Looking Back’s theme for 2026 is Downtown by the Decades. In about 1914, photographer Robert Esterly produced a valuable series of photographs of downtown businesses. In the early twentieth century, downtown boasted several Chinese restaurants. The Pekin Café, pictured here, was located on Capitol Way between State and Fourth. It was owned by Chinese-born Lock Hoy. Image selected and captioned by Deborah Ross on behalf of the Olympia Historical Society and Bigelow House Museum, https://olympiahistory.org.
Robert Esterly photograph, ca. 1914, Courtesy State Capital Museum collection, Washington State Historical Society