On March 13, 1959, a runaway train smashed through the Union Pacific depot on Fourth Avenue and into businesses on the other side of the street, destroying half a block. Miraculously, only one person was killed, telegraph operator Kenneth Dilley. This photograph shows the destroyed depot, as a large crowd of onlookers gathers after the accident. Photograph selected and captioned by Deborah Ross on behalf of the Olympia Historical Society and Bigelow House Museum. For more information, visit olympiahistory.org.
Vibert Jeffers photograph, 1959, Susan Parish Collection, Southwest Regional Archives