Location: 212 4th Ave E
Downtown National Historic District
Fourth Avenue looking west, Yeager Home on right, about 1874, left side of a stereograph, courtesy Washington State Historical Society |
Liberty Cafe Building today (2014), photo by Deb Ross |
In the early years of Olympia’s settlement, residences and commercial buildings freely mingled downtown. Shown at above left, in an early photograph, is a view of Fourth Avenue, looking west. As is the case today, Fourth Avenue was one of the two most important streets in post-Civil War era Olympia. One of the homes on the right (north) side of the street was William J. Yeager’s. The Yeagers arrived here from Indiana probably in the early 1860s and William set up as a photographer, as well as a drayman, or hauler. His descendants include prominent Olympia citizens William H. Yeager and his son, William H., Jr., and Ida Yeager Mossman (see also Yeager House; William H. Yeager Jr. House).
With the growth of Olympia and the location of the State Capitol downtown, commercial buildings began to overtake residences in the downtown core. The building currently at this site was erected in 1932, and remodeled in 1950. It was owned by the Wisniewski family, who operated the Liberty Cafe here (see also Wisniewski House). The building is in the Downtown National Historic District and listed as Historic Contributing.
Links:
Olympia Downtown National Historic District
Olympia Heritage inventory (Liberty Cafe)
Washington State Historical Society (enter the following catalog number in the Collections Search box), C1959.8.4
For more information on the Yeager family, see the Residents section of the website
Copyright © 2022 Deborah Ross