PORT TOWNSEND — With the final layer of asphalt laid on Water Street on Wednesday and the street scheduled to reopen to traffic Friday, plans are in the works for events over the next two months to commemorate the new Civic District.
“There is a recognition by the city [of Port Townsend] that these renovations have taken a very long time, so these events are an offering to the public,” said Teresa Verraes, Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce executive director.
“They will really bring that end of town into focus.”
The downtown redevelopment project includes the repaving of Water and Madison streets, the construction of a new Pope Marine Park and the $1.17 million renovation of the old police station into a visitor center.
After Water Street is reopened — in a project that included replacing a 100-year-old waterline — the next step will be the paving of both sides of Madison Street, scheduled for completion April 15.
Also to be finished April 15 is the $1.2 million paving and landscaping of Pope Marine Park, which will feature a playground and a giant toy.
Then, a $70,000, 8-foot-tall bronze sculpture, “Salish Sea Circle,” by artist Gerard Tsutakawa will be installed at the corner of Water and Madison streets.
The Cotton Building, the former police station at 607 Water St., will reopen as a gallery that will be available for public gatherings and exhibits. It also will supply clean public bathrooms.
Eventually, the Tidal Clock will become an amphitheater — work is to begin in July — and the Wave Gallery will be reopened after a $530,412 upgrade, allowing people to walk out for a view of the bay.
The Tidal Clock, created in 1987, was intended to fill with water and marine life as the tide changed. It never worked as envisioned. Instead, it collected debris.
The new features will be anchored by the Northwest Maritime Center and the Jefferson County Historical Society, which are both established tourist attractions.
Scheduled events include:
■ Main Street’s Downtown Open/Available Space Tour from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. April 29, when the public can tour all the properties for sale or lease in the downtown area.
The tour will begin at the Mount Baker Block Building, 213 Taylor St.
■ Dedication of the newly remodeled Cotton Building at 1 p.m. April 30.
Following the dedication, the Port Townsend Arts Commission will open a photo exhibit chronicling the construction of “Salish Sea Circle,” including a panel that will discuss the role of public art in communities.
■ The unveiling of The Three Otters at the Northwest Maritime Center at 12 p.m. May 7 at the Northwest Maritime Center, 431 Water St.
The 30-inch-tall bronze sculpture is by renowned Northwest sculptor and Whidbey Island resident Georgia Gerber, creator of the bronze pig, Rachael, at Pike Place Market.
■ Dedication of the “Salish Sea Circle” and Community Plaza/Pope Marine Park at 1 p.m. May 14.
A professional photographer will be on-hand to snap pictures of families with the Salish Sea Circle and will make these photos available for purchase.
“Downtown is going to be beautiful after this,” Verraes said.
“Everyone is going to want to be down there.”
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
