MYNORTHWEST HISTORY

Exclusive: Sneak peek at Elephant Car Wash sign

Nov 4, 2022, 11:00 AM | Updated: 11:38 am

The Elephant Car Wash sign – the larger of two elephant-themed signs which stood at the former car wash – has had its neon tubes replaced and restored, and is now in storage at .

This larger sign stood at the north side of the car wash along Denny Way from 1956 to 2020 and, when it was functioning properly, rotated slowly by way of a hidden electric motor. A smaller non-rotating version of the sign, which stood at the south end of the car wash, now belongs to Amazon and was recently designated a City of Seattle landmark.

Museum officials (who took formal possession of the large sign in 2020) are studying several options for displaying the giant electric pachyderm at some point in the future, but there are no firm plans and no firm date as yet.

You can hear Feliks every Wednesday and Friday morning on Seattle’s Morning News with Dave Ross and Colleen O’Brien, read more from him here, and subscribe to The Resident Historian Podcast here. If you have a story idea, please email Feliks here.

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Exclusive: Sneak peek at Elephant Car Wash sign