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As Roslindale laundromat is remodeled, its past is revealed

Cockeyed Parrot on Washington Street in Roslindale

Update, Friday morning: And just like that, the sign is covered over again.

For several decades now, the space next to the convenience store on Washington Street across from Washington-Beech has been a laundromat. It's getting remodeled, though, and today it returned to its days in the 1960s and early 1970s, when it was a discount clothing store, with a '60s-style sign that was never taken down, just boarded over.

It's hard to make out the slogan, but fortunately, one of its ads (from the 1970 Roslindale High School yearbook) is online:

Cockeyed Parrot: Top names for thrifty dames
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Comments

Love this! Makes me think of the "Now Shop" a boutique near the Government Center end of Tremont Street in the early 70s. It had a back room full of black light posters. Tremont Street downtown was so interesting in those days. There was an entire store that just sold cheese.

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An entire store that just sold cheese?

I believe that is called a cheese shop.............

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That Rozzie Square's wine shop no longer has a cheese shop next door.

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I think the cheese ship on Tremont was indeed called "The Cheese Shop". They had all kinds of cheese in the window which I assume must have been refrigerated. One night there was a robbery and somebody stole all the cheese out of the window. I'm not kidding.

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A stinky cheese is a yummy to Magoo’s tummy cheese. Magoo.

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WTF?

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Our goal will be to ensure that precious artifacts of the neighborhood's history, including and most just this sign, are preserved by a matter of law.

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Physical preservation or just photographic documentation?

The sign looks painted so would the group push to prohibit covering the sign or repainting the building?

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The store front with the sign will be either preserved as is, or transplanted to a different location.

We are looking into if we can force Birch St Home and Garden to change their store name through fiat at which point the sign would be recreated on the Belgrade side of the store. It's a shame Stevil isn't active here anymore, maybe we could have gotten this imposed by the building owners.

Side note: I can't believe that was the name of a store, not a bar.

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To preserve the sign as-is would mean carefully cutting out the concrete and transporting it. That would be an extremely expensive proposition. It could be covered up with plywood like it was before, although it wouldn't be visible and it might degrade further.

I don't live in Roslindale so I stake in this one way or another but is that sign really so significant it's worth preserving physically and/or forcing another store to use that name and graphic they otherwise have no connection with?

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I am kidding about all of this?

It's very fun sign, that's all. While is the kind of thing that adds to neighborhood character, like an old commercial mural on the side of a building, I'm not actually suggesting anyone do anything about it other than enjoy it while it's visible. Like a double rainbow.

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The Cockeyed Parrot Laundromat and Lounge has a nice ring to it.

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the name is already on the building - it fits

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... will likely enjoy seeing this blast from the past.

New timers too!

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Thanks m seeing an ad for Newton Wash and Dry. Who knew that laundromats advertised on the web?

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They could open as a gay bar and keep the sign

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Reminds me of "Midnight in Paris."

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">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nC_oVUgvm-M[/youtube]

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