The pace of Olympia’s growth accelerated with the introduction of a railroad line and statehood. Business was booming in 1891: a close look at the maps shows the erection of many fine masonry or brick buildings downtown, as well as factories and homes extending up to what is now Capitol Campus. Many of these still exist (as shown in the Where Are We? layer). A 3/4 mile long wharf had been built, extending into Budd Inlet to deep water (only part of which is included on the Sanborn maps). The Swantown Slough continued to divide the Eastside from downtown Olympia. West Olympia was still not covered in detail by Sanborn. The shoreline can be seen outlined in blue.
These overlays consist of several individual sheets , which you can turn on or off by clicking on the layer icon (), as well as setting opacity levels for each layer (use right arrow in the layer menu). There is also a layer that contains color-coded dots with links to historical features (see instruction page for more information on this feature). We recommend you start with the overview for 1891, then click on various layers as desired.
Click here for more detailed instructions and tips on using the Sanborn overlay feature.
To view the map in full screen, link here (external link to ArcGIS Online)