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Firehouse Bay 3, Window #1

Reliable Welding was founded by Alfred Lewis in 1924 in downtown Olympia on State Street between Capitol Way and Columbia, where he did general welding. Lewis was a native of Crosby, Washington. He had served an apprenticeship at the Bremerton navy yard as a coppersmith during World War I. He came to Olympia from Seattle where he had worked for Skinner and Eddy Shipyards. Lewis bought land on West Bay in 1940 and acquired the crane from the Anderson Gang Mill which had closed in 1939. The firm built the current large building on West Bay Drive in 1941 of used wood and metal since building materials were scarce during the war. It was built on the former site of a lumber Gang Mill.

Al Lewis began building small steel craft for the Army in 1942.  As many as 300 men were employed at one time. The firm built welded steel oil barges of 100,000 gallon capacity at site in 1941. In 1942 they built the Kapalama, a 52 foot long welded steel tug for Pacific Naval Airbase Contractors in Alameda, California. In 1943-44 the firm built the 55-foot steel diesel tug Ruby VIII for General Construction Co. During World War II, they built sixteen, 90-ton, welded steel, diesel tugboats designated ST-34 through 39, ST-164 through 170 and ST-12 through 14 for the US Army.

In 1943, the firm also contracted for six larger steel tugs, 85 feet long with 600-horsepower diesel engines for the army. In 1945, Reliable built a steel railway car barge for the Drummond Lighterage Co. They built the ships on ways built on pilings. Workers earned about 60 to 70 cents per hour. In 1946, the firm built the F. H. Lovejoy, the flagship of Puget Sound Freight Lines fleet, probably the largest vessel built at Reliable, measuring 178.4 feet long with a beam of 36 feet. The ship was built outside the plant on a shipway of greased timbers. The vessel traveled between Puget Sound and British Columbia. In 1947, the firm built the Kolo, a diesel tug for Young Bros., Ltd, of Honolulu. It was designed by L. H. Coolidge. In the 1950s Reliable Welding built buoy tenders for the U.S. Coast Guard. The firm built the 72-foot Brynn Foss for Foss Tugs in 1950-51. Materials for fabrication came by rail and truck and included steel plate, beams, angles and channels. The last vessel built at the facility was the Cedar King which was built for Olympia Towing in 1970. It was a 41-foot welded steel tug. During the 1960s, the firm manufactured pressurized tanks for the Olympia Brewery that were launched into the water and were lined by another firm. The tanks were shipped by rail to the brewery after they were completed.

The firm was later managed by the son and son-in-law of Al Lewis, A. R. “Dick” Lewis and Gil Olson. In 1974, the firm was incorporated as Reliable Steel Fabricators to signal a more diversified business. Reliable manufactured tanks beginning in the 1950s for underground storage for homes and for municipalities. They also custom-built oil delivery tank trucks for firms such as Acme Fuel and Ordel Oil. The firm employed members of the Boilermakers Union and after World War II, employment was about 15-25 men, which remained steady. The firm was a capital-intensive business which had specialized equipment which could be used to manufacture many specialty items. The workers included craftsmen to complete the fittings and carpenter work on vessels.  During the oil crisis of the 1970s, the firm did a thriving business in gas tanks for home use.

In 1983, the firm was purchased by grandsons of Al Lewis, Jerry and Bart Olson. They developed the business to include fabricating more structural elements and processing equipment, particularly for the pulp and paper industry. They continued the manufacture of tanks and added the production of large diameter pipe—as large as 16 feet in diameter with a ½” to 1” thickness. The pipe was used for jacking beneath roadways. They shipped their materials regionally. The Olsons sold the firm in 1998 to ITEQ which in turn sold it to Brown-Minneapolis Tank which, as of 2005, continued to manufacture tanks using the same facility that was built in 1941.

Reliable Welding, later Steel Fabricators, used a variety of rollers and cutters to fashion the plate into products, much of the equipment dates from the 1940s. Some of the local installations of their products include the City of Olympia water tanks at 7th and Fir and on Hoffman Road, and three tanks on Tumwater Hill for the City of Tumwater. (Stevenson, Shanna, Senior Planner, Olympia Heritage Commission and Thurston Regional Planning Council, "West Bay Industrial History and Timeline.” Sarah Smyth McIntosh Contract, 2005.)

Firehouse Bay 3, Window #2

Capitol Lake was completed in 1951. In the 1990s, Heritage Park was created as a 24-acre state park with walking/running paths around the lake and a switchback trail up the hill to the Capitol Campus.

