Ivar Haglund - Career

Career

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." He expanded the fine dining and fish and chips restaurants into a regional chain.Today, there are 24 Ivar's fast casual Seafood Bars, three Fish Bars, and three full-service restaurants: Ivar's Acres of Clams, Ivar's Salmon House and Ivar's Mukilteo Landing.

After his neighbor on Pier 56 put up a sign reading "Don't Feed Sea Gulls, Health Regulation" in 1971, Haglund responded with his own sign encouraging customers to feed the seagulls. In 1976, Haglund 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.

In 2009, the Ivar's restaurant company enlisted local historians to conspire in a hoax, in which historic billboards were placed underwater, ostensibly by Haglund before his death, and then "rediscovered."

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