Elephant Car Wash Sign May Be Preserved As Local Landmark

SEATTLE — The iconic Elephant Super Car Wash sign that beckoned to drivers for more than 60 years may get a new lease on life, thanks to Seattle’s Landmarks Preservation Board.

The sign was previously located at the intersection of 6th and Battery, but could be seen by the thousands of drivers who commute along Denny Way daily. It was designed by local signmaker Beatrice Haverfield, manufactured by Campbell Neon in Seattle, and installed in 1956, where it remained until 2020 when the car wash closed. The sign was then relocated to Seattle's Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI).

Now, an ongoing effort to preserve the sign has born fruit, as the Landmarks Preservation Board says it will consider the possibility of making the Elephant Car Wash Sign a local landmark at an upcoming meeting on July 6. The public is invited to attend the meeting and speak on the issue, or submit written comments to the Landmarks Preservation Board by 3:30 p.m. on July 5.

The city has designated nearly 500 landmarks, from the B.F. Day Elementary School in Fremont to the University National Bank, but this would be one of only a handful of signs that have been given the landmark designation. Previously, the neon globe atop the Seattle Post Intelligencer office was donated to MOHAI. It was designated a Seattle landmark in 2017.

>> Learn much, much more about the history of the Elephant Super Car Wash sign from the Landmarks Preservation Board.