In the middle of Rancho Mirage, an affluent California desert community best known as an old Hollywood retreat (Frank Sinatra lived there, as did Bing Crosby and Lucille Ball) just east of Palm Springs, is a pastel pink sign in the shape of an elephant. It wears a tiny hat while taking a bath using its trunk. 

The sign captures even more attention as it gets dark. Neon blue, red and green lights up to read: “Rancho Super Car Wash.”

What could otherwise be an eyesore for a town that’s home to American presidents and Hollywood celebrities is actually adored by the community — so much so that it’s now earned historical designation.

On Sept. 7, 2023, the Rancho Mirage City Council unanimously voted to enshrine the Elephant Car Wash sign in perpetuity.

Preservation Mirage, a historical nonprofit group that “celebrates the architectural history of Rancho Mirage by promoting its protection and appreciation,” worked to secure the designation. It began collaborating with car wash operators Randy and Lorraine Barnes earlier this year to make the sign a historical landmark. 

“We’ve had [the car wash] for 15 years and take a lot of pride,” Randy said. “The sign is very recognizable here in the valley. Very nostalgic. You know people like nostalgic stuff because we’re all getting older and it reminds us of when we were a little more youthful.”

Rancho Mirage celebrates its 50th birthday this year, and the Elephant Car Wash predates the city’s incorporation, opening its doors in 1966. Three brothers in Seattle opened the first Elephant Car Wash in 1951. Dean, Archie and Eldon Anderson ended up opening five pink elephant car washes across Washington state. 

Seattlites rejoiced last year when one of the neon pink elephant signs returned to the streets after years in hiding. 

Eldon’s daughter and son-in-law moved to Rancho Mirage in 1966 and opened their own Elephant Car Wash. However, this California location didn’t have “any legal or financial ties” to the original, Randy said.

“The Anderson brothers were pioneers in the industry — very innovative, made patents, made a lot of money,” Randy said. “A lot of the snowbirds at that time were from the Pacific Northwest, and they identified what was that sign and that brand.”

Randy and Lorraine took over operations in 2008 and said the car wash remains an uber success, washing about 5,000 cars a month. The Rancho Mirage location is the only full-service car wash in the city and was “among the first in southern California to use the tunnel conveyor car wash system,” Randy said.

A basic wash costs $24.99 and includes a drive through the tunnel, interior cleaning and vacuuming, a soft cloth wash, and a window cleaning that brings customers a “showroom shine.” For an extra $25, guests get the “Manager’s Special,” which adds on tire dressing and an express wax with a hand finish. 

Randy was retired before owning the car wash, but said the Southern California lifestyle grew stale after a few years. “I was lucky enough to sell my business in 1998 and came down here and retired for 10 years,” he said. “We played golf, and we were living the dream, but I became very, very bored.”

Following years of exposure to the desert’s harsh conditions, the sign has some wear and tear that Preservation Mirage is working to fix. On Oct. 20, the nonprofit held an event celebrating the restoration project, and started selling prints for a fundraiser to raise $20,000 for the restoration project. The sign is expected to come down for about three months so that it can be restored.

Melissa Riche, founder of Preservation Mirage, said that preserving the sign was an obvious decision due to the community’s close connection.

“What is there along Highway 111 in Rancho Mirage that people see every day and feel some kind of connection to? The pink elephant Rancho Super Car Wash neon sign is absolutely beloved by everybody in the valley because everybody drives past it at some time or another,” Riche told SFGATE. “It’s probably one of the most photographed sites in the whole Coachella Valley. I thought, ‘Well, this is something commercial that everybody in Rancho Mirage feels connected to.’”