PORT TOWNSEND — For an unprecedented second straight year, the Jefferson County Courthouse has been named to the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation’s most endangered historic properties list.
The Boy Scout House at Cosgrove and Quincy streets is also on the list.
“We are pleased that they chose us,” said County Administrator David Goldsmith of the courthouse’s listing on Friday.
“We asked not to be taken off the list because we think it will help us obtain funding.”
Between $3.5 million and $5 million is needed to retrofit the clock tower that sits atop of the 124-foot building at 1820 Jefferson St. that was first occupied in 1892 after construction started in 1890.
Engineers say the clock tower, which houses the 3,500-pound bell that rings hourly and four 9-foot-diameter clock faces, could topple in an earthquake or sustained winds of 80 mph.
County officials have a warning system that is put into action when winds top 50 mph because of the danger of falling objects.
In addition to the clock tower retrofitting costs, an additional $15 million to $25 million will be needed for renovating the courthouse, according to Goldsmith.
The Scout House, which is currently under the private ownership of Vern Garrison who bought it from the Chief Seattle Boy Scout Council, made the list for the first time.
