Locations after M

Location: 122 21st St SW
Wohleb; South Capitol National Historic Neighborhood

Joseph Wohleb House 1939, Thurston County Assessor, Southwest Regional Archives

Joseph Wohleb House today (2015), Photo by Deb Ross

This surprisingly modest English revival-style home was designed by and built for Olympia’s pre-eminent architect, Joseph Wohleb in 1923. It is located in the South Capitol Neighborhood near many of the homes, both grand and modest, that Wohleb designed over his five decades of work in the city. It is directly across from his two most important commissions, the C.J. Lord Mansion (State Capital Museum) and the McLeary Mansion.

The vast scope of Wohleb’s influence on our city can easily be seen by turning on the Wohleb theme on our Where Are We feature’s Interactive Map. Although Wohleb is best known for creating the Mission-style “look” of downtown Olympia, he was capable of designing buildings and homes in a wide range of styles and to suit a wide range of needs. He has been aptly dubbed “the man who designed the city.” His well-preserved home is not individually on the local register, but is located in the South Capitol National Historic District.

Olympia Heritage inventory

South Capitol National Historic District

Copyright © 2022 Deborah Ross

 

 

 

Location: 1429 West Bay Dr NW
Local register 

Woodard House, about 1893, Edward Lange artist

Woodard House today (2012), photo by Deb Ross

The Woodard family, consisting of Harvey and Salome Eaton Woodard and their three boys Alonzo Bixby (AB), Theodore, and Adelbert Eugene (AE), arrived in Thurston County in the early 1850s. They first settled in the area now called Woodard Bay. The family stayed there only a few years, until the onset of the so-called Indian Wars in the mid 1850s. The family moved to Tumwater, where Harvey engaged in milling. After the hostilities ceased, Harvey moved back to Woodard Bay and established a mill there. Salome and the boys stayed behind, and the boys attended school in Tumwater. AB moved to the Portland area to study photography and dentistry while AE stayed in Olympia.

Some time in the late 1850s, Harvey purchased land on the Hurd Donation Claim in West Olympia and built a house around 1858 (thought to be the home now termed the Harvey Woodard House which is just above the Woodard House). Later on, in the 1870s, AB Woodard returned to Olympia and built this house on the family property.

AB Woodard built a home on Union Avenue in Olympia some time around 1900 and AE’s son Lester seems to have moved into the West Bay home.

The Woodard House is an attractive two story wooden house built in the Pioneer style. It is listed on the local register.

Additional resources:

Olympia Heritage inventory

For more information about the Woodard family, see the Residents section of this website.

Thanks to Mary Schaff of the Washington State Library for providing transcript of WPA interview.

Copyright © 2022 Deborah Ross

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Location: 1202 9th Ave SW
Local register

Carl Woodard House 1957, Thurston County Assessor, Southwest Regional Archives

Carl Woodard House today, photograph by Deb Ross

The Carl Woodard House is an early (ca. 1919) and well-preserved example of the Craftsman-style bungalows that are very common elsewhere in Olympia but rarer on the Westside. Carl Woodard was a member of the Woodard family that settled first on Woodard Bay, then moved to West Olympia. The Woodard House belonged to Carl’s uncle A.B. Woodard and later Carl’s brother Lester; his grandfather Harvey lived in the Harvey Woodard home above the Woodard House. Carl worked at the Springer Mill, as a teamster, and a candy store owner. This home is on the local register.

Olympia Heritage inventory

For more information on the Woodard family, see the Residents section of this website.

Copyright © 2022 Deborah Ross

 

 

 

Location: 1114 Woodard Ave NW
Local register?

Harvey Woodard House 1952, Thurston County Assessor, Southwest Regional Archives

Harvey Woodard House today (2014), photograph by Deb Ross

The Harvey Woodard House is thought to be the second oldest existing residence in Olympia, after the Bigelow House. It was erected some time between 1858 and the early 1860s by Harvey Woodard, the patriarch of the pioneer Woodard family. The family arrived here in 1853 and after a short period of living at what is now Woodard Bay, Harvey moved to Tumwater and established a mill. Later he moved here to West Olympia and built a house, thought to be this one. Later on, his son A.E. Woodard (called Dell, short for Adelbert) moved here and established a well-known orchard. A photograph of A.E. with his neighbor Matilda Schneider Johnston and their two small boys, linked below, shows them at the rear of the property. A.E.’s brother A.B. Woodard, a dentist and photographer, lived in the Woodard House just below here on West Bay Drive. (A.E.’s son, Carl, built the Carl Woodard House, also on the West Side)

The home is a well preserved, rare, and interesting example of box, or plank, construction, where the entire outside of the home is made of planks with no supporting framework. It is made of hand-hewn cedar planks, set on hand-hewn beams. It is perched on a bluff overlooking Budd Inlet with a spectacular view of Mount Rainier. It is not clear whether this home is on the local register, as databases of register properties are inconsistent.

