Fire destroys Olympia’s historic Oyster House restaurant
Jul 19, 2013, 9:18 AM | Updated: 11:21 am
The Oyster House in Olympia, which the owners say is the oldest seafood restaurant in Washington, was destroyed by fire overnight.
“Definitely, a local landmark,” said deputy Olympia Fire Chief Greg Wright. The old building on 4th Avenue, near Percival Landing, burned down early Friday morning. Firefighters arriving shortly before 12:30 a.m. found smoke throughout the building, pouring out the front door and from the roof vents.
“We went defensive a little less than a half hour after arriving and spent the next couple of hours pouring water on it, trying to get the fire out,” said Wright. “We’re still finding hot spots as we do some demolition.”
The building is a total loss. Just some walls were still standing Friday morning.
“The upper portions of those masonry walls were not stable, so with the help of the Olympia building official, we decided to bring part of those walls down. That will have to be cleaned up and torn down before anything can be rebuilt,” explained Wright. He talked to the owners Friday morning.
“Obviously, they’re devastated, but they’re also committed to returning the building,” he said, “back to the place in Olympia that it had before.”
Firefighters think the flames started in the kitchen, but the exact cause of the fire is under investigation. One firefighter suffered a burn on his wrist and was treated at the scene.
The owner tells Wright he has operated the Oyster House for 17 years and that the building dates back to the 1920s, when it was an oyster shucking facility. It became a restaurant in the 1940s.
