During the 1960s, Olympia, Washington underwent major changes — lumber mills that had operated since the days of Michael Simmons’ Tumwater water-powered mill closed their doors, and the city’s waterfront industry began a long decline. At the same time, new institutions took shape, including The Evergreen State College, established near Olympia in 1967 through the efforts of Republican Governor Daniel J. Evans and approved by the state legislature. The photos below capture what Olympia looked like during that transformative decade.
Kings Burgers sign and Ralph’s Thriftway (original Brenner building) visible.
View of Capitol Lake and 4th Avenue Bridge. “Welcome to Olympia” sign visible on bridge.
Cars drive eastward on the street, and a man exits or enters a car parked to the right. Signs are visible for shops and restaurants along the street, including the Reef, a bowling alley, Olympia Drug, the White House Hotel, Gottfeld’s, and the Franklin Hotel.
Includes the General Administration Building, Sunken Garden, Capitol Conservatory, and downtown Olympia.
Image shows a two-story, wood frame vernacular Victorian residence with a wide porch.
The building was finished in 1940 and designed by Joseph Wohleb.
Image shows a Gothic Revival style house.
Old IBM building and Capitol dome in background.
The two are playing on the front lawn of the Governor’s Mansion, with the Temple of Justice in the background.
Image shows Governor Evans standing on the south portico of the Legislative Building accepting a letter from Henry Bellmon, Governor of Oklahoma, by a “Pony Express” wagon, June 17, 1965. An unidentified man stands adjacent to the governor. A Dalmatian dog sits next to the wagon driver.
Includes workers. Capital Apartments and old Olympia High School partially visible.
View of the Irving R. Newhouse building (formerly the Institutions Building) on Capitol Campus in Olympia. Includes a view of Water Street.
They are reviewing the cookbook “Roundup of Beef Cookery: A Complete Guide to the Best Beef Recipes from the Ranch Kitchens of America” edited by Demetria Taylor and prepared in collaboration with the American National CowBelles.
Old Thurston County Courthouse and General Administration building is partially visible in background.
Includes construction workers. Highways Licenses building and a house are partially visible.
In 1904, a group of Swedish/Finnish women who had recently arrived in Olympia started a Ladies’ Aid Society to raise funds to build the Swedish-Finnish Lutheran Church. In 1935, the name was changed to Gloria Dei Lutheran Church. The church outgrew the 5th & Adams building, and after much debate, ground was broken on April 9, 1950, for a new facility at Harrison and Perry Streets. By the mid-1960s the church had again outgrown its facilities, and a larger brick and stained-glass sanctuary was dedicated on Palm Sunday in 1968.
Washington’s Olympia Brewing Company (ad slogan “It’s the water”) sponsored Tommy Bartlett’s International Water Ski Stars in the World’s Fair’s “It’s the Water” Water Ski Show. Four free shows per day were held in Memorial Stadium, in a large, ring-shaped, concrete “aquadrome” that held nearly a million gallons of water.
It is a white building with a steeple and rose window. This photograph is part of a collection of photographs of churches and other religious institutions in Olympia, WA, Thurston County.
Negative photograph of the Emanuel Baptist Church, Olympia, WA, Thurston County. It is a long one-story building.
Negative photograph of a brick building with a steeple, Westminster Presbyterian Church in Olympia, WA, Thurston County. Part of a collection of photographs of churches and other religious institutions in Olympia, WA, Thurston County.
This building no longer exists.
It is a modern masonry building with a tall squared-off tower.
It is a long one-story masonry building with a bell tower or steeple.
It is a clapboard building with a steeple.
It is a long clapboard building with a steeply pitched roof.
It is a wooden building with a crenellated tower.
It is a large wooden building with two towers. This photograph is part of a collection of photographs of churches and other religious institutions in Olympia, WA, Thurston County. The building was on 4th Avenue, and burned in 2014.
This building was on the corner of 4th Avenue and Eastside Street, and no longer exists.
This photograph is part of a collection of photographs of churches and other religious institutions in Olympia, WA, Thurston County. This church building on Pear Street has since been modified and refurbished.
This photograph was taken prior to the addition that extended the church towards Harrison Avenue.
They are posed outside of the Olympia Fire Department building (now, 2013, the Family Support Center) standing on a fire truck and wearing fire helmets; taken for Olympian (newspaper) May 4, 1960.
Pictured are Lincoln Elementary School crossing guards, fifth graders Charles Barron and Mary Thomson, assisting Susie Baker, Bobby Hunter, and Wanda Ewell.
It is a wooden building with a marquee. This photograph is part of a collection of photographs of churches and other religious institutions in Olympia, WA, Thurston County. This building was originally First Presbyterian Church, later acquired by the Gloria Dei Lutheran Church and moved to the corner of 5th Avenue and Adams Street. The building was then acquired by the Salvation Army and its steeple removed.
It is a two-story mid-century modern building erected on stilts over Budd Inlet.
A mid-century modern structure with an unusual roofline and innovative interior features such as an escalator. Photographs ran in an advertising supplement.
The city was being forced to move to make way for city development along the lake, and was moving to Black Lake Road, Thurston County. Pictured are Tom Trigg, Jr., Roger Mallgren, and John Plantenberg moving a huge air hammer out of the 44-year-old building.
Photographic negatives of a downtown scene in Olympia, where bear cubs destined for the Tumwater Falls Park escaped and were chased. This photograph shows one of the chasers pursuing a cub as it runs to the insurance agency.
