The Great Depression was a difficult time to start a business, but Tate Henry Rogers did it anyways. She opened a gift shop and tea room in her home in 1929 and when times got tough, she moved herself and the store into the new Governor Hotel on Capitol Way in Olympia.
The Port of Olympia was in its infancy in the late 1920s when it hosted the Olympia Maru, a Japanese freighter named in honor of the city. The ship’s visit was considered a civic festival.
“Captain America,” was shown in 1946 at Olympia’s Liberty Theater. This historic serial about “The Sentinel of Liberty” shows the changing history of theaters in the area.
Crowds thronged the roads as six state patrol motorcycle officers escorted a convoy into downtown Olympia. The athlete’s name was Gene Tunney and he was one of the most famous boxers in the United States at the time.