Cinders and scorched timbers were all that remained of his Laundromat.

It was his first business, his "baby", which he bought in 1987, the year he graduated from Plattsburgh State.

   Michael Racine could have cut his losses. But he refused to turn away. Instead, he invested $100,000 on top of his insurance payoff.

   The entrepreneur wanted to create his vision. A Shangri-la or Xanadu filled with dirty clothes made pure again. It is Washland.

   "Since I bought it right after college, I'm sort of emotionally attached to it," Racine said, standing in the glow of beaming lamps. "My heart and soul was there".

   "I had so many customers that were loyal and called me to tell me they were sorry and hoped I would build a new one," he said.

   The Weed Street building, which burned down in February 1996, now has gleaming tile, bright lights, fresh paint and crystal-like windows....well, it's a new building. It's the Phoenix of launderettes.

   "I wanted to make the biggest, brightest and cleanest laundromat," Racine said. Most importantly, there are new machimes. A bank of top-loading washers is supported by a row of heavy-duty tumblers---which in the final cycle spins clothes with a centrifugal force nearing 80 times the force of gravity. At any rate, it would kill you to ride inside of one. Not that anyone has tried...yet.

   The units cost as much as a used car, but Racine said the investment was well worth it. Customers can jam up to 50 pounds into the equipment, which cleans better than household washers.

   Commercial dryers, stacked by two, run the length of a wall, ready to sear the remaining moisture from wash loads.

   "I designed it to be a 21st-century store," the owner said. "All the equipment I put in is the best I could find."

   Some might say Racine is obessed with cleanliness. When he's on vacation, the young man even drops by other laundries to check out what they have to offer. And he's always ready to hear improvement ideas from his customers.

   Racine bought the business when it was a dilapidated structure with a patchwork gray exterior and in need of renovations inside as well. He took on a major repair each year, mending the siding, plumbing and machines.

   "I knew if I fixed it up, business would increase," he said.

   Washland was rebuilt from the ground up, but Racine's ideas continue to flow, like the gush of suds from his washers.

   He plans to tap into New York State Electric and Gas's pipeline when it's laid along Weed Street. New sign's televisions and a mural will be added to the Laundromat's amenities. Racine also is considering neon lighting for aesthetics.

   His labors are all for Washland's heir apparent, Alexander, who was born in June of 1996.

   "This Laundromat is my baby, and now it will be my baby's baby.

Michael Racine holds his son Alexander (pictured below) in Washland.