Olympia City Hall

Olympia city officials to be updated on Armory creative campus business plan

The National Guard Armory, located on Eastside Street in Olympia, will soon be vacant after the National Guard moves into a new building. The 1930s-era art deco building could be used for arts and culture programs after the move.

Danny Stusser of JOLT

Posted Tuesday, August 25, 2020 12:40 am

By Madeline Shannon of JOLT

OLYMPIA –– Members of the city’s general government committee are scheduled to receive an update on planned uses for the National Guard Armory in Olympia, which is set to be vacated early next year after the National Guard moves to a new building next February.

The current building, a 50,000-square-foot art deco-style building constructed by architect Joseph Wohleb in 1939, will be completely vacant by July 2021, and city officials are excited by the opportunity to utilize the building for other uses. According to a presentation scheduled for the Aug. 26 general government committee meeting, the City of Olympia was awarded one of the first certified Creative District designations in the country, and with the close proximity of the Armory to the newly-established creative district, city officials believe the building can be used to foster innovation and creativity to spur economic and cultural growth in Olympia.

One of the proposed uses could see the armory turned into an arts center, which the Olympia Arts Commission identified as a need for the community in 1989. The Eastside neighborhood, located close to the armory, has also eyed the armory as a potential site for a community center, and other groups in the community believe it could be an ideal place to support and foster arts and culture programs.

A number of grants were identified in documents related to the armory project that could help with transforming the building to meet the community’s cultural and artistic needs. A grant up to $2 million from Washington State Building for the Arts could cover some of those costs, as well as a grant up to $150,000 from the National Endowment for the Arts, among other funding sources.

The General Government Committee virtual meeting is scheduled for Aug. 26 at 5 p.m. To register to attend the meeting or to find out more about proposed uses for the National Guard Armory, visit the city’s meetings calendar page and click on the Aug. 26 meeting agenda.