Location: 302 Sid Snyder Ave SW
Washington State Capitol National Historic District
Insurance Building, 1920s, State Library Photograph Collection, Digital Archives |
Insurance Building today (2012) photograph by Matt Kennelly |
The Insurance Building was the second to be constructed on Capitol Campus following the original Wilder and White plan, after the Temple of Justice. It was completed in 1921, and built using the same Wilkeson sandstone that was used for the Temple of Justice and several other buildings on Campus. Its exterior follows a classic Roman style, but the interior was designed to fulfill the needs of a modern office building. In the original Wilder and White plan, there was to be an identical building on the other side of the Legislative Building, on the site of the Governor’s Mansion, but this plan was never fulfilled. The building was damaged during the 1949 earthquake, but restored to its original condition.
For more information follow these links:
Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation inventory
State Capitol National Historic District
Photographs at Digital Archives: Insurance 1 (above photo); Insurance 2 (earthquake damage); Insurance 3 (1950s)
Washington State Historical Society (enter the following catalog number in the Collections Search box: C1981.30x.1
Copyright © 2022 Deborah Ross