Location: 213 4th Ave E
Downtown National Historic District, Wohleb, Transportation
4th Avenue looking east, mid 1940s, with Gottfeld’s halfway down on right, Private Postcard Collection |
Gottfeld’s Building today (2012) photograph by |
The Gottfeld Building was erected in 1908 by local businessmen Millard Lemon and Henry Mallory (see also Mallory House). In later years it was a men’s and boys’ clothing store. In 1971 it was renovated by Wohleb Architects. It is one of several commercial buildings that lined Fourth Avenue as it progressed eastwards towards the Swantown Slough and beyond. The photograph at left shows Fourth Avenue in the days when it was two-way. Traffic was heavy here, as this was part of Route 99, the main north-south thoroughfare in the Pacific Northwest. Traffic was changed to one-way following the 1949 earthquake.
In recent years, this part of downtown Olympia has transitioned to include numerous small restaurants and cafes like the one at this location, making this part of town popular with the late-night crowd
Additional links:
Downtown National Historic District
Link to larger left hand image
Washington State Historical Society, enter the following catalog number in the Collections Search box: C1964.26.4.18.2
For more information on Millard Lemon and the Lemon family, see the Residents section of this website
Copyright © 2022 Deborah Ross