Olympia Heritage inventory

Photograph of A.E. and Carl Woodard with neighbor Matilda Schneider Johnston, Washington State Historical Society, enter the following catalog number in Collection Search box, C1949.1301.33.33

For more information on the Woodard family, see the Residents section of this website.

Copyright © 2022 Deborah Ross

 

 

Location: 119 N Capitol Way
Downtown National Historic District, Popular Culture

Woodruff Block around 1891, Edward Lange etching from Olympia Tribune Souvenir Issue 1891, Washington  State Library

Woodruff Block/Labor Temple today, with Olympia-Rafah Solidarity Mural Project (2011) Photo courtesy of Deb Ross

The Woodruff Block was built in 1887 by local developer Sam Woodruff, a member of the pioneer Woodruff family. As evident in the left-hand image, it originally had elaborate projecting bays and a parapet. The building was badly damaged in the 1949 earthquake and the facade is now unadorned.

Over the years, this building has housed several stores on the ground floor, and businesses and clubs above. Its current nickname, the Labor Temple, reflects its longstanding status as host to labor unions. The Brotherhood Lounge, an historic watering hole for union members and now a popular nightspot, is located on the first floor (2012).

On the north side of the building is the Olympia-Rafah Solidarity Mural Project, celebrating the sister city relationship with Rafah in Palestine and with over 150 community participants.

For further information and links, see the following:

Olympia Heritage inventory

Olympia Downtown Historic District

Washington State Historical Society Photos (enter the following catalog numbers in Collections Search box):  C1996.6.2 (earthquake damage); C1964.26.4.8.2; C1952.284.11 (building in foreground right); C1949.1301.31.10; 2010.149.29.2 (Lee Baker Wine store at this location)

Capitol Way looking north, note Labor painted on side of Labor Building in middle distance, from Moody Collection

Olympia Rafa Mural Project

Woodruff family, see Residents section of this website

Copyright © 2022 Deborah Ross

 

 

Location: 123 Rogers St NW

W.W. Work house 1939, Thurston County Assessor’s photograph from Southwest Regional Archives

W.W. Work House today (2011), photo by Deborah Ross

In the late 1880s, Samuel Woodruff acquired and platted a large part of West Olympia, selling off lots at reasonable prices. Rogers Street was included in the Woodruff Plat, and still contains several original homes. While a handful of homes in this area are larger (for example, the Seeley-McIntyre house), most represent modest workers’ houses. This home, which has not been inventoried by the city, appears to represent a typical bungalow-style home, and was included in a collection of historic homes in 1949 by historian Adah Dye.

William W. Work, a Civil War veteran, arrived in Olympia in about 1881. He was a house painter. Their daughter Muriel Work Bartram lived here after her parents.

More information:

Washington  State Historical  Society photographs (enter the following catalog numbers in Collections Search box): C1964.26.4.3.5 (unscanned photo circa 1949)

W.W. Work family information from Ancestry.com, accessed May 30, 2012

For more information about Samuel Woodruff, see Residents section of this website, as well as Woodruff Building

Copyright © 2022 Deborah Ross

 

 

 

Location: 221 Perry St NW
Diversity: Lesbian and Gay History

We are looking for vintage photographs of Woodruff Park. If you have one to share, please contact us

Woodruff Park today (2014) Photo courtesy of Deb Ross

In 1889, Samuel Woodruff, member of a pioneer family, acquired a large parcel of land in West Olympia and platted the Woodruff Addition. It consisted of hundreds of lots and several blocks stretching along the hillside above Budd Inlet. At the hill’s summit, Woodruff donated a block to the City of Olympia for use as a public park.

The park at one time had a water tower on it, which has been removed. For many years, starting in the 1980s and continuing to the present, the Gay Men’s Social Network has held potlucks, volleyball tournaments, and games here.

For further information and links, see the following:

Olympia Heritage inventory

Olympia Gay and Lesbian History Walking Tour

Woodruff family, see Residents section of this website

Copyright © 2022 Deborah Ross

 

Location: 504 17th St SE
Local register; South Capitol National Historic Neighborhood; Wohleb

A vintage photograph of this house has not been located. If you have one to share, please contact us.

