George Washington Bust

Washington state is the only state named after a U.S. president. It is named in honor of George Washington. To reflect this, the Capitol Campus has two memorials dedicated to our country’s first president, one being this giant bronze George Washington Bust on the second floor of the Legislative Building, and the other being an American White Elm tree.

In 1984, the Mother Joseph Foundation donated the bust sculpted by Avard Tennyson Fairbanks to the state Legislature. Fairbanks also sculpted the Marcus Whitman Statue located just inside the north entrance of the Legislative Building.

Countless visitors—especially children on field trips—enjoyed rubbing George Washington’s nose for good luck. The state cleaned the bust and repaired damage to the nose in 2016, and touching the nose is no longer permitted.

On Oct. 5, 2025, an intruder broke into the Legislative Building and damaged areas of the building and its contents. The Washington bust was pushed off its pedestal and sustained damage: some cracks and chips to the bust and column, with surface damage and scuffs to the bronze, and chipped wood on the pedestal.

About the artist

Fairbanks was a 20th-century American sculptor who created over 100 public monuments and hundreds of artworks. He sculpted statues in Washington, D.C.; Denver, Colorado; Jordan River, Utah; Mexico City, Mexico; Seattle, Washington; and São Paulo, Brazil.