Location: 1129 Washington St SE
mid-Century modern
The 1963 Archives Building was one of the last to be built in the first phase of development of East Capitol Campus in the early 1960s. Erected just a year after the Cuban missile crisis, towards the end of the cold-war era Red Scare, the building doubled as an air raid shelter, being constructed almost entirely underground, with just one of its several floors accessible from ground level. The roof of the building is at ground level on Capitol Way, as can be seen in the photograph at above left. A series of ventilation tunnels, still in existence, led from key government offices across Capitol Way, into the Archives Building. The building is included in the mid-Century modern Walking Tour of Olympia, and was designed by Harmon, Pray, and Dietrich.
For more information follow these links:
Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation inventory
mid-Century modern Walking Tour
2013 Article on design of building and tunnels, accessed November 18, 2014
Copyright © 2022 Deborah Ross