The Olympia Hotel Building

Introduction

Text-to-speech Audio

J. M. Duffy, who operated a saloon at 10 N. Wenatchee Avenue, opened the Olympia Hotel in a three-story building at 10 Palouse Street on October 1, 1908. The hotel had modern conveniences with steam heat. The rooms were furnished with brass beds and the best springs and mattresses. The building was fireproof and had convenient fire escapes. Each floor was equipped with fire hoses connected to water valves which could reach each room. The hotel also had an elevator and a safe with safety deposit boxes which required two keys to open. The hotel operated until 1977. The Four Seasons sporting goods occupied the space for many years. Now the main floor is occupied by the Gilded Lily.

Images

The Olympia Hotel building at the northwest corner of Palouse Street and North Wenatchee Avenue cira 1935. Facing Wenatchee Avenue are the following business: Pay Less Store, Andy's Hat Shop, Mirror Barber Shop & Beauty Parlor and a part of Pangborn's Jewelers.

A 1911 photo showing the Palouse Street entrance of the Gem Theater and Olympia Hotel.

Backstory and Context

Text-to-speech Audio

In the late 1890s this site held a number of small wooden buildings housing the Chelan Club, Hotel Howard, and Bowen & Bower. This grand three story brick hotel building was constructed in 1908 by J. M Duffy, who was the sales agent for Olympia Brewing Company and operated the popular Duffy's Saloon just up the street. The hotel was built with the most modern fire safety measures available at the time. The first floor held a cigar shop and the Gem Theater. The Gem Theater moved to the Griggs Building in 1912. On the second and third floors were at least 40 hotel rooms. An ornate bass relief "Olympia" sign may still be seen on the second story wall facing Palouse Street.

Duffy yielded the hotel management to A. Metcalf in 1911 but retained the cigar store. In the late 1930s the ground floor of the building housed a variety of businesses including a hat store, barber, jeweler and PayLess Drug. The hotel closed in 1969, and a limited remodel happened including removal of the original signature parapet which once capped the structure. In the 1960s the building housed Thrifty Drugs and later Four Seasons sporting goods followed by Athletic Supply. Current owners Marc and Kathy Ball operate The Gilded Lily Home on this site.

Sources

Polk Directories. Wenatchee, WA. 1907-2006.

Image Sources(Click to expand)

Wenatchee Valley Museum & Cultural Center Photography Collection # 000-87-67

Wenatchee Valley Museum & Cultural Center Photography Collection # 9-3-267