About the Irving R. Newhouse Building

View the Irving R. Newhouse Building on the Capitol Campus Map.

Completed in 2024, 90 years after the original, today's Irving R. Newhouse Building is the newest building on Capitol Campus. It is over 59,000 square feet with four stories and a basement. In contrast, the original had only two stories measuring 25,000 square feet.

A wide shot of the Irving R. Newhouse Building construction site, showing the building's steel framework surrounded by piles of gravel, heavy construction equipment, and metal fences.
Irving R. Newhouse Building Replacement Project construction site, 2023.

In May 2023, as part of the Legislative Campus Modernization (LCM) Project, the Department of Enterprise Services (DES) demolished the original Irv Irving R. Newhouse Building and nearby Capitol Press Corps Houses to make room for the new building.

The original Irving R. Newhouse Building operated beyond its useful life. It had significant health and safety hazards, obsolete building systems, and an overcrowded interior during Legislative Sessions.

The Irving R. Newhouse Building replacement features design elements and artwork that depict Washington State's timeless aesthetic and values. The new building complements the historic campus design while using modern techniques to meet the Senate's current and future needs and Capitol Campus' clean energy goals.

The Irving R. Newhouse Building is on track to receive at least a Silver Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating through key sustainability features, such as energy-efficient windows, well-insulated walls, natural ventilation, and more.

Additionally, the use of salvaged Douglas Fir wood and Wilkeson sandstone follows sustainable practices and pays homage to the original Irving R. Newhouse Building, uniting the past with the future.

History

Built in 1934, the original Irving R. Newhouse Building was the fourth major building completed on Capitol Campus, following the Temple of Justice, Insurance Building, and Legislative Building. Although it stands on West Capitol Campus with Walter R. Wilder and Harry K. White's Capitol group (the five buildings in their original plan), the Irving R. Newhouse Building is not part of the group.

The original Irving R. Newhouse Building emerged amidst the struggles of the Great Depression. After receiving significant budget cuts in the early 1930s, the Washington State Highway Department operated in storage rooms on the fourth floor of the Insurance Building. The spaces were too small, forcing the Highway Department to spread its employees across Capitol Campus.

In February 1934, the State Capitol Committee proposed the construction of a new building for the Highway Department. The state Legislature dedicated $40,000 to the construction of the new building with help from the Federal Civil Works Administration (CWA) and other funding sources. The Irving R. Newhouse Building was the first in a series of federally supported projects to provide suitable quarters for state government. The Irving R. Newhouse Building is unique, as it is the only West Capitol Campus building constructed using labor from the CWA, and it is the last outstanding project in the entire CWA program.

Olympia architect Joseph Wohleb designed the original Irving R. Newhouse Building. It was a successful project for Wohleb, as it led to his continued employment with the State Capitol Committee for designs that included two defining members of the Capitol group—the John A. Cherberg Building and the John L. O'Brien Building.

The original building's design showed Wohleb's distinctive style, which blends classical architectural elements inspired by the Capitol Group with art deco stylistic elements. Using art deco elements gave the original Irving R. Newhouse Building a unique presence on Capitol Campus. The original Irving R. Newhouse Building's overall design drew on influences from the Insurance, Temple of Justice and Legislative buildings. However, the building had similar elements to Wohleb's 1930 project, the Thurston County Courthouse (now known as the Capitol Court Building).

A black and white image of the original Irving R. Newhouse Building taken from across the street. Two gray cars are parked in front of the building, which is surrounded by small evergreen trees with three larger evergreen trees to its right.
The original Irving R. Newhouse Building (then known as the Highway Building), 1940. Photo from Washington State Archives.

Construction cost $171,000 and lasted just over four months, from February 20 to July 1, 1934. The Highway Department celebrated its new quarters with a grand opening on July 10, 1934.

Since its construction, the original building underwent three name changes and several occupancy shifts. The Highway Department occupied the building first. Stone carvers chiseled the department's name in the Wilkeson sandstone panels over the main north entrance. Due to this tenancy, the building's initial name was the Highway Building.

In the 1940s, the Department of Labor and Industries started working in the building. This occupancy change followed the Highway Department's transition to the newly completed John L. O'Brien Building. By the early 1950s, the building's name changed to the Labor and Industries Building. Between 1955 and 1956, Labor and Industries personnel moved out, making way for the Department of Institutions to move in. By the early 1960s, the lettering above the front entrance read "Institutions Building." From the 1960s and continuing through 1976, the Department of Social and Human Services occupied the majority of the offices.

In 1976, some Senate offices and the lieutenant governor temporarily moved into the building during structural repairs to the Legislative Building. From 1976 to 2023, the Senate occupied the entire building. In 1998, the state renamed the building in honor of former State Senator Irving R. Newhouse's outstanding public service. Senator Newhouse had an office on the building's second floor.