Editor's note: The above video on the restoration of the pink Elephant Car Wash sign originally aired June 15, 2021.
SEATTLE – It’s been almost a year and a half since the Elephant Super Car Wash was demolished and the historic pink signs were dismantled at Denny Way and 7th Avenue in downtown Seattle.
However, the currently barren concrete slab just a few blocks from the Space Needle might see new life soon.
Holland Partner Group, the company that owns the property, filed paperwork this week with the city to build a 45-story residential high-rise on the lot, adding another tower to the northern end of downtown.
The 440-foot tower would include five levels below grade as well as more than 230 onsite parking spaces.
It’s a lot for the 15,451 square feet of land but plans for the property are still in their infancy, with likely about a year and a half of neighborhood outreach, design review and preparation needing to take place before construction can begin.
Still, those looking to maybe get some idea can look to the architecture firm hired to design the structure, Weber Thompson, as well as some of the surrounding buildings in the area, including the recently completed Spire tower a block west on Denny Way.
Weber Thompson and Holland have also partnered on two other buildings currently under construction down the street, the Ivey on Boren and The Ayer, which will together make up a two-tower high-rise development with well over 800 residential units.
The two companies also partnered on the 40-story Kiara tower, also on Denny Way, which houses 461 apartments and retail space in a sleek glassy structure.
Perhaps in a few years, the city will see something similar atop what once was the Elephant Super Car Wash, whose famous pink signs were dismantled in November 2020 and taken to Western Neon for restoration.
Seattle residents craving some nostalgia will have the chance to see the larger pink elephant sign, designed by local legend Beatrice Haverfield at the Museum of History and Industry once it's finished being restored.