John L. O'Brien Building

View the John L. O'Brien Building on the Capitol Campus Map.

The John L. O’Brien Building is the latest major office building built on Capitol Campus during the Great Depression. It is a primary contributing member of the National and Washington Heritage Registers of Historic Places.

This building completes Walter R. Wilder and Harry K. White’s Master Plan, which consists of six monumental buildings in the heart of Capitol Campus: the Temple of Justice, the Legislative Building, the Insurance Building, the John A. Cherberg Building, and the John L. O’Brien Building. This group of buildings is known as the Capitol Group.

Together, the John L. O’Brien and John A. Cherberg buildings frame the plaza just south of the Legislative Building, now home to the Capitol’s iconic Yoshino flowering cherry grove and Territorial Sundial.

Today, the John L. O’Brien Building is the primary office building for the state House of Representatives.

The Department of Enterprise Services (DES) plans to fix the building’s critical issues in 2026 as part of the Legislative Campus Modernization (LCM) Project.

History

Planning for the construction of the John L. O’Brien Building occurred in the 1930s, during the Great Depression. In 1937, as the Public Lands–Social Security Building (now the John A. Cherberg Building) neared completion, the State Capitol Committee voiced the need for another building to ease the cramped quarters shared by multiple state departments in the Highway Building (now the Irving R. Newhouse Building), the Old Capitol Building, and the Insurance Building.

The John L. O’Brien Building’s construction relied heavily on federal grants due to the amount of debt the State was in for the construction of the Legislative Building and Insurance Building. Prior to April 1, 1937, the State received Public Works Administration (PWA) funds for two previous projects: the John A. Cherberg Building and the granite base for the Winged Victory Monument. At this point, the State Capitol Committee considered applying for a third grant to fund the John L. O’Brien Building. On December 5, 1938, the PWA offered the State Capitol Committee a grant, and the committee accepted it two days later.

Architect Joseph Wohleb designed the John L. O’Brien Building. Referring to Wilder and White’s Master Plan, Wohleb and the State Capitol Committee had two sites for continuing to build out the Capitol Group: a companion site to the John A. Cherberg Building and a companion site to the Insurance Building.

The location of a companion building to the John A. Cherberg Building required the removal of the existing materials laboratory and greenhouse, and it featured a steep cliffside to the south and west of the site. On the other hand, the Governor’s Mansion occupied the companion site to the Insurance Building. The State Capitol Committee initially selected an alternate site for the John L. O’Brien Building that veered away from Wilder and White’s Master Plan. However, the State Supreme Court required the committee to follow the Master Plan.

Forced to pick one of the original options, the State Capitol Committee had to choose between a potentially hazardous steep embankment and the presence of the Governor’s Mansion. In the end, the committee chose a site next to the John A. Cherberg Building for the new office building location because it had a relatively flat landscape, it didn't require demolition and reconstruction of the Governor’s Mansion, and it would not create too much traffic around the Legislative Building.

After selecting the site, Wohleb and the State Capitol Committee realized they had to acquire the property just south of the site to allow construction vehicles to move in and out of the area and to make space for a new parking lot to accommodate the John L. O’Brien and John A. Cherberg buildings. This area would go on to become the site of the Joel M. Pritchard Building in the 1950s.

Excavation began November 21, 1938, nearly four months later than Wohleb’s intended August 1 start date. However, the excavation process itself presented many challenges. In December 1938, an estimated 6,000 cubic yards of material slid down the slope behind the building, trapping part of the excavator and forcing crews to divide their efforts between clearing debris from the slide and continuing the excavation. Then, in January 1939, heavy rains filled the partially excavated basement with water, forcing the project to pause for nearly a month.

Despite the constant stream of challenges, the John L. O’Brien Building was completed and ready for occupancy in June 1940. The total building cost was approximately $895,000.

Upon its completion, one project remained to complete Wilder and White’s Capitol Group: the companion to the Insurance Building. However, the plans for that building never came to fruition, as the Governor’s Mansion stands in its desired location.

The John L. O’Brien Building’s exterior detailing displays Wohleb’s inspiration from the classical design style used in Wilder and White’s prior Capitol Campus projects. Wohleb added his touch by using art deco detailing on the interior. At the time of the building’s construction, the art deco style was growing in popularity and represented a new twist on classical themes.

Compared with Wohleb’s work in the building’s immediate predecessor, the John A. Cherberg Building, the boldness of flourishes and extent of detailing at lobby ceilings, fountains, and walls in the John L. O’Brien Building convey his increased comfort with the art deco style conventions (particularly given the compressed timeline of the project’s design and construction).