W. A. Ritchie papers, 1884-1900

Willis Alexander Ritchie (1864-1931) was the architect of many public buildings and courthouses throughout Washington State, most notably in the years between 1889 and 1895.

Ritchie began his architectural career in Lima, Ohio in 1883, before moving to Winfield, Kansas, in 1885. In Winfield, Ritchie was responsible for the design of commercial blocks, schools, and county courthouses and as a local superintendent during the construction of a federal building in Wichita, Kansas. Ritchie arrived in Seattle in July 1889, where he was selected as the architect for the King County Courthouse (1889-1891). Ritchie’s major work includes the Whatcom County Courthouse, Whatcom (1889-1891); Ellensburg School, Ellensburg (1890-91); the Washington and Lincoln Schools, Olympia (1890-1891), the Jefferson County Courthouse, Port Townsend (1890-1892); the Thurston County Courthouse (later the Washington State Capitol building), Olympia (1890-1892); and the Clark County Courthouse, Vancouver (1891-1892). Ritchie also made a winning proposal for the Washington State Building at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, but it was later rejected by the fair’s chief of construction.

Ritchie moved to Spokane in 1893, where he designed the Spokane County Courthouse (1893-1896). His later career focused primarily on single-family residential work.