Looking Back’s theme for 2026 is Downtown by the Decades. Two competing private fire companies existed in early Olympia. Pictured here in 1891 are members of the Columbia Fire Company number 2, taken shortly after the company added a new engine and a second story to its building on Columbia Street, between 4th and 5th Avenues. Image selected and captioned by Deborah Ross on behalf of the Olympia Historical Society and Bigelow House Museum, https://olympiahistory.org.
Pettis & Mulligan photo, about 1891, courtesy State Capital Museum collection, Washington State Historical Society