Location: 221 Washington Street NE (corner of Olympia and Washington)
The Washington Standard Building as it appeared around 1870 |
Site today (2011), Photograph courtesy of Deb Ross |
John Miller Murphy, prolific, opinionated, long-lived editor of the Washington Standard, came to Olympia with his sister in 1851 and, having learned the printing trade in Portland, eventually returned to found the Standard, which he published until 1912. Along the way he was a city councilman, firefighter, member of various fraternal organizations, opera house owner, women’s suffragist, and tireless Olympia booster. He lived near the Standard building, just north of State Ave., even after that area of town became industrialized and a hangout for prostitutes and transients (see Dead Zone).
For more information about and historical photographs of the building and information about John Miller Murphy, follow these links:
Washington State Historical Society photographs (enter the following catalog numbers in Collections Search box): photos of interior of Standard Office): C1964.17.3; C1964.17.4; Standard Building in early days: C1982.18.30.18; C2016.0.62; C1947.9.3
Digital Archives pictures: above picture; Standard Building in disrepair, around 1940
Information on this website about John Miller Murphy and the Standard: “Mere Mention”: John Miller Murphy’s Column August 1889; Residents section
Copyright © 2022 Deborah Ross