For information about Heritage Park see:  
https://des.wa.gov/services/facilities-leasing/capitol-campus/parks-and-attractions/heritage-park

Read about Capitol Lake history.

Firehouse Bay 3, Window #3

Olympia’s firefighting history extends back to the 1850s and is often recognized as the first Fire Department in Washington Territory. Originally the first fire service was a “club” and it wasn’t until later that it became a part of city government. Barnes Hook & Ladder, Columbia Fire Company No. 1 and, for a short time, the “Squilgees” were some of the names of the other early groups.

The Olympia Fire Department had facilities on Columbia Street for Columbia Fire Company #2 and also at Old City Hall on 4th Avenue for Fire Company #1. The building on 4th Avenue was built in the late 1860s and was known as “Columbia Hall.” Located on the site of what is now the Columbia Building, next to the State Theater, it served as both the Olympia City Hall and Fire Station.

After the turn of the 20th century, the city decided to build a new city hall and firehouse. The debate was whether to use the Columbia Street Fire Station site or to build at State Avenue and Capitol Way. The final decision was based partly on the desire to have a fine building at this important corner in the city, with its proximity to the many lumber mills in the area (prone to fire) and Percival Landing nearby.

The new 1912 building not only had city offices and the fire department but also the town library donated by the Woman’s Club of Olympia (the new Carnegie Library was not built until 1914) and the Chamber of Commerce. Over time the building housed police functions as well and a building next door was the City Water department. City Government moved out of the building in 1966 to a new city hall on Plum Street. Olympia’s current City Hall on 4th Avenue was completed in 2011. The Fire Department moved to their new station on the East Side in the early 1990s. The Olympia Community Center next door to the State and Capitol location, was built in the mid-1980s.

Barbara Greene was the city’s first female firefighter. She began her service in the 1980s and had a long career in the department. 

The 1912 City Hall and Fire Station building is listed on the Olympia Heritage Register. The building was used for a number of years as the Family Support center, which relocated a few years ago. After the Fire Department moved out of the building, the original fire equipment bays were enclosed and the building was reinforced but the exterior looks much as it did when it was built.

For more Fire Department history see: 
http://olympiawa.gov/city-services/fire-department/history-of-the-olympia-fire-department.aspx
Spicklemire, Frank. “Some Moments of History of the Olympia Fire Department.” Olympia Washington: A People’s History, edited by Drew Crooks, City of Olympia. 2009, p. 67-70.

Firehouse Bay 3, Window #4

The subject was inspired by a poem by Olympia poet, Lucia Perillo, "Salmon Underneath the City." The source of Moxlie Creek starts at Watershed Park and travels under Interstate 5 winding under asphalt and concrete to emerge into Puget Sound. 

Mimi Williams is an Olympia printmaker who works exclusively in linoleum cut block printing. Her work is inspired by my community and the incredible beauty of the Pacific Northwest.  Says Mimi: “My images are often narrative with the intention of connecting with the viewers, who in turn can find their own stories.”

Moxlie Creek was named for Euro-American pioneer R. W. Moxlie.

For more information about Mimi and her work, see: 
https://www.mimiwilliamsprintmaker.com/index.php

For more information on Moxlie Creek and Watershed Park, see:  
https://www.thurstoncountywa.gov/sw/Pages/basin-plan-indian.aspx
https://olympiawa.gov/city-services/parks/parks-and-trails/watershed-park.aspx

Firehouse Bay 3, Window #5

The smokestack of Washington Veneer was a long a landmark on the Olympia waterfront. Completed in the 1920s, it was heavily damaged in the 1949 earthquake. While the smokestack is still visible in this 1963 image, the industries at the Port were changing. With the end of era for production of finished lumber, the Port turned to log export seen in this image in the 1960s. The Port acquired West Bay property to store logs.  By 1967 lumber shipments had almost ceased but log exports were in high gear. The port razed several of the old warehouses and surplus buildings to make way for dry log storage. Log transport continues to be a major part of the Port’s Marine Terminal.

For more information on the veneer mills see:  
https://olympiahistory.org/washington-veneerolympia-veneeryardbirdsfarmers-market/
https://www.apawood.org/data/Sites/1/documents/monographs/7-olympia-veneer-co.pdf
https://www.apawood.org/data/Sites/1/documents/monographs/11-washington-veneer-co.pdf
Historic newsreel footage of Veneer Mills from Zabel Theaters. Courtesy of Richard Talcott and the Olympia Historical Society & Bigelow House Museum.

