PORT TOWNSEND — The Jefferson County Historical Society is inaugurating a new theater gallery with a members-only reception on Sunday, showing off what will become the standard visitor’s introduction to the downtown museum.
The new gallery at 540 Water St., which features a 10-minute video titled “We Came With Dreams,” will be available for public viewing on Monday.
“There is not a lot of detail in the video,” said Bill Tennent, historical society executive director.
“It’s an enticement piece. We want to give people a feeling about what we have here and motivate them to learn more about our entire collection.”
The grand opening of the gallery will be during the Founders’ Day celebration, when the group holds it annual meeting.
The business part of the annual meeting will start at 4 p.m. in the Port Townsend City Council chambers.
Historic preservation awards will be presented.
The ribbon cutting for new gallery will be at 5 p.m., followed by the premier of the film.
Television, photos
The new gallery, which is in a 10-foot-by-12-foot room, features a 53-inch television for viewing the video.
The room’s walls contain several historical photographs along with six digital frames that display a rotating selection of images from the museum’s collection.
The film is divided into four sections, focusing on the four motivations that brought settlers to the area: Harvesting crops, building an empire, developing community and achieving freedom.
These four sections provide the basis for the proposed redesign of the museum, which Tennent said will cost about $1 million and take several years to achieve.
The 6000-square-foot museum occupies three floors, and served as Port Townsend’s justice center until various components were relocated.
Some city offices remain on the third floor and the council chamber has been in continuous use since 1892.
The court, jail, and firehouse have been converted into exhibits, attracting about 40,000 visitors a year.
Construction of the new room, as well as a design plan for future renovations, were funded by a $200,000 grant from the Washington State Heritage Project.
The design plan incorporates a mix of technology.
Use of technology
In the courtroom, Tennent plans to install a mural along three walls that tells the story of Jefferson County through its people, both real and in composites.
Monitors will be situated along the bottom allowing visitors to find out more about the individuals and the time, but it won’t be excessively flashy.
“We want to be a 21st century museum but we won’t be over the top.” Tennent said. “We are in a historical building, and will always be aware of that fact.”
Technology then, will be incorporated in a subtle way such as throwing silhouettes on the jail wall or incorporating sound into the setting.
Part of the update is to make the building accessible to the handicapped in all areas, providing a wheelchair ramp into the former fire station.
The plan is to build a winding ramp through a miniaturized representation of historical buildings, where children can climb into and stick their faces out the window.
Museum renovations will have to wait until the update of a new research center is built, which will cost about $1 million.
Tennent doesn’t know where the money will come from, but feels that grants and contributions will be available.
“Some people would rather contribute to either the research center or the museum so there is a different target,” he said.
“But if people want to move the museum renovation along, they can make a contribution and we can name a room after them.”
The museum is open daily from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Admission is $4 for adults and $1 for children 3 to 12 years old.
Admission is free for members of the historical society, and also is free on the first Saturday of every month for all Jefferson County residents.
For more information, phone 360-385-1003.
_________
Jefferson County reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
