Looking Back’s theme for 2026 is Downtown by the Decades. Each week will feature a view of downtown Olympia over the years. This earliest image of Olympia is by James Alden, commander of the Coast Survey ship Active in 1857. Alden created this sketch soon after the 1855-1856 Puget Sound Treaty Wars, when Olympia was in its infancy. We are looking north down what is now Capitol Way. Image selected and captioned by Deborah Ross on behalf of the Olympia Historical Society and Bigelow House Museum, https://olympiahistory.org.
James Alden watercolor, 1857, courtesy of Washington State Historical Society