On this day in 1889, Washington became the 42nd state admitted to the Union.  This event has been commemorated twice on Washington’s license plates: once for the 50-year anniversary of statehood, and again for the 100-year anniversary. Both occasions birthed the two most iconic license plate designs in Washington’s history.

1939: Washington’s Golden Jubilee

One of the most interesting and distinctive examples from Washington’s early license plate history is the 1939 issue that commemorated 50 years of statehood.

This special license plate was a product of the State Progress Commission, to which seven leading citizens were appointed by Governor Clarence Martin in 1937. The commission was tasked to promote and advertise Washington state, with the commemoration of 50 years of statehood a key focus.

In conjunction with a large-scale advertising campaign, special events through 1939, and a major state promotional presence at the San Franscisco World’s Fair that year, the commission helped create a striking new design for the 1939 Washington license plates highlighting the special anniversary.

The design was finalized in early 1938 and publicly unveiled by commission member Leo Weisfield, a noted Seattle jeweler.  In addition to the special green and gold colors (gold for the 50-year “golden” anniversary; green for the Evergreen State – these were used extensively for the Golden Jubilee celebration campaign), the years of statehood were noted, and a more grandiose “State of Washington” made an appearance, never to be used again after 1939.

The general color scheme and design from the license plate made its way into other advertising, documents, and souvenirs. The “Guest” decals below were thematically similar to the state license plates, and would have been applied to the windshields of out-of-state cars traveling through Washington during 1939.

Near and dear to the heart of any license plate collector was a public drive to find the oldest license plate in Washington.  In the spirit of celebrating Washington’s history, in September 1938, the state progress commission asked citizens, via press release to newspapers throughout the state, to search their properties in a quest to locate the oldest surviving plate, which would possibly date back to 1906.   And several prestate licenses indeed turned up, with several photographed in newspapers.

The 1939 Golden Jubilee license plates were very well-received by the public, and the 1939 issue is possibly the most beloved and classic design for Washington state license plates even today.

1989: Washington’s Centennial Celebration

With the 100-year anniversary of statehood fast approaching, Washington officials recognized the opportunity to spruce up license plates with a more interesting design than the plain green-on-white format in place at the time.  A statewide design contest was held, which received almost 1300 entries.  Unveiled in May 1986, the winning design was produced by 18-year-old Eric Booth of Bellingham.  Of key importance was that the new design represent the entire state, and Booth’s winning design met the requirement well.  As Governor Booth Gardner noted, “Mount Rainier can be seen east and west and we felt the mountain was as significant as anything statewide.”

On sale starting January 2, 1987, anyone could pay a fee of up to $7 and replace the plates on their vehicles in favor of the new design, but a re-plating of all cars was never mandated.  The new design did become the new general issue for all vehicles licensed on or after that date.

Interestingly, the design commemorated the centennial, but did not reference which year it took place. The 1989 year sticker made it clear, deviating from the standard formats and using the splashy Centennial logo to denote the year.

The mountain design and distinctive font of the state name became iconic, showing up on bumper stickers and mugs well into the 1990s. The license plate design was adopted for other uses as well, such as the sign below used to promote the state capitol restoration.

Anybody who has driven in Washington state in the last 37 years is of course well aware of the design’s longevity.  Although the “Centennial Celebration” legend was removed in 1990, and the state name was changed to a simpler font and left-justified in 1998, the same basic design remains the standard issue for license plates in Washington.

On to 150 years

Will Washington commemorate the sesquicentennial in 2039?  It’s not as far away as it seems.  Given how little the design of Washington’s license plates has changed in almost four decades, it may end up looking a lot like the centennial plate!