Judge Wright House today (2014), photo by Deb Ross

This English revival home is another example of Joseph Wohleb’s vast architectural repertoire. Built in 1923, it is a large home with a striking columned port-cochere and interesting window treatments. It is on the local register and in the South Capitol National Historic Neighborhood. Judge D.F. Wright served on the Superior Court for many years

Olympia Heritage inventory

South Capitol Neighborhood National Historic District

Copyright © 2022 Deborah Ross

Location: 1855 Yantis St NW
Local Register

Yantis House with George Yantis, Sr., 1943, courtesy of the family

Yantis House today (2014), photograph by Deb Ross

The Yantis house is connected with a very early Olympia-area family. George Yantis, Sr. was a prominent attorney and politician, rising to the rank of Speaker of the Washington House. He built the home during the height of the Depression and it was not completed until 1932. It is a well-maintained example of Dutch colonial style with a view over Budd Inlet. The home is still owned by the family, and is on the local register.

Olympia heritage inventory

For more information on the Yantis family, see the Residents section of this website.

Copyright © 2022 Deborah Ross

 

Location: 212 19th Ave SW
South Capitol National Historic Neighborhood

Robert Yantis House 1939, Thurston County Assessor, Southwest Regional Archives

Robert Yantis House today (2013), photograph Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation

The Robert Yantis house is connected with two very early Olympia-area families. It was built in 1911, making it among the earlier Craftsman style homes in the South Capitol Neighborhood. According to architectural historian Michael Houser, it was designed by Samuel Ward, Jr. Ward was the son of Samuel Ward Sr. (see Ward House) and grandson of Tumwater pioneer mill owner Ira Ward. The home is a classic example of a hip-roof Craftsman style Bungalow.  The inset corner porch boasts an unusual arched opening. The home is in the South Capitol National Historic Neighborhood but not individually inventoried. 

Robert Yantis was the son of John Vivian Yantis, a local photographer and printer, and the grandson of Benjamin Yantis, who arrived at Bush Prairie in 1853. Robert was also a printer and publisher, working at the Olympian and later the Washington Recorder.

South Capitol National Historic Neighborhood

For more information on the Ward and Yantis families, see the Residents section of this website.

Thank you to Michael Houser of DAHP for additional information and photographs of the house

Copyright © 2022 Deborah Ross

 

 

Location: 1409 10th Ave SE
Local Register

No scanned vintage photo of this house is available. If you have one we can scan, or would like to sponsor the scanning of the photo linked below, please contact us at olyhistory@gmail.com

Yeager House today (2010) photograph by Deb Ross

The Yeager House on 10th Avenue is one of three existing historic homes built by members of the pioneer Yeager family (see William H and Ada Yeager House and Burford House; see also Liberty Cafe and Bettman Block for locations associated with the Yeager patriarch, William A. Yeager). This home was built by William H., Senior, and Ida Mossman Yeager in this neighborhood, on the east side of Olympia, originally called Swantown.  It is a fine and well preserved example of the Queen Anne home style that was popular in Olympia around the time that it was built in the late 1800s. It is on the local register.

Additional links:

Olympia Heritage inventory

Washington State Historical Society photograph (enter the following catalog numbers in Collections Search box): C1964.26.4.22.6

For additional information on the Yeager family, see the Residents section of this website.

Copyright © 2022 Deborah Ross

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Location: 2507 Capitol Way S
local register; South Capitol National Historic District

WH Jr and Ada Yeager house, 1937, Thurston County Assessor, Southwest Regional Archives

WH Jr and Ada Yeager House today (2013), photo by Deb Ross

This early Craftsman style home was built in about 1915. As can be seen by comparing the two photographs above, the home remains almost exactly as it was in the 1930s, a well-preserved specimen of the many homes of this style built in the South Capitol neighborhood with its exposed rafter ends, large porch, and bracketed gable roofline.

William H Yeager Jr., an engineer, came from a very old Olympia family: his grandfather, a photographer, lived on Fourth Avenue, and his parents, WH Yeager Sr. and Ida Mossman Yeager, lived on a large lot in Swantown, the listed Yeager House. William H’s wife, nee Ada Drake, also came from an old Thurston County family. Note that her name is sometimes misspelled Ida, a natural confusion probably stemming from the existence of two other Ida Yeagers (Ida Mossman Yeager and Ida Yeager Burford). The home is on the local register and located in the South Capitol National Historic District.

Olympia Heritage inventory

South Capitol National Historic District

For more information on the Yeager family as well as a photo of Ada Drake, see the Residents section of the website.

Copyright © 2022 Deborah Ross

Location: 410 Percival St NW
local register; popular culture

Yenney (Olof Anderson) house, 1936, Thurston County Assessor, Southwest Regional Archives

Yenney House today (2015), photo by Deb Ross

This Tudor style cottage is one of eight Tumwater Lumber Mills (TLM) homes built along this stretch of Percival Street. TLM made pre-cut homes that were sold throughout Olympia and the Pacific Northwest. Many of the homes in this northwest neighborhood are TLM homes, including the homes in the Rogers Street Historic Neighborhood (see, for example, the Winters House). They are typically in the English Revival or Tudor Revival style.

