Safeway Building

Location: 507 Capitol Way S
Downtown National Historic District

Safeway Building, 1964, Thurston County Assessor, Washington State Archives

Safeway Building today (2014), photo by Deb Ross

This building was erected in 1929, with Phillips and Newell as contractors. Its tiled roof and fixed awnings blend well into the overall look of downtown Olympia. The building has served as a grocery, stationery store, and drug store over the years and currently (2014) houses a small grocery store and a restaurant. The building is not on the local register, but is categorized as “historic contributing” in the Downtown Olympia National Historic District. In 1962 a new, modern Safeway store was erected on Fourth Avenue, at the current location of City Hall, and replaced this building.

Links:

Olympia Downtown National Historic District

Heritage Inventory

Cora Pinson – 12/1/24
Looking Back’s theme for 2024 is Many Streams, celebrating our rich and diverse history. In 1988 Olympia voters helped make history when they elected local community organizer Cora Pinson, pictured here, to the City Council. She was the first African American woman to hold such a position in Washington State. Pinson served on the Olympia…
December 1, 2024
Barb O’Neill: 11/24/24
Looking Back’s theme for 2024 is Many Streams, celebrating our rich and diverse history Barbara O’Neill was a commanding presence in our area for many years. While operating a soul food restaurant on Fourth Avenue, she instituted a practice of providing free holiday meals for those in need. The tradition continued after her death, with…
November 24, 2024
The Bean family – 11/17/24
Looking Back’s theme for 2024 is Many Streams, celebrating our rich and diverse history. Jacob Bean immigrated to Olympia from Russia in 1902, bringing with him his family’s Torah (first five books of the Hebrew Bible). He, his wife Mollie, and their son Earl owned the business now known as Olympia Supply, still in existence in…
November 17, 2024