On April 13, 1949, a 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck Western Washington between Olympia and Tacoma in the early morning hours. It is the largest earthquake ever recorded in Washington’s Puget Sound region. At least eight people were killed and 64 injured, with total damage estimated at $25 million. The earthquake damaged eight buildings on the State Capitol campus, devastated downtown Olympia, and caused widespread destruction from Seattle to Chehalis, with effects felt as far as northwest Montana and southwest British Columbia.
Slide of damage to the Capitol Campus’s Insurance Building in the 1949 earthquake.
Slide of damage to the Old Capitol Building in the 1949 earthquake. Also visible are repairmen and a crane.
The damage the Legislative Building’s dome suffered in the 1949 earthquake. Also visible are repairmen and scaffolding.
The damage the Legislative Building’s cupola suffered in the 1949 earthquake. Also visible are wooden braces and rope put in place during the repair process.
A man working on a truck and a partially crushed car, as well as a partially collapsed shed. The Washington Veneer smokestack is behind the car.
A crack in the Security Building from the corner of 4th Avenue and Washington Street. The Avalon Theatre is visible.
Earthquake damage to buildings, sidewalk, and street on Capitol Way, looking north. Businesses include the New Governor Hotel, Better Home Finder Inc. Real Estate, and the Elks Lodge.
Two boys look at rubble in front of the New Governor Hotel. Businesses visible include Coffee, furniture, and Buick.
Earthquake damage from the corner of 5th Avenue and Washington Street in Olympia. A corner of the Martin Building is visible, as well as storefronts on 5th Avenue.
Shattered glass in a grocer’s storefront. A sign inside the store reads “For your complete satisfaction, you may select your own produce”.
Damage to Miller’s Department Store, which was located at the corner of Capitol and Legion Ways.
The damage to the Old Capitol Building. Fallen stone is visible at an entrance.
Chunks of stone missing from the exterior of the Old Capitol Building, and stone smashed on the ground below the building.
Chunks of stone missing from the exterior of the Old Capitol Building. A State Patrol car is parked near the building.
Damage to the Reed Building from the corner of Legion Way and Washington Street.
Three men stand in the distance.
Damage to the exterior of the Martin Building, from the corner of 5th Avenue and Washington Street in Olympia. M.M. Morris shop is visible, as well as a Hotel Olympian sign.
Damage to the exterior of the Martin Building, from Washington Street in Olympia. M.M. Morris shop is visible.
The businesses shown are the New Governor Hotel, the Better Home Finder Inc. Real Estate, the Elks Lodge, and a furniture store. Awnings and rubble line the sidewalk and street edge. Groups of men stand on the sidewalk in the background.
The businesses shown are the New Governor Hotel, the Better Home Finder Inc. Real Estate, the Elks Lodge, and a furniture store. Awnings and rubble line the sidewalk and street edge. Groups of men stand on the sidewalk in the background.
Extensive damage has been done to the cornice. An awning over the first-floor windows reads Anna Blom Book Shop. A flatbed truck with a crane is parked inside a barricade. A man stands on the flatbed.
At the center of the image we can see a shed and the base of the brick smokestack. Two vehicles are parked in front of and at the side of the building. Rubble is strewn on the ground and on the top of the vehicles. A shed at the right of the building is partly collapsed. Two prints in folder.
At the right of the image, we can see a shed and the base of the brick smokestack. At the left of the image is a brick building. Two vehicles are parked in front of and at the side of the building. Rubble is strewn on the ground and on the top of the vehicles.
There is an industrial building in the foreground. The top of the smokestack in the background has fallen, leaving only “…A [Olympia] Veneer Co” visible. Two men approach the building.
Photograph of an excavation site. In the foreground is the beginning of a hole or foundation. Behind is a backhoe loading dirt into a pickup truck. In the background are two residential structures, and behind them we can see the dome of the Legislative Building, Olympia, WA. The scaffolding leading to the top of the dome without its lantern places the date as around 1949, the year of the earthquake in Olympia. Otherwise the site is unidentified.
A piece is missing from the top of the building and rubble is lying on the sidewalk and ground.
There are barricades around the building and piles of building materials in the street.
We are looking down at the building. Between two round masonry towers, a piece of the front of the building has come loose, and we can see rubble and brick behind the loosened masonry. At ground floor beneath is a banner for the Navy Recruiting Office.
A large piece of the top of the building has fallen, damaging the marquee.
We are looking at a facade with the base of two towers on either side. In between the two towers, stone facing has come loose and we can see bricks behind it. A portion of the wall has entirely given way, and bricks are hanging on a ledge.
We are looking at the east side of the building. The ground in front of it is strewn with rubble.
Only the bottom floor of the building remains and debris surrounds the building. There is a crane at the right.
We are looking into an alley, identified as the back of the Governor Hotel, in Olympia, WA, Thurston County. A truck fills up the alley. Debris has fallen onto the front of the truck.
Signs and marquees have fallen and there is debris on the street. Many people are walking in the street and there are cars in the street. The Hotel Olympian building is in the background.
Two boys are looking at rubble on the sidewalk next to the New Governor Hotel. Servicemen are standing in the street behind them. Three women are talking in front of the hotel.
It is a long, three-story structure. Rubble from fallen decorative features is lying on the ground beneath it. The dome of the Legislative Building is visible above it. In the foreground is a grassy lawn with several figures walking across it.
The original roof and towers have been removed. There is scaffolding on the corners and at the roofline. Ramps have been built to move building materials to upper levels. Boards and bricks are stacked along the street, with a sign warning to keep out. Cars line the street.
The top floor has been removed, and workers are engaged in demolishing the third floor. Two workers are standing above the remaining top of the building. Timbers and other debris are stacked in the empty window frames. Windows have been removed. In the far distance we can see the dome of the Legislative Building.
We are looking at the north side of the building. Stone blocks from the top story have become dislodged and are lying on the ground. At the sidewalk is a sign for U.S. Army recruiting. A woman stands near the sign. Another sign is further along the sidewalk, and a man stands by it.
