Before the Temple of Justice building existed, the Territorial Supreme Court and Washington Supreme Court convened at several locations in Olympia.
Bird's eye view of the city of Olympia, East Olympia and Tumwater: Puget Sound, Washington Territory, 1879.
Tacoma Hall (marked below as “15″ in a portion of the above map) was the first meeting site of both the Territorial Supreme Court and the Washington Supreme Court. The building was known by many names over the course of its life: Olympia Building, Tacoma Hall, Tacoma Lodge, and Knights of the Good Templars Hall. More information about this and other historic sites is available at http://sos.wa.gov.
Sketch of Tacoma Hall taken from map, circa 1879. The building, now gone, was located on the southwest corner of Fourth and Columbia Streets.
The Tacoma Hall housed the Supreme Court from 1890 to 1891. (Image from the Collections of the Washington State Archives, Susan Parish Collection)
In 1891, the Supreme Court moved its offices to Talcott’s Variety Store.
Talcott's Variety Store (Image from the Collections of the Washington State Archives, Susan Parish Collection)
Olympia’s Kneeland Building, or McKenny Block, housed the Supreme Court at the turn of the century.
Kneeland Building (Image from the Collections of the Washington State Archives, Susan Parish Collection)
Kneeland Building Clerk's Office, c. 1900. Left to right: Mr. Crandall, bailiff; C.S. Reinhart, clerk from March 4, 1891 to 1934; Marion Patton, stenographer (Image from the Collections of the Washington State Archives, Susan Parish Collection)
In 1911, a nation-wide competition was held to design a Capitol Campus, including the Temple of Justice.
Competition Booklet (From the Collections of the Washington State Archives)
On August 4, 1911, Governor Hay sent a telegram to architects Walter Wilder and Harry White, the winners of the competition. Their design was greatly enhanced by landscape by the legendary Olmsted Brothers.
Telegram to Wilder and White (From the Collections of the Washington State Archives)
Walter Wilder, Architect (From the Collections of the Washington State Archives)
Harry White, Architect (From the Collections of the Washington State Archives)
Construction on the first building of the group, the Temple of Justice, began in 1912.
Wilder & White Plan (From the Collections of the Washington State Archives)
Temple Construction (From the Collections of the Washington State Archives)
Temple in Brick (From the Collections of the Washington State Archives)
Sandstone for the Temple of Justice came from the Wilkeson Quarry. The building was completed in 1920.
Temple of Justice Sandstone (From the Collections of the Washington State Archives)
Temple of Justice in 1921, with Columns and Sandstone Facing (From the Collections of the Washington State Archives)