Intro to Washington State Capitol
When this COVID-19 pandemic is over and you find yourself in Olympia, do not miss out on visiting the Washington State Capitol building, a National Historic Landmark. For now read all about it and put it on your bucket list.
After we went bungee jumping in Seattle, we took a day trip to this cool capitol. As you might remember, we are on a quest to visit all the US capitols. Which obviously is going to take longer than planned during the current crisis.
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Table of Contents
- Native peoples of Olympia, Washington. Let’s start at the very beginning;
- Women’s suffrage. Washington was way ahead of the country till they weren’t;
- Forty-two Steps! Why this exact number?
- Mother Joseph, a Canadian nun;
- Third state capitol. It took a few tries to arrive at the current state Capitol;
- Highest free standing masonry dome;
- Martin Luther King Jr. ;
- Earth quakes, building a capitol isn’t easy in a geologically active area;
- Solar panels!
- The Winged Victory monument. Including females!
Native Peoples of Olympia Washington
Archaeologists believe that the ancestors of today’s Native Americans came to North America from Siberia, just like the native peoples of Alaska. When the glaciers of the last ice age receded, they settled in the Puget Sound region. Archaeological evidence shows at least 12,000 years of human habitation, and some discoveries suggest that people were living in the region several thousand years before that.
Major groups or tribes of local Native Americans include the Suquamish, Duwamish, Nisqually, Snoqualmie, and other tribes. They evolved complex cultural, social, and economic structures. When the European settlers arrived, they almost erased the Native American societies. Today, the tribes still continue to struggle for their existence.
Women’s Suffrage in Washington
1854: Soooo close to women’s suffrage
When I started researching this capitol, I discovered a few little-known facts about women’s suffrage in this state. As early as 1854, Washington almost became the first state to allow women to vote, but sadly the proposal lost by one vote. (8 Yay “Of course women should be able to vote.” vs. 9 Nay “This is against the laws of nature!”)
Soon after, to make sure that women would stay in their rightful place, the Territorial Legislature soon after passed a law that “no female shall have the right of ballot or vote.”
1866: Are women citizens? Yes, at first, no at further consideration
In 1866 the election code simply stated that “all white citizens” could vote, which technically did allow for women to vote. This kind of worked for a few years, until it didn’t anymore.
By the year 1869, Mary Olney Brown attempted to cast her vote in Olympia, but she was turned away and told she was not a citizen. In 1870, she gave it another try and was again denied. At the same time, her sister and seven other women in Washington cast their ballots successfully.
1883: Washington women get full voting rights
After a crusade by Susan B. Anthony in 1871, they formed the Washington Woman Suffrage Association. Thanks to this group, the Territorial Legislature gave full voting rights to women.
1887: Never mind: that was a mistake. Or not. Or actually it was.
In 1887, the Territorial Supreme Court overturned the suffrage law. A year later they passed another one, but women voters were making sales of liquor more difficult with their votes. In retaliation, the state’s liquor lobby succeeded in removing women’s voting rights. For more than twenty years, that was the state of affairs in Washington.
1910: Washington women finally can vote!
After all this back and forth, ten years before the federal 19th Amendment (granting all women the right to vote) was ratified, the Washington State Constitution was permanently amended to grant all their women citizens the right to vote. Phew, that took them long enough, but they were still 10 years ahead of the federal government.
The Forty-Two Steps of the Washington State Capitol
Did you know that, because Washington is the 42nd state, the stairs to the Washington state capitol in Olympia have 42 steps? Which coincidentally also is the answer to the question of life, the universe and everything.
A Canadian Nun
When we entered the Washington Capitol, we noticed a statue of a nun, named Mother Joseph, sculpted by Felix de Weldon. This turned out to be a duplicate of Washington State’s second representative in National Statuary Hall, in Washington, D.C, dedicated in 1980.
Esther Pariseau was born on April 16, 1823, in a farmhouse near Saint Elzear, Quebec, one of 12 children. In addition to learning traditional housekeeping skills from her mother, her father taught her carpentry. At age 20, she entered the convent of the Sisters of Charity of Providence in Montreal, where she took the name Joseph in honor of her father.
In 1856, Mother Joseph and four other sisters (nuns) traveled to the Pacific North West, specifically Fort Vancouver, where they started building orphanages, schools and hospitals (carpentry skills for the win!) Eventually she became known as “the Builder,” and designed and/or supervised construction of 29 schools and hospitals, one of which was Seattle’s first hospital. She was one of the first architects in Washington Territory.
This is the Third Washington State Capitol Building
Surprisingly, the current capitol is the third building that Washington state used for their legislature. Even more surprising, after Washington territory was founded in 1853, with Olympia as its capital, other cities, like Vancouver, Seattle, Port Townsend and Tacoma, contested the capital designation and tried to become its capital instead. Clearly, none of them succeeded.
