Centralia Things to Do

This historic house was completed in 1862, and is one of the oldest surviving houses in the region. In order to preserve the historic farmhouse, the city purchased it in 1921. It has a number of unusual and historic features for the era.

The house is open on an irregular basis. Check the city web site for a schedule of opening dates.

In 2011, the open dates are April 16, May 21, June 18, July 4, July 16, August 13, September 17, October 15, and later dates yet to be determined.

This schedule may be found on the city's web site by going to the Departments tab of the city web site, selection Parks and Recreation, and then selecting "Historic Parks Facilities" from the menu on the left side of the window.

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Scattered around the downtown area, there are a bit over twelve historic and historic themed murals that have been created, re-created, restored, or in a few cases still awaiting restoration. In some cases the murals are antique advertising, while others are commemorations of various types, or just decorations. These are scattered in many places, including the sides and entrances of various downtown buildings and inside Centralia College.

Indeed, Centralia College is the home of one of the more infamous murals. "Twelve Labors of Hercules" was originally commissioned to decorate the interior of the new Washington State Capitol Building, depicting several of the acts of Hercules in the ancient myth. Unfortunately, the killing of the Amazon queen Hippolyta was interpreted as glorifying rape, and thus after some considerable controversy the mural was removed. Centralia College offered their space for it. Artist Michael Spafford isn't pleased, saying the mural was intended for a particular place and should not have been moved to a place not intended for it.

The old Fox Movie Theatre near downtown features a wall of old movie advertising, sufficiently aged that it may very well be original advertising. (see photo 3)

Close to the train station there is a restored / reproduced mural that is advertising for the Centralia Hotel, which closed in 1960. (see photo 2)

Centralia Square, a structure on the south side of George Washington Park, has an eccentric mural that appears to commemorate hard work and labor that created the town. (see photo 1) It may be a comment of some sort on the part that the IWW may have played in the Centralia Massacre.

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Southeast of downtown Centralia, there is a small hill which has been set aside as a small wildlife preserve. The hill is heavily forested and thus the views are only brief glimpses through the trees - though some of the trees are broadleaf and will not be here in the winter months.

There are scattered small trails through the park, though some of them are fairly wild and it is difficult to tell which is officially a trail.