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Old Capitol Building (Olympia, Washington)

Washington State Capitol Building, 1905-1928

Summary

Washington State Capitol Building, 1905-1928

Field	Value
name	Old Capitol Building
image	Olympia, WA — Old Capitol Building and Sylvester Park.jpg
location	600 Washington Street SE, Olympia, Washington
coordinates
built	1892
architect	Willis Ritchie
architecture	Richardsonian Romanesque
added	May 30, 1975
area	less than one acre
refnum	75001877
mapframe	yes
mapframe-switcher	zooms
mapframe-zoom	16

| mapframe-switcher = zooms | mapframe-zoom = 16 The Old Capitol Building (originally known as the State Capitol Building) is a historic building in downtown Olympia, Washington. It was built in 1892 and has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1975. It is currently occupied by the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction.

History

March 1909 issue of ''Coast Magazine'' featured the Capitol Building

On December 12, 1890, architect Willis A. Ritchie was selected to develop the new seat of government. Construction began on May 15, 1891 and completed on October 12, 1892, when it was formally accepted as the Thurston County courthouse.

The State Capitol Building was dedicated on January 11, 1905, at Governor Albert Mead's inauguration, and served 1928 as the State Capitol, seat of the legislature of Washington, until 1928.

In 1928, the legislature moved to the current Capitol Building.

1928 fire

Central tower in flames on September 8, 1928

On Saturday, September 8, 1928, a fire ignited, severely damaging the timber roof framing on the main section of the building, including the loss of a 150 ft tall central tower. Additionally, water from fire fighting efforts damaged the building's interior.

Dense smoke was detected at 3:35 p.m. at the base of the tower and roof eaves; all available firefighters in Olympia responded to the emergency. After 20 minutes, Tacoma Fire Department was dispatched to assist, making a 32 mi trip across the Pacific Highway to arrive 35 minutes later. The fire was completely put out by 5:30 p.m., and witnessed by approximately 6,500 people from the surrounding streets.

1949 earthquake

After the 1949 Olympia earthquake, the building was evacuated and suffered severe damage to its masonry exterior that had to be repaired over the following few months at a cost of $1.1 million. 10 of the 12 towers were lost in the earthquake, along with a rotunda, the House chamber, and several galleries in the East Wing.

References

{{NRISref
Jeffrey Karl Ochsner, ''Shaping Seattle Architecture'', [[University of Washington Press]] (1994, revised 1998). {{ISBN. 0-295-97366-8. p. 44.
"Old Capitol Building".
McClary, Daryl C.. (May 24, 2007). "Fire damages Old State Capitol Building in Olympia on September 8, 1928.".
Crooks, Jennifer. (February 19, 2022). "Old State Capitol Survives Devastating Fire, 1928".
(July 8, 1949). "Quake Repairs; Olympia Rebuilds". [[The Seattle Daily Times]].
(March 11, 1951). "Senate Seeks Payment of Old Capitol Debt". [[The Seattle Daily Times]].
(May 20, 2016). "History of the Old Capitol Building". [[Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction]].

Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

national-register-of-historic-places-in-olympia,-washington former-state-capitols-in-the-united-states romanesque-revival-architecture-in-washington-(state) government-buildings-completed-in-1892 government-buildings-on-the-national-register-of-historic-places-in-washington-(state)

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