PORT ANGELES — The new historic district on Lincoln Street has gone national.
When the state-recognized historic district is dedicated Saturday — with a band, parade, portrayals of historic figures, vintage cars and an ice-cream social — celebrants also can cheer the news of federal recognition.
Cherie Kidd, a City Council member who spearheaded the effort to create the state-recognized district and is organizing the dedication, said she has received notice that the district of three buildings will be added to the National Register of Historic Places.
“We have so much to celebrate!” said an ecstatic Kidd.
Dedication at noon
The Saturday dedication will start at noon followed by a parade of vintage cars, including an old fire truck, and the Port Angeles High School marching band at 1 p.m.
The buildings — the Clallam County Courthouse, the Museum at the Carnegie and between them at 215 S. Lincoln St., the 1930s-era building that once served as the city’s fire hall, jail and council chambers — will be open to the public until 4 p.m., with some tours provided.
A free ice-cream social will be held at the 215 S. Lincoln building, which in recent years has been the home to two restaurants.
U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks, who represents the 6th Congressional District that includes Clallam and Jefferson counties, is expected to attend the noon dedication.
Robert Sommers, depicting President Teddy Roosevelt, will read a proclamation.
Two legends from the Port Angeles of the 1920s-1930s — Fire Chief Clay Wolverton (played by current Fire Chief Dan McKeen) and community activist Jessie Webster (played by Clallam County Historical Society Director Kathy Monds) will address the crowd from the courthouse steps.
Webster — a member of the family that published the Port Angeles Evening News, predecessor to today’s Peninsula Daily News — led the effort to establish the town’s first parks and its first library, which is now the museum.
They will be joined by Kidd; Mike Doherty, one of the three Clallam County commissioners; and Port Angeles Mayor Dan Di Guilio.
The new national designation will allow the city to seek federal grant funding to preserve the buildings.
The district now can receive state grant funding since the state Advisory Council on Historic Preservation approved its formation in March.
Kidd said any money received would be particularly useful for repairs to the vacant 215 S. Lincoln building that was on the city’s surplus list until the district was formed.
“It literally became our civic center, the heart of our city,” she said.
A study is being done to see how much repairs of the structure will cost. The city is paying $25,000 for the study, while the county pitched in $15,000.
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Reporter Tom Callis can be reached at 360-417-3532; tom.callis@peninsuladailynews.com.
