Washington Secretary of State Kim Wyman is sounding the alarm, saying historical state records dating back generations are in jeopardy because they’re housed in a building that is falling apart.
More than 200 million historical documents are currently stored in an old nuclear fallout shelter. Wyman said the building, which has been over capacity since 2006, is leaky, doesn’t have proper fire suppression systems, and that the basement floods on rainy days.
Wyman is calling on the state Legislature to fund a new $108 million building in Tumwater to house the archives. She says many of the historic documents are priceless and irreplaceable.
“We're talking about the state's history being at risk, and we're talking about the state's constitution not being here for the next generation,” Wyman said Tuesday when she gave KING 5 a tour of the archive building.
During the tour, Wyman pointed out a room that holds books of old property and marriage records that had a bad leak. Some of the records date back to the mid-1800s.
“Our heating system ducts had water flowing through them, and it came from everywhere, but where you’re seeing those dots is where we had actual waterfalls coming down if you will,” Wyman said.
Wyman hopes public pressure will help encourage the legislature to take action and fund a new building for the historical records.