Theodore Molivas was born on this day in 1900, in Turkey.
Theodore, who was Greek, came to the United States (New York City) in 1920. He came to Winston-Salem in 1932 and opened his hat cleaning shop in the Zinzendorf Hotel.
Five years later, Theodore and his brother, Trifon, opened Paris Hat Works on West Fifth Street. The brothers blocked, pressed, weatherproofed and renovated men’s hats.
When the shop opened in the 1930s, every well-dressed, self-respecting man wore a hat. And, there were five hat-cleaning establishments in Winston-Salem.
Over the years, fewer men wore hats regularly. And the styles changed so frequently that hat-cleaners couldn’t afford to keep changing the blocks used in hat cleaning and styling.
Theodore and Trifon owned the last hat-cleaning business in town. Trifon died in 1976, and Theodore retired in 1977. He wanted to train an apprentice to take over the business, but was not successful in finding an interested candidate.
Theodore was a member of the Greek Orthodox Church and he was a Mason.
He was married to Nell Harper Molivas, and he passed away in 1982.
The above photo shows Theodore in his shop in 1976, reshaping a hat.
