Looking Back’s theme for 2026 is Downtown by the Decades. In 1902, photographer A.D. Rogers took this photograph to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the founding of Olympia Lodge #1 of the Masons. The Masonic Temple, erected in 1855 just three years after the Lodge’s founding, was one of several important buildings flanking Main Street (Capitol Way). Image selected and captioned by Deborah Ross on behalf of the Olympia Historical Society and Bigelow House Museum, https://olympiahistory.org.
Rogers photograph, 1902, courtesy State Capital Museum collection, Washington State Historical Society