Upon creation of the Washington Territory, Olympia’s founder, Edmund Sylvester, gave the legislature 12 acres of land upon which to build the capitol. They used it to build a two-story wood-frame house, on a hill overlooking what is now known as Capitol Lake. This building was the first State Capitol.
In 1889, when Washington became a state, President Benjamin Harrison donated 132,000 acres of federal lands to the state with the stipulation that income from the lands was to be used solely for construction of the state capitol. However, the state didn’t have enough money for the construction of a new capitol, so instead bought an existing building, the Thurston County Courthouse (now known as the “Old Capitol”) in downtown Olympia and began meeting there in 1905.
Three times is a charm, and in 1912 they began constructing the current Capitol on the donated grounds. Designed by the company Walter Wilder and Harry White, the Legislative Building was completed in 1928.
In 1974, Capitol Campus including the Capitol was placed on the National Register of Historic Districts. It contains or contributes to some of the most valued views in the State including the Olympic Mountains, Puget Sound, Mt. Rainier, the Capitol Dome and the Capitol Group of buildings on the hill.
Tallest Dome in North America
The dome of the Washington State Capitol building is the tallest masonry dome in North America and the fifth tallest in the world. Of course, this begs question which ones surpass it. And they are, in descending order: St. Peter’s Cathedral, in Rome, St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, Global Vipassana Pagoda in Mumbai, India and Santa Maria Del Fiore in Florence. Have you been to any of these?
Interestingly, another US statehouse, the Rhode Island one, is the fourth-largest self-supporting marble dome in the world.
Martin Luther King Jr.
On January 19, 1986, this bust of Martin Luther King Jr., sculpted by Jeff Day, was presented to the State of Washington by the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Commission.
Did you know that Washington state has a county named King County, after this civil rights hero?
Earth Quakes
The story of the Washington State Capitol wouldn’t be complete without mentioning the earth quakes which have affected it.
The first, in 1949, damaged the dome so badly it had to be completely replaced. Then 20 year later, a 6.5 magnitude earthquake caused even more damage, with the dome’s buttresses left in such poor condition that they were worried an aftershock might completely collapse it. In fact, this quake was big enough that the huge chandelier hanging from the cupola swung for 3 days!
The state improved the building after both earthquakes to reduce possible future damage. In 1975. they performed additional seismic improvements. Thanks to this work, the third quake in 2001, the “Nisqually” caused minimal damage.
A Green Capitol
In 2001, Olympia started a three-year rehabilitation / earthquake-repair project using eco-friendly building practices. More than 80 percent of the construction waste – 8,000 tons of wood, concrete, paper, bricks, dirt, metal and drywall – was recycled.
In addition, this project placed 144 solar panels atop the roof of the building – the largest array of solar panels on any capitol in the United States.
The Winged Victory Monument
One of the most prominent statues on the Washington State Capitol campus is The Winged Victory monument. It consists of four figures of uniformed persons atop a granite pedestal eclipsed by a fifth figure depicting the Winged Victory of Samothrace. Alonzo Victor Lewis sculpted it out of bronze.
Dedicated to military personnel from Washington who died in World War I, it is notable for its inclusion of a Red Cross nurse in the group of figures. A plaque reads “They fought to safeguard and transmit to posterity the principles of justice, freedom, and democracy”
Washington State Capitol Conclusion
Have you been to the Washington State Capitol building? Or are you planning to visit it after we survive the current Covid-19 pandemic? Have you visited other state houses or capitol buildings? If not, put this one on your “Travel After Corona” bucket list, you won’t be disappointed!
- Visiting the Washington State Capitol. Information about visiting the state capitol, hours of operation, parking and shuttle service. Currently, the capitol is closed because of the Covid-19 epidemic, so check the web site for up-to-date information.
Don’t forget to wash your hands. This too shall pass!
If you wonder whether this capitol has a full sized Liberty Bell replica, it turns out this one is in Tacoma instead of in Olympia. Check out all State Liberty Bell Replicas.
Other State Capitols
- Ten Surprising New Hampshire State House Facts New Hampshire people are cheapskates!
- Ten Surprising Vermont State House Facts Discover ancient fossils;
- The Maine State House With bells on;
- The Massachusetts State House Where the Boston Italian North End was born;
- The Old State House in Boston, site of the Boston Massacre.
- Connecticut Capitol Fun Facts Home of the so-called “Black Law”;
- Rhode Island State House: Ten Surprising Facts Discover its Dutch history;
- New York State Capitol. An expensive boondoggle;
- Alaska Capitol. Which animal guards it?
- Washington State Capitol. Women’s suffrage for the win!
- Breaking news: why Puerto Rico has a State House of its own!
- The US Virgin Islands have a Capitol Building in Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas. Voted the state Capitol building with the best view!
- Get inspired by our Travel Quests and start your own!
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