PORT TOWNSEND — All of the chain-link fences will be removed, creating an open space from the Cotton Building to the Northwest Maritime Center at 431 Water St., and the celebration of a newly configured Civic District will begin this weekend.
A dedication ceremony of a restored historic building will be the “main event” of activities marking the end of a long process in Port Townsend.
Construction began last summer on a $5.1 million project in the area between Monroe and Madison streets, which contains City Hall, the Jefferson County Historical Society, the Marvin G. Shields American Legion Post 26 hall and Memorial Field.
The dedication ceremony for the restored Bartlett-Cotton Building at 607 Water St., which was built in 1888, will be at 1 p.m. Saturday.
The Cotton Building was formerly the Port Townsend Police Station and now is a visitor center.
After the dedication, the Port Townsend Arts Commission will host a photo exhibit at the Cotton Building that chronicles the extensive construction of Gerard Tsutakawa’s sculpture.
A panel discussion on the role of public art in communities will begin at 1:30 p.m.
Today, Main Street’s Downtown Open/Available Space Tour will be from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Participants will check in on the street level of the Mount Baker Block Building, 213 Taylor St., to pick up the materials needed for the free, self-guided tour of downtown properties available for sale or rent.
On Sunday, a variety of children’s art activities will occur in the Pope Marine Building from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. during Main Street’s Art Wave.
Also Sunday, the Jefferson County Historical Society will hold its annual Founders’ Day celebration at 1 p.m. in City Council chambers, 540 Water St.
Renovations provided a seismic retrofit and cleanup of underground storage tanks at the Cotton Building, while landscaping Pope Marine Park and streetscaping both Water and Madison streets.
Still to come is the installation and dedication of a bronze sculpture by Tsutakawa, “Salish Sea Circle,” at the intersection of Madison and Water streets. The dedication is set Saturday, May 14.
A play structure also will be installed in Pope Marine Park.
After July 17 — the closure of the state-mandated “fish window,” when work is prohibited in order to accommodate salmon mating season — the Wave Viewing Gallery will be retrofitted for handicapped access, and the Tidal Clock will be converted to an amphitheater.
