Iconic Nirvana 666 mileage sign 'fixed' by fans

Hoisted up by Nirvana bass player Krist Novoselic, an iconic picture shows Kurt Cobain covering up the distances to Montesano and Aberdeen, creating the number 666, which many associate with the devil.

“It’s an iconic photo that has circulated through the underground of Grays Harbor and, since the advent of the internet, all over the place,” Erik Kupka said.

Kupka is an attorney at Ingram Zelasko & Goodwin LLP in Aberdeen. He grew up in the area and went to school with Kurt Cobain’s sister.

He passes the famous Highway 12 mileage sign in McCleary all the time.

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"You have to go through that road sign in order to get to the muddy banks of the Wishkah," Kupka said. 
 
The sign is so famous, people have traveled from hundreds of miles away to recreate the picture.

“I’m confident that my friends have done it,” Kupka said.

And that's exactly why WSDOT changed the sign last year. Workers switched the mileage to Aberdeen from 26 to 27.

They don’t want people parking on the shoulder to take pictures because it’s dangerous.

Nirvana fans disagree.

“They shouldn’t have changed it to begin with, right? It’s awesome,” Ginger Lauss said.

Ginger Lauss and her family were visiting the Kurt Cobain Landing in Aberdeen on Thursday from Arizona. Her 13-year-old grandson, Wyatt Clausen, is a big Nirvana fan.

“It’s one of my favorite bands and I just wanted to come out here to see what it’s all about,” Clausen said.

Fans love the fact someone stuck the number six, along with a Nirvana smiling face sticker, on the popular highway sign.

“The 666 is intriguing,” Mark Lauss said.

Kupka said it is a crime to knowingly and maliciously damage public property. The person who altered the sign could face felony charges.

“If the value exceeds $750, it’s malicious mischief in the second-degree, which is a class C felony punishable by up to five years in prison or a $10,000 fine,” he said.

However, this is Aberdeen and, as Nirvana famously said, “Come As You Are.”

“I would gladly represent him or her,” Kupka said.

When KIRO visited the sign Thursday evening, WSDOT workers had already changed the 26 back to 27.

Cox Media Group