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Striking bird's eye view of the Olympia, Washington Territory, Territorial and future State Capital of Washington.
The view shows Olympia and the neighboring towns of Tumwater and East Olympia, and contiguous parts of Puget Sound. AAmong other noteworthy features is the lengthy railroad line, extending over water from Olympia to the next town to the left. The view was drawn by Eli S. Glover of Portland, Oregon. The artist depicts himself at the bottom left, sitting on a log and drawing at his easel, on a hillside high above Olympia. Despite the fact that the artist is drawing the view, the perspective is from high above him. There are 15 keyed references to notable landmarks, including government buildings, schools, religious institutions, and fraternal halls. Budd's Inlet is labeled on the right, with Tumwater on the left. The old Capitol building can be seen.
Eli Sheldon Glover (1844-1920) was one of the great viewmakers of the golden age of American bird's eye views. He began his career working for Albert Ruger in Ypsilanti, Michigan in 1866. He was primarily a sales agent for Ruger but probably also helped him in the actual production of city views. Two years later Glover went to Chicago to become a printer and publisher under his own name, but his Merchants Lithographing Company was shortlived; it was destroyed by the 1871 Chicago Fire after only three years of operation. The Great Fire caused Glover to look farther afield, and he began making views in Ontario and Kansas. Slowly he made his way west, producing Colorado views in 1873-'74. In 1874, while based in Salt Lake City he traveled the Rocky Mountains and produced views in Montana, Utah, and Wyoming. In 1876 and '77, the Glovers lived in Los Angeles and Eli produced a total of 16 views of California cities. In the last period of his active career, he focused on views in Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia. His second to last view was in Alabama, and his final view, in 1912 after a long hiatus, was Port Arthur, Texas.