Olympia: Waterfront, Market and Architectural History

Three points of interest offer different perspectives: Percival Landing waterfront park, the Olympia Farmers Market downtown, and the Bigelow House. Together, they take you from a waterfront landscape to a market with more than 120 vendors and a historic house built by 1860. They offer three distinct, specific ways to experience Olympia.

Percival Landing: Waterfront Park and Boardwalk

Percival Landing is a 3.38-acre waterfront park in downtown Olympia. Its 0.9-mile boardwalk runs along the eastern shore of West Bay, from the Fourth Avenue Bridge to Thurston Avenue. The park area and boardwalk length refer to different things: the first figure describes the park, the second the boardwalk. The endpoints and shoreline location describe the route more specifically than the length alone, helping you understand the waterfront section’s location and extent. The name also has a maritime history: Percival Landing was named after an old commercial steamboat wharf that was a well-known maritime landmark in the Pacific Northwest. The park’s name thus connects today’s waterfront landscape with an earlier maritime reference.

The Olympia Farmers Market Downtown

The Olympia Farmers Market has more than 120 vendors; its current location has been downtown Olympia since 1996. The number of vendors conveys the market’s scale, while its location history speaks to its place in today’s city center. Together, the number and date offer two different points of reference: one conveys the market’s size, the other its current location and historical context. If market life is an important part of your trip, this is more than just a market name—it is a clearly defined downtown attraction. This makes the market a different kind of city attraction from Percival Landing: here, vendor numbers and a downtown location guide you, while there, it is the route along the water.

The Bigelow House and Olympia’s Architectural History

The Daniel and Ann Elizabeth Bigelow House is among Olympia’s oldest documented houses still standing and was built by 1860. Today it is known as the Bigelow House Museum. Its age and survival make this single building a point of reference for Olympia’s older architecture. This sets it apart from both the waterfront park, with its acreage and boardwalk, and the market, whose vendor numbers and downtown location offer a different kind of orientation. If you’re interested in historic architecture, the combination of an early construction date and a house that still stands gives you a specific reason to include this city attraction in your plans.

Which focus suits your trip?

The three attractions differ in how they help you find your bearings: Percival Landing combines a stated park area with a precisely located boardwalk; the Farmers Market is defined by its vendor numbers and current downtown location; and the Bigelow House draws attention to a single building and its construction date.

Discover more destinations: Lacey, Tumwater, Rainier.

For the broader travel overview: Thurston County.