Directory. Of these 168 men, half were working in Chinese owned hand laundries.
Running a laundry business didn’t always go smoothly. Newspaper articles surfaced in the Ottawa Journal condemning Chinese Launderers of spitting onto clothing that they were cleaning. These claims paired with accusations against sanitation in Chinese owned restaurants displayed the animosity that early Chinese immigrants faced when establishing lives in Canada. In the end, the success enjoyed by the over 50 laundromats that ran in Ottawa during the publication of the article shows that locals continued to use their services despite these rumors.
Laundry Legacies
Among the Chinese laundry owners in Ottawa, Joe Shung, one of the first Chinese immigrants to the city, is best known for the several branches of laundromat that he owned around the city. Seeing as customers were in need of laundry all over Ottawa, we can see the establishment of Chinese laundries across the city to meet those needs. On Albert Street, two stayed in business consistently since 1931- On Hong Chinese Laundry and Song Lee. However, as time progressed into the second half of the twentieth century, and hand laundries started becoming a thing of the past, and subsequently there began the decline in the percentage of Chinese in Ottawa who worked in laundries. This was partly because the children of initial immigrants often sought an education and aimed for careers in government, or as doctors and lawyers. However, many Chinese were also going into the restaurant business, such as Joe Shung’s son, William Joe, who went on to manage the Cathay Chop Suey for decades.
