Last updated: June 12, 2024
Place
Washington State Capitol
Olmsted Archives
Quick Facts
Location:
Olympia, WA
Significance:
Olmsted Designed Capitol
On April 13th, 1911, John Charles Olmsted, without any contract in place, made Olmsted Brothers’ first visit to the Capitol Grounds in Olympia, Washington for a meeting with the State’s Governor and Capitol Commission, for a tour of the grounds. That same year, Olmsted Brothers would create a master plan and architectural drawings for the 54-acre site.
The plan had a complex of six buildings on the lawn, with the classical Legislative Building as the centerpiece. Olmsted Brothers suggested a naturalistic treatment of the site with plantings of low, well-pruned trees along the edge of the site, blocking the view of industrial buildings but leaving the mountain vista on the opposite side open.
Throughout the project, Olmsted Brothers stressed the importance of establishing a connection between the Capitol Grounds and downtown Olympia. The firm recommended a diagonal avenue along the edge of the Capitol Campus going down to Sylvester Park. Twenty years after it began, Olmsted Brothers’ work on the Capitol Campus was complete.
Source: "Washington State Capitol," The Cultural Landscape Foundation
For more information and primary resources, please visit:
Olmsted Research Guide Online
Olmsted Archives on Flickr
Olmsted Online
The plan had a complex of six buildings on the lawn, with the classical Legislative Building as the centerpiece. Olmsted Brothers suggested a naturalistic treatment of the site with plantings of low, well-pruned trees along the edge of the site, blocking the view of industrial buildings but leaving the mountain vista on the opposite side open.
Throughout the project, Olmsted Brothers stressed the importance of establishing a connection between the Capitol Grounds and downtown Olympia. The firm recommended a diagonal avenue along the edge of the Capitol Campus going down to Sylvester Park. Twenty years after it began, Olmsted Brothers’ work on the Capitol Campus was complete.
Source: "Washington State Capitol," The Cultural Landscape Foundation
For more information and primary resources, please visit:
Olmsted Research Guide Online
Olmsted Archives on Flickr
Olmsted Online