 In 1908 , Charles F. Brown , who entered the laundry business in the Midwest in 1892 , moved to Portland to build the Yale Laundry Building and to operate an industrial power laundry on its premises . The building 's basement contained boilers to heat wash water , and the main part of the first floor had beams capable of supporting heavy washing machines . The first and second floor had large windows to admit light and to release heat and steam . At the time of the building 's construction , Portland had 68 commercial laundries of varied types and sizes . By 1916 , the Yale Laundry , one of the larger laundries , employed 125 people , many of whom were women . 
