Amazon is seeking landmark status for a beloved neon sign that once advertised the Elephant Car Wash in Seattle. The city’s Landmarks Preservation Board approved the nomination this week.
The big neon pink elephant sign right by Aurora Avenue and the Denny Regrade, lit up the entrance to the Elephant Car Wash for over 60 years and was impossible to miss. The rotating sign was a beacon on dark Seattle nights, until it came down in 2020.
But why does it deserve landmark status? Susan Boyle, who worked on the nomination for Amazon, says there are a few reasons.
Beatrice Haverfield designed the sign which was installed in 1956. Her daughter Kathleen Wolff told the board the designation would honor her mother as a pioneer in her industry.
Haverfield was known as “the Queen of Neon.” She designed signs for famous restaurants Ivar’s, Dick’s, and the now defunct retail store Chubby and Tubby.
The sign is also emblematic of the booming auto industry in the Post-World War II era.
“When we think about this sign and the car wash business, it it directly relates to the expansion of Seattle's auto row,” Boyle said.
And a third reason Boyle gave is that the founders of Elephant Car Wash are credited as the inventors of the modern car wash.
The landmarks board will decide on designating the Elephant Car Wash sign as a landmark in the next month or two.
