Looking Back’s theme for 2026 was Downtown by the Decades. On a frigid day in January 1937, the imposing Odd Fellows Hall, at the southwest corner of Capitol Way and 5th Avenue, burned down. Firefighters bravely battled the fire; icicles hanging from power lines dramatically illustrate the challenge due to the freezing weather.
Olympia Fire Department collection, 1937, Washington State Archives, image SW-540-3-6-ph000005
Text © Deborah Ross and The Olympian 2026