WA state accepting bids for two historic homes that have housed Capitol press corps
The state Department of Enterprise Services, which manages the Capitol Campus, is seeking bids to purchase, remove and relocate two houses on the campus that have been home to the Capitol press corps.
The houses are known as the Carlyon House at 201 Sid Snyder Ave. SW and the Ayer House at 1417 Columbia St. SW.
Proposals from potential bidders are due Aug. 3. There is no minimum bid, according to the state. However, the proposals will be evaluated for how well they meet 10 criteria, including a city of Olympia-reviewed transportation plan identifying a potential route to new site. The houses must be removed by Dec. 31.
If there are no proposals that meet the bid criteria, DES will demolish the press houses to prepare the site for construction to replace the nearby Newhouse Building. The Newhouse construction is part of a larger effort to modernize the Capitol Campus.
The Capitol press corps will move into leased space inside the Legislative Building in the fall.
The Carlyon House was built in 1923 by P.H. and Edna Carlyon for their home. P.H. Carlyon served in both the Washington state House and Senate.
The Ayer House was commissioned by investor Louise Hanson, wife of Olympia Oyster Co. president O.C. Hanson, in 1937, according to Enterprise Services. It was designed by Elizabeth Ayer, the first woman to graduate from the University of Washington’s School of Architecture.
This story was originally published July 8, 2021 at 5:45 AM.
