About the Temple of Justice

View the Temple of Justice on the Capitol Campus Map.

The Temple of Justice is the first building constructed in the National Historical District. Its design is a major inspiration for the designs of the Insurance Building, the John L. O’Brien Building, and the John A. Cherberg Building.

The building, home to Washington’s Supreme Court, the State Law Library, and the Administrative Office of the Courts, is open to the public from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. You can visit the State Law Library to search its databases for a wide range of cases and law journals, browse the extensive book collection, and get help from expert staff. All visitors will undergo a security screening, which involves passing through metal detectors, emptying pockets into containers, and having bags visually inspected.

You can also watch the Supreme Court’s oral arguments and other hearings on TVW, Washington’s Public Affairs Network.

The Washington Law Library lobby, which has a dark green carpet and a brown wooden table in the middle of the room, with brown wooden bookshelves on both sides of the table. A large chandelier hangs above the front desk, where a person is talking to two clerks.
Washington State Law Library, 2024.

For years, the Temple of Justice’s interior needed upgrades to improve safety and comfort. Court officials and staff in some areas of the building had no hot water. Excessive temperature swings threatened historic library books. The state Supreme Court’s hearing room got so hot and stuffy that participants in hearings were known to pass out.

To fix these issues, in 2021, the Department of Enterprise Services (DES) began a two-year restoration of the building’s interior. The updates included replacing aged heating, ventilation, air conditioning systems, lighting, and plumbing systems.

The Temple of Justice reopened in October 2024. New temperature controls keep the Law Library’s historic documents, furnishings, and fixtures in good condition. Efficient lighting, water, and heating systems will save money and provide a healthy indoor environment for staff and visitors.

History

A black and white illustration of the Capitol Group from an aerial view. The drawing features the Temple of Justice and four office buildings circling the central Legislative Building.
Wilder and White's Master Plan illustration, 1912. The plan features the Temple of Justice and four office buildings circling the central Legislative Building. The plan proposed to move the Governor's Mansion (bottom right) to the northeast, overlooking Capitol Lake. Photo from Washington State Archives.

In 1901, the Washington State Supreme Court began occupying the third floor of the Thurston County Courthouse (now the Old Capitol Building). Overcrowding within the Thurston County Courthouse made it clear that the state government needed larger accommodations.

In February 1911, the State Legislature authorized the new state Capitol Campus. Soon after this announcement, officials determined the Temple of Justice would be the first structure built on the new campus.

The Temple of Justice likely received priority as the first building constructed because of severe overcrowding in the Old Capitol Building. The overcrowding was so problematic that in 1911, the State Legislature considered moving the State Supreme Court and Law Library to Seattle.

In April 1911, the State Capitol Commission adopted a plan for a design competition with two components: a “group plan” for the entire campus, and a design for the Temple of Justice. The Commission required the Temple of Justice to be big enough for the Supreme Court, the Attorney General’s office, and the State Law Library, thus relieving the congestion within the Old Capitol Building. The Commission’s proposed budget was $600,000.

A black and white illustration of the Temple of Justice, which follows a Classical architectural style with its large columns. The bottom of the illustration has the words "New Temple of Justice, Olympia, Wash. (To cost $600,000)" written on it.
Temple of Justice illustration, 1912. Photo from Washington State Archives.

The State Capitol Commission ultimately selected architects Walter R. Wilder and Harry K. White’s designs. Their designs laid out the framework for the original Capitol Campus buildings known as the Capitol Group. They placed the Temple of Justice parallel to and north of the Legislative Building, across an oval plaza. Two office buildings (now the John A. Cherberg Building and John L. O’Brien Building) framed a second plaza south of the Legislative Building. Wilder and White also placed an office building (now the Insurance Building) east of, and perpendicular to, the Legislative Building. They planned for another office building to mirror the Insurance Building on the west side of the Legislative Building, but it was never built.

The overall design of the Capitol Group, including the Temple, was in the classical revival architectural style. Wilder and White thought this style, based on Greek and Roman architectural traditions, was appropriate for the classically named City of Olympia and for the “Temple” of Justice.

