The State Capitol in Olympia is one of Washington’s architectural treasures. While its soaring dome might steal most of the attention, the State Reception Room on the third floor looks like something straight out of a castle. The state’s formal receiving area for visiting dignitaries and heads of state, the elegant room retains most of its original 1920s design.
Designing the Washington State Reception Room
The room traces its origins to 1911, when two little-known New York City architects won a national design contest to design a new capitol. Walter Wilder and Harry White envisioned a complex of government buildings centered around a domed capitol building.
While construction on the Temple of Justice began in 1913 and the Insurance Building followed in 1921, designing the capitol itself proved much harder. The architects put together their first plan for the building’s interior in 1920—and on the third floor, in its current location, was the “State Reception Room.”
Construction on the capitol began in 1922 even as interior details were still being worked out. The architects paid special attention to the Reception Room. In a letter quoted in Norman J. Johnston’s “Washington’s Audacious State Capitol and Its Builders,” Wilder explained his reasoning. No ordinary marble would suffice. The Reception Room, he wrote, “is intended to be the most ornate in the building and a degree of figure and color in the marble is to be desired.” The late Johnston was a University of Washington professor and the son of Capitol construction supervisor Jay Johnston.
Belgian marble was chosen for the entryway but the room’s show-stopper is Bresche Violetta marble, also called “Italian Picture Book Marble.” With a cream background, the marble has dramatic red, lavender, and green veining. With a little imagination people have spotted many shapes in the marble. These include a rabbit, butterfly and even a portrait of Geroge Washington!
Quarried in Italy, this special stone was processed at the Vermont Marble Company’s plant in Tacoma, which handled all the marble for the building. Skilled marble setters were recruited from across the nation to install the large slabs of finished stone.
A herringbone teak floor and vaulted ceiling completed the room. Bordered by an ornate cornice, octagonal coffers hold large plaster rosettes, echoing ceilings throughout the building.
Furnishing Washington’s Capitol State Reception Room
With construction in progress, the state opened bids for furnishings. W. & J. Sloane of New York was chosen to create custom-made furniture in a formal and ceremonial style for the State Reception Room, befitting the space’s purpose.
Chairs and couches were originally upholstered with tapestries of Martha Washington (George’s wife) in her garden. In 1971 Olympia police recovered one of the room’s chairs in a downtown parking lot. An anonymous repentant thief had called them to confess he had taken it during the 1968 legislative session. The chair was undamaged.
The seven-foot-wide walnut and Circassian table was given by the architects to the state. It features intricate inlaid patterns.
A custom-made seamless carpet was commissioned from the Mohawk Company of New York. At 25 by 55 feet, it is the largest single-loom carpet in the world.
To cover the tall windows, the Seattle department store Frederick & Nelson created a set of heavy French velvet drapes with matching valences and silk cables. They are decorated with hand-embroidered Washington State seals in 24 carat gold thread. Marble plaques above the windows depict mythological figures.
Two waterfall chandeliers were ordered from Tiffany. Each weigh a ton and contain 10,000 Czechoslovakian crystal beads.
State Reception Room in Olympia Opens to the Public
The Reception Room opened to the public in 1928 when the capitol was finally completed. Concerns arose immediately because dampness in the new building started to damage the furnishings, raising woodgrains and popping joints. These issues, luckily, largely resolved themselves after the capitol became fully occupied and heated.
The room’s design attracted criticism, too. While most people liked it, others thought it was too much. Besides colorful marble, “Its furnishings are in red, green and gold—a dance of colors,” commented the Daily Olympian on March 29, 1928, “Some feeling has been aroused by this room, some women being inclined to protest that the colors confuse and clash. The architects claim, however, that blending will come with paintings, ceiling decorations, wall tapestries, etc.”
Washington State Reception Room Over Time
Planned murals were never created, however, and it took until 1985 for the room’s plaster columns and capitols to be painted.
Otherwise, the State Reception Room has largely remained unchanged since its 1928 completion. The chairs have been re-upholstered and new decorations have been added. These include a 1929 Washington State flag (now a replica) and a 42-star American flag. The Dr. Hans Moldenhauer piano came in the 1990s. Just outside the room is a bust of Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. Created by artist Jeff Day, it was donated by the Martin Luther King Junior Day committee in 1986.
The State Reception Room weathered three earthquakes over the decades with only minor damage. The room has seen its fair share of other disasters over the years as well. A skylight burst during a heavy snowstorm in 1969, damaging the central table. In 2025 a vandal seriously damaged the room’s furnishings.
Since 1928 the State Reception Room has welcomed countless guests from around the country and world. It has hosted events ranging from bill signing ceremonies and press briefings to concerts. The space is certainly worth visiting. Make sure a stop at the state’s “parlor” is on your next capitol tour!
