Posted March 10, 200916 yr Spent some time in Olympia while checking out Evergreen State College with my son. I like to visit capital cities and state Capitols. Capitol Way seems to be the main, wide drag downtown, but to the west and, especially, to the east are narrow and vibrant streets: 6 bookstores, 4 Thai restaurants, 4 Vietnamese restaurants, 3 Mexican, many other restaurants and bars, a hot dog stand, pizza joints, a toy store, a couple of record stores, 2 small groceries, 2 theaters and a performing arts center, several multi-story hotels, 3 distinctive 5-or-6-story mixed-ue buildings on an urban park, etc., etc., etc. Downtown harbor at Budd Inlet, southern tip of Puget Sound; Olympic Mtns faintly in distance From same spot, looking south at the State Capitol Modern downtown mid-rises Park below Capitol hill Looking down on park and Capitol "Lake" from the hill The Classical-inspired 1928 Capitol is actually part of a Capitol Campus of five buildings. In the pictures above, the dome actually is above and behind the Legislative Building, immediately north of the Capitol. The beautiful campus also include an office building and two buildings for legislative offices and hearing rooms. The aforementioned two buildings behind the Capitol Capitol rotunda House chambers. Nobody inspected my bag or my camera. I was welcome to walk in and walk around. Instead of uniformed guards, there were uniformed guides. "Go up to the balcony," one said at the edge of the House chambers. "You can get a better shot there." Art Deco Thurston County Courthouse, across from the Capitol Campus Capitol Way, looking north to Budd Inlet and the Port of Olympia Closer look up Capitol Way Shops Apartments? Motel rooms for legislators & lobbyists? Just off Capitol Way, down from Capitol Hill Great sign Capitol Way again Great little urban park in front of the Romanesque old Capitol Old Capitol North end of the park South end of the park Washington Street, narrower, much more interesting street one block east of Capitol Way. Old Olympian Hotel (now apartments?) is on the left. Hotel again And again Street level Further down Washington, looking south State Theater, 4th and Washington Capitol Theater, 5th, just off Washington. Not only two old theaters, but also a modern performing arts center 4th and Washington, the core of funky downtown Olympia Washington at 4th again 4th, looking west If I recall correctly, 5th, looking west Mural outside my hotel room. I don't know why I didn't shoot more murals. Downtown Olympia has far more of them than even the Short North in Columbus Evening skyline from the west Capitol at dusk On the The Evergreen State College, alma mater of Matt Groening, among others. A 40-year-old institution that takes an alternative approach: written assessments instead of letter-grades; areas of focus instead of majors; "programs" instead of classes; a wonderful, multidisciplinary approach to everything, with multiple profs each teaching different aspects of each program. Brutalist glass-and-concrete architecture in the middle of the rain forest. Dorm tower through the woods Classrooms Library, facing the center of campus: Red Square. (The campus radio station is Kaos; the athletic teams are the Geoducks -- pronounced gooey-duck, a large, edible, saltwater clam) More classroom buildings Red Square clocktower The next three shots my son took along Dogtooth Lane toward the path to Geoduck Beach on Eld Inlet The beach Back from the water on a different rainforest path. My son had the camera again Back to campus and the Campus Activities Building (bookstore, food service, etc.) More classes
March 10, 200916 yr What kind of neo-hippie institution are you letting your kid go to? No grades? No majors?! :mrgreen: The school looks like a more interesting version of Northern Kentucky University with all of the concrete and generally ugly buildings. Olympia itself looks like one of those great little burgs that most Americans used to take for granted. Nice set.
March 10, 200916 yr That state capitol building was the one that had the dome not fastened to the roof and when the earthquake hit, it jolted the dome, correct? "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
March 10, 200916 yr ^^ I had not heard that about the dome. It's not mentioned in the little brochure I got at the Capitol, but I'll look into it. ^ It may look staid, but looks can be deceiving. The flavor of the businesses and the character of the people in them are anything but staid. I found it a very pleasant an interesting place, where it was easy to learn from locals in taverns about the city and environs.
March 10, 200916 yr man, that 'northern tropical rainforest' stuff is really striking. all that rainy haze and mossy greenery, wow. this one is set up like a classic british converted stable 'mews' street. vaguely reminds me of a modern approximation of that anyway.
March 10, 200916 yr It popped up out of nowhere as I was walking down Capitol Way. If it was inspired by British mews, it's not the only European touch. There were several roundabouts in town and some chicanes. Cars stopped for pedestrians downtown and there were lots and lots of bicyclists.
March 11, 200916 yr Has a very sleepy rainy PNW vibe to it. Not the kind of place I'd like to live... but to each their own!
March 16, 200916 yr I enjoyed these photos, and I like what I see here. Olympia has the formality of the capitol campus, surrounded by what looks like a laid-back small city. I'm extemely vulernable to SAD and the region's climate might get to me in winter, but I think I'd like it a lot in summer. I'm setting myself up to be burned for heresy the next time I attend a UO meet, but I don't always hate brutalism. When it's balanced by softer natural forms it's an interesting contrast; here, surrounded by rainforest, especially on a misty, drizzly day, it rather nicely defines the built environment without overwhelming its surroundings.
March 16, 200916 yr I'm setting myself up to be burned for heresy the next time I attend a UO meet, but I don't always hate brutalism. When it's balanced by softer natural forms it's an interesting contrast; here, surrounded by rainforest, especially on a misty, drizzly day, it rather nicely defines the built environment without overwhelming its surroundings. Well put. I feel much the same. I'm definiely not a fan of brutalism, but my brother a former architect, pointed out to me how it can work, oddly, in natural settings. I thought of his words as I took these pictures.
January 20, 201015 yr The black and whites are inverted scans of negatives that I developed. Hopefully I can get some prints soon... B Dorm at Evergreen, in Olympia, WA Lamp, hanging from the Capitol building in Olympia. Beautiful architecture at the Capitol A little grainy, but I like it. Dorms, again. This time, at dawn. I'm the son UrbanSurfin was talking about, by the way.
January 20, 201015 yr Oh wow, welcome! "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
February 16, 201015 yr A friend of mine shot some more film in downtown Olympia the other day. Lots of great art.
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