Postcard - Olympia, Washington

"Washington State Capitol, Olympia, Washington. Aerial view of State Buildings showing Mount Rainier in the background."

The old Oly High School is gone, but Capitol Park Apartments remain. Meanwhile two big state buildings, the Dept. of Highways and the Employment Security Dept., have jumped across Capitol Way. Blocks and blocks of fine old homes have yet to be demolished as the Cap Campus expands. I place this around 1966-1969. The Fetid Lake of Doom, as usual, provides a hint of menace in the corner.

Postcard - Olympia, Washington

Olympia and Rainier [click on image to enlarge]

The reverse side of this postcard is blank. I date this in the late Ike era or in JFK period. The Pritchard Building is visible near the right corner making this no earlier than 1959. The residential area across Capitol Way is bereft of any State buildings. I'll guess this is in the timeframe of 1959-1961.

The old Olympia High School and Capitol Park Apartments can be seen. Also those grand original maples on Maple Park, which were ripped out about ten years later.

For us local boomers, if you said "Olympia and Rainier" when we were young we would assume you meant the two regional beers.

Postcard - Olympia, Washington

[Click on image to enlarge]

"State Capitol Group, Olympia, Washington. Capitol Lake at right."

From the early 1960s or 1959 at the earliest. The Capitol Campus has not yet jumped across Capitol Way and displaced all those homeowners. The Capitol Park Apartments (gone now for over 4 decades) can be seen on the left edge.

This postcard is a frightening reminder of the close proximity of the Fetid Lake of Doom to our center of government here in Washington.