Looking back: Historic images of downtown Olympia for January 2026
By The Olympian staff
Looking Back’s theme for 2026 is Downtown by the Decades. Each week will feature a view of downtown Olympia over the years.
Photographs are selected and captioned by Deborah Ross on behalf of the Olympia Historical Society and Bigelow House Museum, https://olympiahistory.org.
These are the images selected for January 2026.
College-educated Emily Richardson married Unitarian pastor John Calvin Kimball in 1860 and accompanied him to Olympia, Washington Territory in 1872. In 1873, she painted this image of the city, looking north on Main Street (Capitol Way) from around 10th Avenue (about three blocks south of the then-Unitarian church). Emily Kimball painting, 1873 Courtesy of State Capital Museum Collection, Washington State Historical Society
This etching is likely based on an 1869 photograph. It was published in 1891, in a special edition of the Olympia Tribune, to show what Fourth Avenue looked like in the 1860s. The cupola of Columbia Hall (current site of the 4th Ave Tav) can be seen in the mid-distance on the right (north) side of the street. 1891 Souvenir Edition, Olympia Tribune Courtesy of the Washington State Library
Edmund Sylvester, founder of Olympia, and his wife Clara Pottle Sylvester, had an imposing Italianate mansion built in the mid-1800s. It was located one block south of what is now Sylvester Park, on Main Street, now Capitol Way. This image is likely from the 1860s. Unidentified photographer, 1860s Courtesy of the Washington State Historical Society
Each week will feature a view of downtown Olympia over the years. This earliest image of Olympia is by James Alden, commander of the Coast Survey ship Active in 1857. Alden created this sketch soon after the 1855-1856 Puget Sound Treaty Wars, when Olympia was in its infancy. We are looking north down what is now Capitol Way. James Alden watercolor, 1857 Courtesy of the Washington State Historical Society
