The Olympia Museum
Half a century of collecting, preserving, and sharing our region’s story
A community-founded museum of art and history in Olympia, Washington — built on the belief that culture belongs to everyone.
Our Story
From a single donated collection
The Olympia Museum opened in 1971, when a small group of local collectors and historians pooled their holdings — regional paintings, pioneer-era photographs, and Coast Salish artifacts — and found them a home in a former downtown storefront.
Half a century later, that founding gift has grown into a collection of more than 9,000 works and objects — and a museum that welcomes tens of thousands of visitors, students, and families through its doors each year.
Our Mission
We collect, preserve, and share the art and history of the Pacific Northwest — so that every generation can see itself reflected, and imagine what comes next.
Our Home
A 1921 landmark, restored and reimagined
Since 1994 the museum has occupied the former Olympia Carnegie building — a marble-columned civic landmark whose grand staircase and arched windows are as much a part of the visit as the collections inside.
A careful restoration preserved the building’s coffered ceilings and brass railings while opening light-filled new galleries — joining a century of architecture to a living, working museum.
Leadership
The people who keep the doors open
Eleanor Whitaker
Executive Director
Twenty years in cultural nonprofit leadership. Joined the museum in 2018 from the Tacoma Art Museum.
Marcus Hale
Chief Curator
Has organized more than forty exhibitions on Northwest art and history over a fifteen-year tenure.
Ayana Caldwell
Director of Education
Designs the school programs that bring 10,000 K–12 students through the galleries each year.
Daniel Park
Director of Operations
Keeps the doors open and the exhibitions running. Former operations lead at the Bainbridge Island Museum of Art.
9,000+
Works & artifacts
50+
Years serving the community
75,000
Visitors each year
6,000
Members & counting