The very first Capital Lakefair was planned and executed in a little less than two months of serious planning.
Early in the summer of 1957, the Capital Lakefair Committee began meeting with the Olympia Retail Board. The two organizations met at the Hotel Governor, a smaller three story establishment above the then new Capitol Lake, where the Governor Hotel stands today. The board was a subdivision of the Chamber of Commerce that advocated specifically for retailers. At this point, before malls in Lacey and West Olympia were built, downtown Olympia had few competitors for retail dollars.
Many of the plans for the first year’s activities were focused on the lake itself. The construction of a park along the shores of Capitol Lake was still years away. Other than being dammed six years earlier, the shoreline of Capitol Lake looked very similar in 1957 to what it did before the lake was formed. Industrial and commercial businesses still hugged its shoreline. It wouldn’t be until 1963 that the city acquired property along the shore of the lake to build a Heritage and Marathon Parks.
In fact, it was likely the effort to organize the first Capital Lakefair that put focus on Capitol Lake as a possible venue for leisure. The Lakefair planners had in mind a series of outboard motorboat races and other water-based activities.
But, before boat races could happen, one of the first steps was to clean up the lake.
Pilings, logs and other debris had not been cleared in the years leading up to the lake’s construction and had started backing up in the dammed reservoir. It would have normally fallen to the state Capitol Committee to manage clean-up in the state-owned lake, but the committee’s funding was tied up in a previously allocated effort to build a new state library on the capitol campus. According to state law, the committee could not take up other efforts while the library was left undone.
So, to address the problem, a third organization, the Olympia Young Men’s Business Club, took up the banner of cleanup and worked with the state to lower the water levels. Then, just a couple of weeks before the launch of the inaugural Lakefair, using a large crane and other heavy equipment, the club began removing leftover debris from the lakebed. For years, the basin had been an industrial center, a log dump and a shantytown. Each of those uses left their mark with physical remnants still visible in 1957.
As plans for Lakefair became clearer, a new vision for the lake came into focus, too. Dr. Fred Peck of the Olympia Young Men’s Business Club was quoted in the Olympian:
“This Lakefair show is really just the beginning of what could be done at this lake of ours. Certainly, it isn’t too far-fetched to think that through similar community effort the lake could eventually be turned into a swimming and boating center second to none in this part of the country.”
The first ever Lakefair opened on Friday, August 2, 1957. The center of activity was the midway on 5th Avenue, between Sylvester and Simmons streets. Olympia Mayor Amanda Smith addressed the “surprisingly large crowd” that had gathered along the midway. From the Morning Olympian:
She referred to Capital’s views of the Olympics, Mt. Rainier and Puget Sound — and to cap them all, she said, is Capital Lake, where Olympians can have fun. She urged all the enjoy themselves and welcomed them to Lakefair.
While Friday night was a typically pleasant Olympia summer evening, the Saturday of the first Lakefair was a different story. The centerpiece of the second day was boat races on the lake itself, but enjoyment by spectators was marred by rain and fog throughout the day. Fortunately, Lakefair planners had blocked off one lane of the new Deschutes Parkway along the west side of the lake, allowing for nose-in parking. So, instead of leaving their cars behind and finding a seat along the shoreline, spectators stayed inside and watched from their vehicles.
At least according to the total number of newspaper pages dedicated to the first Lakefair, the most important aspect of the summer festival was the Lakefair Bazaar put on by downtown Olympia retailers. Of course, since the retail board was central to the funding and planning of the free event, there was a desire to draw in shoppers. No fewer than six pages of advertising was included in a single edition of the Olympian pointing out all the deals being offered by retailers during Lakefair.
As we celebrate Capital Lakefair’s 60th year as the centerpiece of summer in Olympia, we can look back and see how far the celebration, and our town, has truly come.
For full details on the 2017 festivities, visit Capital Lakefair’s webpage.
