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The Colorful History of the Pink Elephant Car Wash Sign
The pink elephant neon sign has been glowing brightly in our desert for decades and has become an unofficial local landmark.
“I think the sign is recognizable to anybody and everybody in the whole Coachella Valley,” said Randy Barnes who operates the rancho super car wash with his wife Lorainne.
The Barnes say this sign’s history starts in 1956 in Seattle, Washington when Beatrice Haverfield, known as the queen of neon, created the first pink elephant sign.
In the mid 60s, the Fromme family moved the sign to the city of Rancho Mirage and installed it at the intersection of Indian Trail and Highway 111.
Over the years, this pink elephant with a spraying trunk has grabbed attention from senior citizens to social media influencers.
“A lot of the kids, young people, come by, take pictures and then they post them on Instagram and Facebook,” Lorraine Barnes said. “It’s become a really big thing.”
But after years of dealing with harsh desert weather, this iconic sign has lost some of its luster.
Looking to change that, community leaders recently came together to return this old sign back to its former glory.
The pink elephant car wash sign is something we feel should be around forever,” said Dan Allen with Preservation Mirage, a local group that celebrates the architectural history of Rancho Mirage.
Preservation Mirage helped raise funds for the restoration of this historic sign.
“Our founder, Melissa Riche, a year-and-a-half ago came up with the idea to have the pink elephant car wash sign historically designated to make sure that it stays around forever,” Allen said. “And we worked with the owners, the operators and the city to make that happen.”
During a recent city council meeting, the Rancho Mirage City Council voted to historically designate the Rancho Super Car Wash pink elephant sign.
“I could get emotional over it but I’m trying not to,” Randy Barnes said. “But it just means the world to me.”
“I just hope that it’s here for a long time to come and people can still come by and take pictures with it and enjoy it for another 50 years,” Lorraine Barnes said.
With this restoration and historic designation, this once unofficial local landmark is now a preserved piece of rancho mirage history and will glow even brighter in our desert for decades to come.
This story was written and reported by Kai Beech.
By: Pristine Villarreal
March 11, 2024
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