The Security Building, dating from 1926, was Olympia's first modern office block. It is a small-scale example of the popular Chicago or "skyscraper" commercial style of the early 20th century. This style used more windows than ever before, with ornamentation reduced to decorative bands at roofline and at the top of the ground floor level. Olympia's only skyscraper - standing just five stories tall - was designed by Seattle architect A.H. Albertson. Because it was built on mudflat fill, it was given an "earthquake-proof" base of 300 foundation pilings driven 60 feet into the ground.

From the red marble floors at its entryways to the elegant terra-cotta designs dancing along its roofline, the Security Building abounds in fine architectural details. Mother-of-pearl granite pillars frame the Fourth Avenue entrance. Napoleon gray and Belgian black marble are found inside the main lobby, beneath an opulent ceiling of molded plaster rosettes. The ground-floor Security Bank, for which the building is named, left the site long ago. But its huge bank vault can still be seen at the rear of the shop beside the entrance on Washington Street.

The Security Building is located at the corner of Fourth Avenue and Washington Street SE. It is open to the public.

Security Building. Olympia Heritage Commission photo.

Security Building at right of photograph. Postcard from a private collection.