The Olympia Downtown Historic District is a

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from c ...

located in

Olympia, Washington Olympia is the capital of the U.S. state of Washington and the county seat and largest city of Thurston County. It is southwest of the state's most populous city, Seattle, and is a cultural center of the southern Puget Sound region. European ...

, the state's capital. The district, listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

since 2004, covers 17 blocks in downtown Olympia and includes 51 contributing properties. The majority of buildings in Downtown Olympia were built between 1911 and 1930, decades after Washington gained statehood with Olympia as its capital city. Three earthquakes, in

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2022. * January 2 – Luis ...

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lyndo ...

and

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

, damaged buildings in downtown Olympia. Several properties in the historic district were designed by architect

Joseph Wohleb Joseph Henry Wohleb (1887–1958) was an American architect from Washington (U.S. state), Washington. Life and career He was born in Waterbury, Connecticut, and grew up in California. He is known for the design of classic motion picture theaters ...

, who hails from the area.

Buildings

Individual buildings in the historic district include the Hotel Olympian, the Old Capitol Building and Capitol Theater. All of these are within one or two blocks of

Sylvester Park Sylvester or Silvester is a name derived from the Latin adjective ''silvestris'' meaning "wooded" or "wild", which derives from the noun ''silva'' meaning "woodland". Classical Latin spells this with ''i''. In Classical Latin, ''y'' represented a ...

, also named as part of the district. (including maps, historic photos, and 31 photos from 2004) (text and photos also available from the National Park Service as and ) Seven properties are landmarks in their own right and were already separately listed in the National Register: *the Old Capitol Building (#84), *

Town Square A town square (or square, plaza, public square, city square, urban square, or ''piazza'') is an open public space, commonly found in the heart of a traditional town but not necessarily a true square, geometric square, used for community gathe ...

, also known as

(#68). * Elk's Building (#39), *

Jeffers Studio Jeffers is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Alex Jeffers, American author * Alexis Jeffers (born 1968), St. Kitts and Nevis politician * Anne Burton Jeffers (1851 - 1946), American librarian * Audrey Jeffers (1898–1968), T ...

(#79), *

Mottman Building The Mottman Building is an historic commercial building located at the Northwest corner of Capitol Way N & 4th Ave W in downtown Olympia, Washington. Originally constructed in 1888 as the Olympic Block by Samuel Williams for Toklas & Kaufman to ho ...

(#18), *

Olympia National Bank The name Olympia may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film * ''Olympia'' (1938 film), by Leni Riefenstahl, documenting the Berlin-hosted Olympic Games * ''Olympia'' (1998 film), about a Mexican soap opera star who pursues a career as an athlet ...

(#59), and *

Olympia Public Library The name Olympia may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film * ''Olympia'' (1938 film), by Leni Riefenstahl, documenting the Berlin-hosted Olympic Games * ''Olympia'' (1998 film), about a Mexican soap opera star who pursues a career as an athlet ...

, a Carnegie Library (#86).

References

Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington (state) National Register of Historic Places in Thurston County, Washington Olympia, Washington {{Washington-NRHP-stub