In 1929, a couple married atop the brick mmokestack:
https://digital.tcl.sc.edu/digital/collection/MVTN/id/3769/rec/1

Firehouse Bay 3, Window #6

This 1901 poster announced an excursion to Olympia and Tumwater Falls on the steamship Capital City. From WSHS Catalog:  “Single sheet (40.5 x 28 cm.) announcing excursion to Olympia and Tumwater Falls on steamship Capital City, 1901. By Van Excursion Co., Tacoma, WA. Red type on tan paper. Edward N. Fuller ephemera collection.”

Read about the Mosquito Fleet.
Read about the Capital City steamer, see:  
Image source

Firehouse Bay 3, Window #7

Bill Greenwood was an iconoclast who started building an ark in West Olympia in the 1920s. He later moved to Grand Mound, where he died in 1958. “His ark stands on the mudflats near Olympia, Washington, and is one of the ‘wonders of the age,’ yet probably not as remarkable as the man himself.” 

For more on Bill Greenwood including movie footage click here. 

Firehouse Bay 3, Window #8

Harbor Days began in 1974 and was for many years sponsored by the South Sound Maritime Association.  Highlights of the event are the vintage tugboat races.  Held along Percival Landing, the event features crafts, food and entertainment.  The event has more recently been under the sponsorship of Olympia Kiwanis, but was cancelled in 2020.

For more information and 2021 updates see:
https://www.harbordays.com/

For more about the Virginia V see:  
https://www.virginiav.org/ship/history/

Firehouse Bay 3, Window #9

Joseph H. (wahalatsu?) Seymour, Jr., Squaxin Island/Pueblo of Acoma, started his artistic career by carving his first paddle for the 2003 Tribal Journey to Tulalip. Also in 2003, he carved his first bentwood box. After the Tulalip journey, he then learned how to stretch and make drums.

Joe’s ancestral name is wahalatsu?, given to him by his family in 2003, and was the name of his great grandfather, William Bagley.

About this project:
“The salmon for the Views on Fifth tower are meant to be swimming upstream to spawn. The top three salmon have already begun their journey up river, while the bottom salmon is waiting in a shallow pool at the bottom of the falls. The building sits on the mouth of the Deschutes River and empties into Budd Inlet, traditionally known to the Squaxin Island people as Steh-Chass (place of the black bear).

Before Olympia was settled, that area used to be an estuary with a very diverse ecosystem. There is a movement around Olympia gathering momentum to return that area back to an estuary and remove the fish dam on the Fifth Ave bridge.

This installation honors the promise that the ancestors of the Squaxin Island tribe made to the salmon people that humans would always treat the salmon people and their home with respect and reverence. It’s my wish that with the salmon on that building, we will always remember our promise to be stewards of the land and to ensure that the salmon will always have a home to return to."

For more about Joe and this project, see: 
https://joeseymourart.com/portfolio/views-on-fifth-salmon-project/
“Squaxin artist brings Coast Salish salmon to Olympia waterfront” The Olympian – February 23, 2021 https://www.theolympian.com/news/local/article249456445.html

Firehouse Bay 3, Window #10

This image was also the basis for “Park of the Seven Oars,” an art installation in West Olympia.  

Read about the Park of Seven Oars.

For more information about the Bigelow family and Bigelow House Museum see:  
https://olympiahistory.org/ 

Firehouse Bay 3, Window #11

The map shows the seven inlets of the Squaxin Island Tribe, “People of the Water.”
“The Squaxin Island tribal history finds it origins in time immemorial, tracing back thousands of years from the seven southern-most watersheds of the Puget Sound, now known as the Salish Sea.  The Squaxin Island Tribe ancestral names are the S’Hotl-Ma-Mish known as Henderson Inlet, Squaksin presently known as Case Inlet, Sa-Heh-Wa-Mish currently known as Hammersley Inlet, T’Peeksin known as Totten Inlet, Squi-Aitl known as Eld Inlet, Steh-Chass also known as Budd Inlet, and Noo-Seh-Chatl alson known as Carr Inlet.”

Quoted by permission from: Squaxin Island Tribe: A People’s History of the Seven Inlets Steh Chass. Squaxin Island Tribe Museum, Library & Research Center, 2018, p. 2. 

