A livery stable at this location, originally owned by town founder Edmund Sylvester, once served as the end of the stagecoach line for travelers making the overland journey between Oregon and Puget Sound. The site was acquired in 1911 for the construction of Olympia's first purpose-built City Hall.

This simple, two-story concrete building, completed in 1912, housed all of Olympia city government for nearly 65 years. Its restrained Neoclassical design was the work of Tacoma architect George Gove, whose other important Olympia buildings-a Masonic Temple and the city's first high school-have long since disappeared.

City administrative offices were relegated to the rear of Old City Hall, reached through an unobtrusive door in the middle of the block. Municipal business was conducted here until 1967 when the Olympia's present City Hall was built at 900 Plum Street.

It was the city Fire Department, which traces its origins back to the first fire engine in Washington Territory, that received pride of place at the front of Olympia's Old City Hall. The building remained Department Headquarters until a new central fire station was built in 1992.

The hose-drying tower on top of Old City Hall is gone, and its big street-level fire-truck doors have been replaced with multi-pane windows. But sensitive renovation has preserved much of the old building's character. Now serving as a non-profit day-care and family services center, it remains an important landmark in the heart of historic downtown.

Old City Hall is located on the northwest corner of Capitol Way and State Avenue. It is listed on the State Register of Historic Places, as well as on the Olympia Heritage Register.

Old City Hall. Olympia Heritage Commission photo.

Old City Hall and Fire Station with its hose-drying tower still intact. Washington State Capital Museum, Washington State Historical Society.