The Olympia Armory and two Olympia parks have been formally renamed after notable community members.
Following a unanimous Olympia City Council vote on Tuesday, Jan. 27, the Olympia Armory is now Daley Arts Center; Yelm Highway Community Park is now Jolene Unsoeld Community Park; and Kaiser Woods Park is now Marj Yung Park.
The vote garnered applause from the Olympia City Council members and many community members who gave public comment Tuesday in support of renaming the parks.
“It’s a big deal. It’s a historic vote,” said Olympia Mayor Dontae Payne.
The City of Olympia Parks Recreation Advisory Committee (PRAC) began soliciting official names for the three park properties through Engage Olympia in October 2024.
They ultimately selected three names proposed by the Community Livability and Public Safety Committee to recommend to the Olympia City Council for approval.
The three chosen park names are all allowed under Olympia Municipal Code section that allows parks to be named after individuals who have contributed to outstanding civic service to the city or have been instrumental in acquiring or developing parks properties, and have been deceased for at least a year.
Daley Arts Center
The arts center formerly known as the Olympia Armory is a 43,000 square-foot facility that will be home to eight anchor partners.
“The Armory’s vision is to be a catalyst for creativity in Olympia, which inspires creative thinking, opportunities, community bonds and collaboration through the arts,” said Laura Keehan, director of parks planning and maintenance.
It is named after Bill Daley, who served as Olympia’s mayor in the 1980s and was key in assembling the city’s first arts commission.
“He was a strong advocate for an arts center overall, which is very fitting for him to be named after this,” Keehan said.
Daley is also remembered for helping transition the Olympia City Council to a seven-member council, and for promoting the Percival Landing farmer’s market and downtown revitalization.
“It was his vision and his political skills that helped revitalize downtown Olympia in the 80s,” said former Olympia mayor and city council member Holly Gadbaw.
“Our downtown and our neighborhoods are a tribute, really, to Bill and the council who had that vision, and also the ongoing leadership and public support of other councils over the last 40 years,” said retired planner and housing advocate Kathy McCormick.
Daley died in 2023 at the age of 80.
Friends of Daley described him Tuesday as a hard worker, a good friend and a lover of the arts.
“Art was fun. Art was what he loved. Politics is what he was challenged to do. And he made politics an art form,” said Dwayne Slate, a friend of Daley and former Olympia School Board member.
Jolene Unsoeld Community Park
Located on Yelm Highway, the Jolene Unsoeld Community Park is the first community park built in Olympia since the 1980s. Construction on a first phase of park improvements, including a full size soccer field, 13 pickleball courts, a soccer mini pitch, a large playground, basketball courts, a dog park and a satellite park maintenance facility, is expected to start this spring.
Unsoeld served two terms in the Washington State Legislature in the 1980s, where she successfully lobbied for a bill to create the Public Disclosure Act and helped establish the Washington State Public Disclosure Commission.
She later ran for Congress in 1988, becoming the third woman to represent Washington state in Washington D.C. As a representative for Washington’s third congressional district , she furthered environmental legislation and feminist causes.
“Some of us wondered if she ever slept, because it was not too uncommon to get a call at 2 or 3 o’clock in the morning from Jolene as she was working on her next project,” said former Washington state Sen. Sam Hunt.
Unsoeld died in 2021 at the age of 89.
The Remembering Jolene Unsoeld Steering Committee gathered 118 signatures ahead of Tuesday’s city council meeting to endorse naming a park after Unsoeld.
“She represented our area with great distinction as a state representative and a member of Congress, and she's very well remembered and appreciated for her accomplishments on parks and recreation, the environment, public disclosures,” said steering committee member Karen Fraser. “She always exemplified the highest standards of public service, a trailblazer for women and really all in public service. So it would be a great step forward to name this park after her.”
Marj Yung Park
Currently a series of hiking and mountain biking trails on 70 forested acres of Kaiser Woods in Southwest Olympia, Marj Yung Park will soon feature enhanced trails, a new five miles of hiking trail for all levels, a new access point off of Black Lake Boulevard, a parking area, a restroom and public art along the trails.
The park’s new namesake, Marjorie “Marj” Yung, was a Thurston County Commissioner in the 70s, where she helped establish the 911 central dispatch system and advocated for comprehensive planning and zoning in the county. She was the first woman to serve on the Thurston County Board of County Commissioners.
“Marj said she figured out that another part of having effective government was having skilled elected officials. That's why she ran for county commissioner. Not an easy endeavor, in the 1970s,” said friend Rita Robison.
Yung was also a member of the League of Women Voters, helped establish Burfoot Park, and she wrote and illustrated a booklet on the plants of Ken Lake, located near the park that now bears her name.
She died in 2016 at the age of 81.
