Historic Langley

1944: Burk Lumber built

1945. Burk Lumber (Courtesy Howard Johnson).

Charles Burk built this lumber yard in 1944 on the site formerly owned by James C. Langley, nephew of town founder James Weston Langley. There were big doors in the back and you could drive right through the building.

1971: Bjorns buy the Lumber Company

Circa 1974. Langley Building Supply (Courtesy Jean Bjorn).

The Burks sold the business to Phillip and Jean Bjorn in 1971 who remodeled it and ran it as the "Langley Building Supply."

According to Jean Bjorn, in addition to lumber, they "sold everything you need to build a home to everything you need to keep it up."

Circa 1974. Inside the building supply store (Courtesy Jean Bjorn).

Jean Bjorn recalls there was no heating system. "It got pretty cold in the winter. There was no office per se. Phil had a stool with a red plastic covering and he sat back by the wood stove. The restroom had no door. The nails were rolled out on the floor in wooden bins. The hardware and things were all in one compact area. There was storage upstairs. Most of the building was lumber storage. We got our lumber from off Island. Phil drove the truck and I managed the store."

When Phil Bjorn had a heart attack in 1980 his son Tim and Bob Frause helped run the business.

Circa 1974. Shed on East side (Courtesy Jean Bjorn).

A small addition was added to the East side of the main building to accommodate garden supplies. According to the Bjorns' daughter Sue Frause, it was driven in part by her mother's love of gardening. She recalls it smelling of peat moss.

Circa 1980. Storage sheds along the west side (Courtesy Jean Bjorn).

The Bjorns added a row of storage sheds along the West side of the building, and a row of larger units along DeBruyn Avenue North of the main building to house lumber. These were later converted into additional storage sheds.

The Bjorn's son-in-law, Bob Frause, made the letters on the front of the building.

According to Zaven Karamanyan, sometime during the 1970's or perhaps the early 1980's Phil Bjorn was approached by a Freeland laundry owner named Jim, who was interested in renting the space for a Laundromat. Phil Bjorn declined because he questioned the man's trustworthiness.

1987: Bjorns retire.

The Bjorns retired in 1987 and the building was eventually sold to Vern Colbo who accepted the laundry entrepreneur's rental proposal, and the former garden shed was transformed into a Laundromat called "All Washed Up."

2012. All Washed Up Laundromat (Courtesy Robert Waterman).

Unbeknownst to Mr. Colbo, the entrepreneur operated the Laundromat for an undetermined period without paying his water bill, then skipped out on his lease. The city of Langley placed a lien on the entire building, forcing Mr. Colbo to pay the outstanding water bill balance. This prompted Langley to rewrite its code regarding water and sewer bill collection.

Circa 1989. Shapiro's Athletic Club (Courtesy of Jeannie Bjorn).

The building housed a number of businesses after the Bjorn's retired. One of these was Shapiro's athletic club, with the word "BODY" added to the facade.

Jim Anderson who ran the fine print and framing shop with his wife Priscilla Lowry from 1989 to 1991, remodeled the interior and removed all the letters except LANGLEY from the facade. The building then housed the Whidbey Island Brewing Company, a Thai restaurant, North Star shoes, and several other businesses including Living Green Natural Food and Apothecary.

2015: Sundance Bakery

2016. Sundance Bakery and Machine Shop (Courtesy Robert Waterman).

The Sundance Bakery opened in 2015 and shared the space for a time with a Vintage Clothing store and Yoga Studio.

2016: Machine Shop

Tim Leonard opened a pinball arcade called the "e;Machine Shop"e; in the front of the building in 2016 and expanded his business when the Sundance Bakery closed in 2017.

2019. Neon sign (Courtesy Robert Waterman).

The Machine Shop closed in 2022; a casualty of the Covid pandemic.