Publisher John Miller Murphy built the Olympia Opera House on Fourth Avenue, about where Orca Books is now. As this photograph from 1890 shows, a trolley line ran by the theater, providing easy access to all classes of Olympia society. Over its 30 years of existence some of the biggest national names played here, including John Phillips Sousa, Mark Twain, and others, as well as numerous local performers. Photograph selected and captioned by Deborah Ross on behalf of the Olympia Historical Society and Bigelow House Museum. For more information see olympiahistory.org.
unknown photographer, 1890, State Library Collection