City Hall Takes On the Awnings of Main Street
Olympia's city attorney confirms the council has the power to remove awnings and posts from private property along Main Street, clearing the way for a downtown cleanup.
The question as to the authority of the city council to remove awnings from in front of private property was referred at the last meeting of the council to the city attorney for an opinion. He reported last night that they had such power, and all such obstructions from Main Street in the shape of awnings and posts will now be cleared.
“All such obstructions from Main Street in the shape of awnings and posts will now be cleared.”
Then as now, downtown Olympia’s sidewalks were a contested space between public access and private storefronts. The council’s assertion of authority over awnings and posts is an early version of the sidewalk and right-of-way fights that still surface in local government.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.