At first glance, elephants and Seattle seem an unlikely pairing. Why would the world’s largest land mammal, found in Asia and Africa, have so intrigued residents of the Pacific Northwest?
Yet two Seattle companies have used this massive animal for decades to advertise their businesses. The more recognizable was the rotating hot-pink elephant with its display of cascading lights to simulate water spraying from its trunk. Two of these neon signs adorned the Pink Elephant Car Wash starting in the 1950s until the Belltown street corner was redeveloped in 2020.
Luckily, both elephants found new homes after being displaced. The larger sign was donated to the Museum of History and Industry. The smaller one was given to Amazon which, after spending $175,000 to restore it, installed it outside the company’s corporate headquarters, just blocks from its original location.
Seattle’s other famous elephant has quite a different story, one that involved an Italian immigrant, a flower shop and a state highway.
The Aurora Avenue elephant came to life under the skillful hands of Italian immigrant Giovanni Braida. Braida was born around 1873 in Friuli, a region of Italy known for its marble mosaics and terrazzo artisanship. While still a teenager, Braida immigrated to the United States, arriving first in New York and then making his way to San Francisco where he opened a terrazzo business. In 1909, searching for more work opportunities, Braida moved with his wife and son to Seattle, where he was soon busy creating tile and marble entryways for downtown storefronts.
In 1915, Braida purchased a wood-framed house in the Fremont neighborhood, and in November of that year obtained a permit from the City of Seattle to adapt his residence to accommodate a store and marble workshop. The business was called Braida’s Art Mosaic & Terrazzo Co. The property also included storage sheds and a garden visible from the street which Braida used as an outdoor showroom. Passers-by could see examples of his garden ornaments and art. Eventually, a near life-sized elephant was added to the mix.
Braida likely got his inspiration from the elephants of India which were often outfitted with a howdah, a carriage seat used by the wealthy to transport riders on top of the animal’s back. In India, the howdahs were elaborately decorated, often with semi-precious gemstones and lush fabrics.
Braida, of course, had to improvise a bit to create his elephant. He used chicken wire stretched over a frame and reinforced it with water pipes. Wet concrete was layered on top and molded into the shape of an elephant. The howdah was built of wood but with a special touch – it showcased some of Braida’s beautiful tile work in bright yellow, red and blue. The covered carriage sits on top of a decorative “cloth,” also part of Braida’s workmanship.
After it was built, the elephant sat outside Braida’s house at 3408 Woodland Park Avenue for years. The streetcar passed by the house on the 34th Street side and the elephant quickly became a hit with passengers young and old. Kids were allowed to play on it and even climb into its hollow belly.
But times change. The streetcar stopped running in 1941 and Braida died in 1943. In 1946 his son sold the elephant to Denny Grindall, owner of the Aurora Flower Shop. The price was in the $300-$500 range, depending on which news story you read.
After purchasing the statue, Grindall arrived with his crew, loaded the 9,500-pound elephant onto a truck, and drove it carefully to its new home at 8808 Aurora Avenue N (Highway 99). The elephant was installed on a pedestal above the north lanes of Aurora Avenue, positioned above a signboard advertising the floral shop.
The marquee message would change periodically but usually played up the idea that elephants never forget. One day the sign might read: “Elephants have great memories. Do you? Don’t forget your wife’s birthday!” Another day, the shop would advertise where flowers had been delivered recently: “Yesterday we sent flowers to Ypsilanti, Michigan.”
along Aurora Avenue (Photo: MOHAI).
Not surprisingly, decades of sun, rain and street grime degraded the statue’s condition. Then in 2004, the flower shop closed, to be replaced by Aurora Rents, an equipment rental store. The elephant was part of the sale, although, at this point, it was missing some of its trunk, tail and eyes. Pigeons had roosted inside its hollow core.
In 2009, the aging elephant was removed from its perch and sent out for restoration, a project that took months. Bird droppings were removed, rotten wood replaced, and the tile work was repaired and cleaned. Screens were installed inside the howdah and the statue’s belly to keep nesting birds out. The repair cost more than $10,000.
The elephant now rests on top of two 15-foot steel posts along a gritty section of Highway 99, one of the city’s busiest thoroughfares. Between its shiny white tusks nestles the Aurora Rents sign.
It was a long road for the Aurora Avenue elephant, one that started a century ago with an Italian immigrant wanting to create a better life for his family. Thanks to a Northwest community that values roadside kitsch, Braida’s elephant is now part of Seattle’s pop landscape.
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