Joel Pritchard State Library

WHEREAS, The Washington State Library Building was completed in 1
1958 and has stood for over 60 years as an outstanding example of 2
Paul Thiry's Pacific Northwest modernism style of architecture; and3
WHEREAS, The Washington State Library Building was renamed the 4
Joel Pritchard State Library in 1997 to honor the extraordinary 5
public service and legacy of Lieutenant Governor Joel Pritchard; and6
WHEREAS, This building served faithfully for many years as the 7
state's library facility before coming into use by the legislature as 8
an office building for more than 20 years; and 9
WHEREAS, The legislature has commissioned an expansion and 10
restoration of this building in a manner that honors its modernist 11
spirit while enhancing its utility to the capitol campus; and12
WHEREAS, The legislature recognizes that continuing to refer to 13
this facility as a library building may cause confusion to campus 14
visitors; and 15
WHEREAS, The legislature wish to affirm its admiration and 16
respect for the profound legacy of Lieutenant Governor Joel 17
Pritchard, who fostered in the evergreen state a commitment to 18
literacy, an enduring respect for bipartisanship, and a love of 19
pickleball; and 20
WHEREAS, Pursuant to RCW 43.34.090, the legislature is vested 21
with the authority to approve names for new or existing buildings on 22
the capitol campus based on recommendations from the state capitol 23
H-0548.1
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 4403
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2025 Regular Session
By Representatives Tharinger, Steele, McClintock, Abbarno, Waters,
Leavitt, Ormsby, and Kloba
Read first time 01/27/25. Referred to Committee on State Government
& Tribal Relations.
p. 1 HCR 4403
committee and the department of enterprise services, with the advice 1
of the capitol campus design advisory committee and subject to 2
specific criteria; 3
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, By the House of Representatives 4
of the state of Washington, the Senate concurring, that the expanded 5
and rehabilitated Joel Pritchard State Library be renamed as the 6
"Joel Pritchard Building"; and 7
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the department of enterprise 8
services affix the name "Joel Pritchard Building" to this state 9
office building located at 415 15th Avenue Southwest in Olympia, 10
Washington; and 11
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be 12
forwarded to the Honorable Robert Ferguson, Governor of the State of 13
Washington and to the Director of the Department of Enterprise 14
Services. 15
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p. 2 HCR 4403