The Davidson Building (1889) — Ellensburg’s landmark structure. You can click on the picture to see details of the witch’s hat tower.

Historic Downtown Ellensburg — Six Brick Blocks

Ellensburg’s was quite a surprise. Although it is home to  Washington’s oldest (1923) and largest rodeo, it isn’t particularly Western in appearance. It is instead, a quiet college town with a collection of Victorian era commercial buildings that is said to be one of the finest in the state. It was hard to believe that these beautiful buildings were reconstructed within 8 months of a fire that destroyed the downtown in 1889. Ellensburg is definitely made for a leisurely stroll since its city center is filled not only with ornate buildings but with vintage signs, sculptures, museums and restaurants.

Ellensburg Bull — This humorous bronze statue sits on a bench in the center of town. Funded by donations from more than 200 residents, we found it to be not only charming, but also vaguely humanized. Its anatomical completeness makes the strategically placed Stetson hat a welcome touch of modesty. The bull is said to have blue balls ... but Danny didn’t crawl around for a peek to verify this rumor.

The Clymer Museum honors John Ford Clymer, Ellensburg's most famous native son. When we viewed his paintings of fur trappers, Indians and western landscape, we sensed an air of familiarity. We then realized how much Clymer’s art had shaped the images we held of the Old West.

Clymer loved to hunt and fish around the Ellensburg area ... and many local scenes appear in the illustrations and more than 80 covers he produced for Field and Stream and the Saturday Evening Post. It was interesting to view his original rough sketches next to the finished product.

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