In December 1911, White and John Charles Olmsted considered relocating the Temple of Justice to give the Legislative Building a clear view of Puget Sound. The Olmsted Brothers wanted to place the Temple of Justice south of the Legislative Building. However, the State Capitol Commission, committed to Wilder and White’s Master Plan, preferred the Temple’s original location north of the Legislative Building.

Due primarily to budgetary constraints, crews built the Temple of Justice in three stages:

  1. The foundation, brick walls, and roof were constructed, and the interior spaces were partially finished, allowing the tenants to move into the building.
  2. Several changes were made to the building’s design to reduce costs, and stone cladding was added to its exterior.
  3. Following the end of World War I, crews finished the interior spaces.

The official groundbreaking for the Temple was on March 16, 1912, with Supreme Court Justice R. O. Dunbar officiating. On April 30, 1912, the State Capitol Commission appointed H. L. Copeland as the supervising architect for Wilder and White.

By the end of 1912, the Commission, the Supreme Court Justices, the Clerk of the Court, and the Law Librarian discussed moving to the Temple of Justice. The Commission also granted Law Librarian C. Will Shaffer’s request to use the Temple of Justice for the 1913 Inaugural Ball.

On January 9, 1913, the Supreme Court and a part of the Attorney General’s office left the Old Capitol Building and moved into the partially built Temple of Justice. The Inaugural Ball took place on January 15, 1913.

In April 1913, the Commission reported to the Legislature that they needed an additional $539,000 to complete the Temple of Justice, not counting the sculptures, murals, and landscaping, which would cost another $90,000. In July of that year, the Commission directed Wilder and White to close all work under their contract and submit billings because the Commission could not proceed with the completion of the project.

Then, in late October, the Commission informed Wilder and White that their contract could be resumed, though it was unclear when. Despite this, some work on the Temple of Justice continued.

The Temple of Justice’s completion faced ongoing resistance from Governor Lister, who thought the group plan for the capitol was too grand. By 1915, Lister wanted to change the orientation of the Legislative Building to face the east and build another building to mirror the Temple. State officials waivered, but the architectural community opposed abandoning Wilder and White’s approved plan. After this standstill, a lack of funding and the United States’ entry into World War I further delayed work on the Temple of Justice.

In July 1917, Wilder and White proposed several cost-cutting measures to work around budget constraints, such as simplifying and omitting some features of the building. The architects also proposed several changes designed to adapt the building to the heavier Doric order, a Greek architectural style. The State Capitol Commission, knowing how influential the Temple of Justice is to the rest of the Capitol Group, understood that changing to the Doric order would also carry over to the rest of the buildings on Capitol Campus.

A black and white image of the front side of the Temple of Justice. The building stands alone on a plot of dirt and gravel.
Temple of Justice, 1921. Photo from Washington State Archives.

In December 1917, the Commission selected Puget Sound Bridge & Dredge of Seattle to clad the building with Wilkeson sandstone from the neighboring Pierce County for $245,800. Work was slower than expected, and in July 1918, Puget Sound Bridge & Dredge asked for an extension to finish the job. At the same time, the cost of the sandstone rose dramatically due to WWI-related increases in the cost of labor, materials, and transport. The original $165,000 contract for the cut stone ultimately totaled $438,000.

In July 1919, the Commission inscribed “Temple of Justice” into the stone above the building’s main entrance. Crews finished the exterior in September 1919.

In late 1919 and early 1920, contractors added fine marble finishes to the main lobby and other areas of the building. The marble was from Tokeen, Alaska and Prince of Wales Island, Alaska. After these additions, the Temple of Justice was finally complete.

The marble interior of the Temple of Justice's main lobby. Four square columns are decorated with classical style lanterns.
Temple of Justice main lobby, 2024.

Despite all the challenges, the Temple of Justice achieved what the State Capitol Committee, Wilder, and White hoped it would by setting the tone for the rest of the following Capitol Group buildings. The Temple of Justice’s impact on the National Historical District’s design resulted in its addition to the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in 1979.

In the 1980s, the Temple of Justice underwent renovations to prevent earthquakes from causing structural damage. In 2001, those renovations proved successful, as the building survived the Nisqually Earthquake.