Members of the state Liquor Control Board and Gov. Martin in 1934. (Photo courtesy of Washington State Archives)

Dec. 5 might not be a red-letter day for most of us, but it’s significant for U.S. constitutional scholars and those who came of age during the Great Depression.

It was on this date in 1933 when Prohibition was repealed thanks to the ratification of the 21st Amendment to our nation’s Constitution, thus ending a 13-year period when Americans couldn’t make, possess or drink alcoholic beverages. In Washington, liquor again was becoming available in 1932 thanks to a state law passed that fall by the state’s voters that repealed the ban on medicinal liquor.

Our State Archives has several documents about Repeal Day and the end of Prohibition, including this 1933 proclamation by Gov. Clarence Martin right after the 21st Amendment’s ratification that called for a special session of the state Legislature to come up with a liquor control law.  And here is a history of the Washington State Liquor Control Board.