For more information about the Squaxin Island Tribe see:  
https://squaxinisland.org/government/who-we-are/  

Firehouse Bay 3, Window #12

The Odd Fellows Lodge was established in Olympia in 1855 at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Capitol Way. The building, built in the late 1880s, on one of Olympia’s most prominent corners, Fifth Avenue and Capitol Way, burned in a spectacular fire in 1937. The Lodge is still active in the city.

Additional photos of the fire are below, as well as an image of the Odd Fellows Lodge before the fire (on the right): Washington State Archives.

For more information on the building see:  https://olympiahistory.org/odd-fellows-2/

For more information on the Odd Fellows Lodge see:  https://ioofwa.org/

Firehouse Bay 3, Window #13

For more about the Mosquito Fleet see:
https://olympiawa.gov/community/about-olympia/history-of-olympia-washington/mosquito-fleet.aspx

Read about the Steamer Greyhound.

Firehouse Bay 3, Window #14

“The Inlets of Puget Sound have optimal conditions for shellfish in terms of the salinity of the water, amount of diatoms, current flow, and water temperature. American Indian people gathered shellfish in Thurston County’s inlets long before Euro-American settled began to commercially harvest oysters and clams.” (Shanna Stevenson, Shanna. Thurston County: Water Woods & Prairies, Sandy Crowell and Shirley Stirling, eds. Thurston County, 2019, pg. 134-136.)

“Elder Reflection:  The Preciousness of the Oyster,” by Sally Brownfield, Squaxin Tribal Elder

Frank Mossman, a pioneer hunter and game warden of both Mason and Thurston County, wrote about the Indians gathering the Olympia oyster by hand. He described by saying, “In the winter, the Indians had sleds with iron tops. On the sleds, they built fires of pitch pine to light the beds as they selected the larger oyster. . . the coming of the white men to Oyster Bay, the methods of taking oysters changed. The white oystermen placed loads out onto the flats and raked and forked oysters onto the floats . . . Among the oysters the white men took, there was one big oyster to fifty small ones. They took on the best of the big ones and dumped the rest on the beach killing thousands of bushels of young oysters.” (Pioneer Reminiscences of Pioneer Life of Washington, Volume 2.)

“The Olympia Oyster is the only native oyster in this area. They have always been special to me. At a younger period, I heard stories of how our people have harvested the Olympia oysters and how important they were to use. Our people made sleds to lay on their bellies and carefully pick the little oysters, and used torches of tree pitch on the night tides. They only took the biggest ones, leaving the others to grow. I opened Olympia oysters from the time I was 13 to probably 21 as a job for a local oyster company. They truly are a precious resource.” (Croes, Dale, Rhonda Foster and Larry Ross, editors. “Qwu?gwes—the Qwu?gwes archaeological site and Fish Trap and Tested Homestead, Eleven-Year South Puget Sound and Community College Summer Field School Investigation with the Squaxin Island Tribe—Final Report.” 2012.)

Quoted by permission from “Squaxin Island Tribe: A People’s History of the Seven Inlets Steh Chass, ” Squaxin Island Tribe Museum, Library & Research Center, 2018, pg. 14.

For more information see:
https://caseagrant.ucsd.edu/seafood-profiles/olympia-oyster
https://m.olympiawa.gov/city-services/parks/percival-landing/olympia-oyster.aspx
http://olympiawa.gov/~/media/Files/CPD/Hist-Preservation/Walking-Tours/Oyster-History-Tour.pdf?la=en
De Danaan, Llyn. Tideland Tales: Drama and Death on Oyster Bay

Firehouse Bay 3, Window #15

In the words of the artist: "In 1986 I came to Olympia and went school at TESC. I’d sail on the school’s boat Seawulff every week. There were thousands of birds in the winter. You could hear the Western Grebes calling there were so many. I made this picture the winter that I was happy to see six Western Grebes. I was happy because I only saw one the year before. How can we know what we are missing if we never saw it in the first place?”

Nikki McClure lives in Olympia where she swims in the Salish Sea and picks berries all summer. 
https://nikkimcclure.com/

Firehouse Bay 3, Window #16

This Fish Gill design basket is constructed out of sweet grass which grows along the marine waters. Sweet grass is very durable and easy to clean.

For more about the Squaxin Island Tribe see:
https://squaxinisland.org/

For more about the Squaxin Island basketry see:
Carriere, Ed, Dale R. Croes, et. al,  Re-awakening Ancient Salish Sea Basketry : Fifty years of Basketry Studies in Culture and Science. Amazon Digital Services, Inc.: San Bernardino, CA, 2019.

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