Ivar Haglund
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Ivar Haglund (21 March 1905 – 30 January 1985) was a Seattle folk singer and the "flounder" of Ivar's. In 1938, he opened Seattle's first aquarium along with a fish and chips counter on Pier 54. In 1946, he opened a full restaurant there, Ivar's Acres of Clams, which with the fish and chip counter survives to this day (although they have been thoroughly remodeled). He coined its motto, "Keep Clam." (For reasons that are declared by the restaurant to be "unknown," the letter 'a' in "clam" is inverted on all advertisements featuring the motto.) He expanded the fine dinning and fish and chips restaurants into a regional chain.
After his neighbor on Pier 56 put up a sign reading "Don't Feed Sea Gulls, Health Regulation" in 1971, Ivar responded with his own sign encouraging customers to feed the seagulls.
In 1976, Ivar bought the Smith Tower, a Seattle landmark that was once the tallest building in North America west of the Mississippi River. In 1983, he was elected port commissioner after filing as a prank. He died of a heart attack just over a year later.
[edit] External links
- HistoryLink biography
- Photo of Ivar Haglund on the site of his alma mater, the University of Washington (class of 1928).
- "Old Settler's Song" or "Acres of Clams". The former Washington State Song after which Haglund named one of his restaurants.
- [1]. Some of Ivar's 1950's radio ads.
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