Demolition permit filed for Pink Elephant Car Wash in Seattle
Oct 8, 2020, 8:21 AM | Updated: 2:28 pm
If there’s a more iconic neon sign in Seattle than the Elephant Car Wash, no one’s sure what it would be. It was designed in the 1950s by Bea Haverfield. (Feliks Banel)
(Feliks Banel)
The iconic Pink Elephant Car Wash in Seattle may have a date with the wrecking ball.
The Seattle Times reports that a demolition permit has been filed for the business, which has been at Denny Way and Battery Street since 1956.
“Well, it’s one of those landmarks. It is right there on Denny, generations of Seattleities have driven by that,” said Steve Hall with Friends of Historic Belltown.
One caveat might be that the demolition permit is only for 750 square feet of the property, and the actual footprint of the existing car wash is more than 4,700 square feet.
Plus, even if the car wash itself may be demolished, the famous neon elephant sign has a lot of local fans, including Hall himself.
“It’s just an icon — you know where you are when you see the elephant,” he said. “And it’s kind of a beautiful thing as well, classic neon design.”
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Hall had been reaching out to the city to halt permits and get the sign preserved. It if can stay where it’s at, he says that would be ideal, though, with Seattle real estate in high demand, he realizes that might not be realistic.
“We’re pretty sure that the sign won’t be destroyed … because it is such an icon and no one wants the bad PR of taking a wrecking ball to something like that,” Hall said. “I think it really is a loved landmark.”
Elephant Car Washes released a statement about the Elephant Super Car Wash closure, clarifying that the iconic sign will be donated to the Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI) in Seattle, “solidifying this iconic sign for all to enjoy well into the future!”
Read the full statement below:
After 64 years of serving the Seattle community, the World-Famous Elephant Super Car Wash, located on Denny Way and Battery Street in downtown Seattle, is closing its doors. It is with deep sadness that we announce this closure as we have tried to keep this location open, even as it continued to lose money over the last few years. The increasing crime, drug activity, and homelessness in and around the car wash has made it extremely difficult to retain staff and attract customers to our business. When coupled with the ever-increasing cost of doing business in Seattle and the city’s ever-increasing, burdensome regulatory demands, we have determined that it is impossible for a small, minimum wage-based business such as ours to successfully operate within Seattle, even one that’s been established since 1956.
The beloved rotating Elephant Car Wash sign is being donated to the Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI) here in Seattle, solidifying this iconic sign for all to enjoy well into the future!
We thank the people of Seattle for embracing the Elephant Super Car Wash — it has truly been an honor being a part of Seattle’s history for over 60 years.
The very first Elephant Car Wash on 4th and Lander in SoDo continues to operate, as does our Bellevue location, both providing the excellent full-service car washing the Seattle community has come to expect from Elephant Car Washes.
MOHAI released a statement of its own on Thursday as well. It reads:
MOHAI is honored to announce that Elephant Car Wash is donating its iconic sign at the Denny and Battery location to the museum. The neon sign, which has been a landmark on the Seattle skyline for over sixty years, will be carefully repaired and restored and will be shared with the community for years to come. Expert conservation work will be conducted in partnership with Western Neon, which has a long history of caring for Seattle’s neon treasures. The removal and restoration work is expected to begin this month.
“The Elephant Car Wash sign is a beloved symbol of our community,” said MOHAI Executive Director Leonard Garfield. “We are excited to become the new stewards of the sign and continue the great work of the Elephant Car Wash team in preserving this irreplaceable part of our city’s heritage.”
The car wash sign will join the original Rainier R, Dog House, and other classic signs from Seattle’s past in MOHAI’s collection of over 4 million historic objects, images and archives. MOHAI invites the community to join in the Elephant Car Wash Sign restoration project. To contribute, please click on mohai.org/elephantsign
KIRO Radio’s Meili Cady contributed to this report.
