Washington State Capitol

The Washington State Capitol or Legislative Building in Olympia is the home of the government of the state of Washington. It contains chambers for the Washington State Legislature and offices for the governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state and treasurer and is part of a campus consisting of several buildings. Buildings for the Washington Supreme Court, executive agencies and the Washington Governor's Mansion are part of the capitol campus.HistoryAfter Olympia became capital city of the Washington Territory in 1853, the city's founder, Edmund Sylvester, gave the legislature 12acres of land upon which to build the capitol, located on a hill overlooking what is now known as Capitol Lake. A two-story wood-frame building was constructed on the site, where the legislature met starting in 1854. When President Benjamin Harrison approved Washington's state constitution in 1889, he donated 132000acres of federal lands to the state with the stipulation that income from the lands was to be used solely for construction of the state capitol.