Nearly 1,900 Olympia residents sign petition to make old armory an arts center
Nearly 1,900 Olympia residents have signed a petition asking the Washington State Military Department to sell the soon-to-be vacated armory building to the city, so it can be turned into a community arts center.
The 50,000-square-foot art deco-style armory at 515 Eastside St. was built in 1939 by Olympia architect Joseph Wohleb and has been used by the National Guard since 1943. It is currently home to a field artillery battalion, which plans to move out this summer, the Washington Military Department, a state agency, told The Olympian in January. Operations will be moved to the new Tumwater Readiness Center south of Bush Middle School.
Four months ago, the petition was launched requesting that the Washington Military Department “transfer” the armory to the city of Olympia “at little or no cost.” The Military Department did not respond to a request for comment. A public notice was sent out in January declaring the intention to sell the building, but it’s not clear what it would cost or if the agency is willing to donate it.
The idea to turn the armory into a “creative campus” has been in the works for years, and creating an arts center has been on the city of Olympia’s to-do list since 1989, a report on the armory presented to city council on Dec. 8 notes.
The report lists similar public art centers in cities such as Seattle, Kirkland, and Portland that have budgets between $1 million and $3.5 million per year and generate similar amounts of revenue through fundraising, event ticket sales, class fees, and space rental.
Like those facilities, Olympia’s could be “self-sustaining” and not require funds from the city’s budget, the report said.
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