MLK Day 2020: Here’s What’s Open, Closed In Washington

Martin Luther King Jr. Day falls on Monday, Jan. 20 this year, and a variety of services will be closed in Washington for the holiday.

King’s birthday is Jan. 15, but the federal holiday celebrating the civil rights leader is observed on the third Monday of January each year.

Here’s a breakdown of how the holiday could impact your routine.

• State & Local Government Offices: Closed
• Public Schools: Closed
• U.S. Post Offices: Closed
• State Courts: Closed

Public Libraries

• King County Library System: Closed Monday
• Pierce County Libraries: Closed Monday
• Seattle Public Library: Closed Monday
• Tacoma Public Library: Closed Saturday & Sunday

Transportation:

• King County Metro: Reduced weekday service
• Pierce Transit: Regular weekday schedule
• Community Transit: Regular schedule for local transportation. Only routes 402, 413 and 421 will operate regularly to Seattle. Route 855 will run to the University District.
• Sound Transit: Regular schedule
• Tacoma Link: Sunday schedule

Trash and recycling:

• Most operating on regular schedules.

The history of the MLK holiday in America is a complicated one.

Almost immediately after King’s assassination in 1968, activists began pushing for a holiday celebrating his Jan. 15 birthday. However, the official national holiday wasn’t signed into law until 1983 by President Ronald Reagan.

The first federal MLK Day was observed on the third Monday of January in 1986, but many states held out. Arizona didn’t recognize the day until 1992, when the state lost its rights to host the Super Bowl after voters in Arizona failed to make the day a paid holiday.

King County, which was originally named after a 19th century U.S. senator, was re-named in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. in 1986.