Looking Back’s theme for 2026 is Downtown by the Decades. Olympia Knitting Mills was founded in 1909 and moved to its location at Cherry and Legion in 1911; then, in 1929, added a one-story Mission style addition by Joseph Wohleb. The company produced a wide variety of knitwear, including this stylish bathing suit from the catalog of 1920. The building complex still exists. Image selected and captioned by Deborah Ross on behalf of the Olympia Historical Society and Bigelow House Museum, https://olympiahistory.org.
Jeffers photo, 1920, courtesy State Capital Museum collection, Washington State Historical Society