What’s Open, Closed On Presidents Day 2020 In Washington

Presidents Day is Monday, and a variety of services will be closed in Washington in observance of the holiday.

Presidents Day, which was originally established in 1885 to honor President George Washington, will provide a much-appreciated three-day weekend for many. But it also means that services such as the U.S. Post Office, banks and public schools will not open on the day.

Here’s a breakdown of how the holiday could affect your routine.

• Government offices: Closed
• Public schools: Closed
• Post offices: Closed
• State and Superior Courts: Closed
• King County Library System: Closed
• Seattle Public Library: Closed
• Pierce County Library System: Closed
• Tacoma Public Library: Closed
• Sno-Isle Libraries: Closed

Transportation:

• Sound Transit: ST Express buses and Sounder trains will operate on weekday schedules, while the Tacoma Link will run on its Sunday schedule. Tacoma Link will run late trains for the Bernie Sanders campaign rally at the Tacoma Dome. Seattle's Link will run trains every 13 to 15 minutes, due to the ongoing Connect 2020 construction project.
• King County Metro: Buses will run on a reduced weekday schedule with UW reductions.
• Pierce Transit: Buses will run on their weekday schedule.
• Community Transit: Local service will run on the regular schedule, while commuter sevice to Seattle will be limited.

Trash and recycling:

• Most operating on normal schedules.

The transition in the holiday’s name from Washington’s Birthday to Presidents Day began in the late 1960s as part of the Uniform Monday Holiday Act. The bill proposed that the country celebrate holidays on Monday rather than when birthdays fell on the calendar so workers could have a three-day weekend.

During the debate of that bill, it was proposed that Washington’s Birthday be renamed Presidents Day to celebrate the birthdays of both Washington on Feb. 22 and President Abraham Lincoln’s birthday on Feb. 12.

Congress actually rejected the name change in the 1968 version of the bill. However, after the bill went into effect in 1971, Presidents Day became the commonly accepted name.