The cottage’s first owner, in 1932, was Olof Anderson, the youngest of the Anderson brothers who emigrated from Sweden and founded the company. In 1937, one year after the above Assessor’s photograph was taken, Anderson moved exactly three blocks east, to the Olof Anderson House (not a TLM home). This house was sold to James and Catherine Yenney. From that time on, the home must have been full of music. James was a music teacher who eventually bought and renamed the Rabeck Music Store on Fourth Avenue. The Yenney music store continues to exist, having been relocated several times. The Yenneys sold this home to Gordon and Leila Brown in 1953. Mrs. Brown was herself a music teacher, and her daughter, Gordon, continues to teach piano in our community, although not at this location. The home is nicely preserved and on the local register.

Olympia Heritage inventory

Copyright © 2022 Deborah Ross

Location: 510 Franklin St SE
Wohleb

YMCA, date unknown between 1910 and 1920, General Photograph Collection, Digital Archives

YMCA today (2012) photograph by Matt Kennelly

The Olympia Athletic Club was founded in 1892 and operated in various locations around Olympia. By the time the first phase of this building was completed in 1910, it had merged with the YMCA. The building was erected in phases between 1910 and 1963. The 1940 addition was designed by local architect Joseph Wohleb. It is a functional concrete building with few ornaments or other outstanding architectural features. The building has been inventoried but is not on the local register. The YMCA moved a few blocks away in 2019 and the fate of this building is currently (2022) uncertain. 

Additional links:

Photograph at above left, Digital Archives (note Charles Williams home at right, moved from site of Mottman building)

Olympia Heritage Inventory

Early colorized postcard, from Moody Collection

Copyright © 2022 Deborah Ross

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Location: 2002 Capitol Way S
Local register; National South Capitol Historic District

Young House, 1936, Thurston County  Assessor, Washington State Archives

Young House now (2013), photo by Deb Ross

This elegant Queen Anne home was built by Theodore D. Young, the son of an early Thurston County pioneer. Young was an early partner of developer Millard Lemon, but lost his fortune in the panic of 1893. According to the Thurston County assessor’s office, this house was built in about 1899. If so, it was during the brief period after the end of the panic and before Young left Olympia to manage his father’s cranberry fields in south Thurston County. The home was occupied thereafter by a number of prominent Olympia citizens. It is one of the finest and largest homes in the South Capital neighborhood. It is on the local register and part of the National South Capitol Historic District.

More information:

Olympia Heritage inventory

South Capitol National Historic Neighborhood

Copyright © 2022 Deborah Ross

 

Location: 1912 State Ave NE

Zabel House, 1939, Thurston County  Assessor, Washington State Archives

Zabel House now (2013), photo by Deb Ross

This substantial home was built for the Zabel family in 1931 (note a reversal of the last two digits in the inventory sheet, resulting in an incorrect date of 1913 in other documents referring to this building). It is a beautifully maintained and unusual brick English Revival home. The Zabels owned several movie theaters downtown, including the Capitol, Rex, and Ray.

More information:

Olympia Heritage inventory

Copyright © 2022 Deborah Ross

 

Location: 322 Capitol Way N
Washington State Register, Local Register

Jack Gimblet’s Saloon as it appeared in 1860s or 1870s photograph courtesy of Washington State Historical Society

As Zeigler’s appears today Photograph courtesy of Deb Ross

In early days of Olympia’s history, the downtown core extended down Main Street (now Capitol Way) to the waterfront, just north of this location at the corner of Capitol and Thurston (then Main Street and First Avenue). Many businesses were located in this block, including Jack Gimblet’s Saloon, pictured above. Although the City of Olympia had an ordinance prohibiting “nuisances” such as prostitution, unlicensed saloons, and gambling halls, the ordinance was laxly enforced in this area of the city, which was known as the Dead Zone, or Tenderloin (see also Dead Zone). Businesses such as the Gimblet Saloon flourished, but also faced challenges due to frequent fights and other problems. When the Carlyon Fill extended the port area well to the north, this part of town gradually became industrialized. The building now housing Zeigler’s Welding was built in 1910 and has served much the same function throughout its history. It is on the local and state registers.

For more information about and historic photographs of the building, follow these links:

Olympia Heritage inventory (Zeigler’s)

Washington State Historical Society photographs (enter the following catalog numbers in Collections Search box): C1956.20.7

Copyright © 2022 Deborah Ross