PORT TOWNSEND — A brief ceremony late Thursday afternoon will mark the Northwest Maritime Center’s opening of the Chandler Maritime Education Building to the public, about half of the $12.8 million center at the end of Water Street overlooking Point Hudson Marina.
A 15- to 20-minute presentation starts at 5 p.m. Thursday in the Compass Rose courtyard on the shoreline side of the center that is rich in woodwork and windows that allow in natural light.
“We will open the building for about an hour,” said center Executive Director Stan Cummings, adding: “We will try to make it dramatic.”
A number of dignitaries, including the regional congressional delegation and state lawmakers, has been invited to attend the opening ceremony.
The partial opening of the 11,000-square-foot building that features a boat shop and classrooms comes in time for the 33rd annual Wooden Boat Festival, scheduled Thursday through Sunday at Point Hudson Marina.
The center will be partially open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. during the festival. Regular business hours will be established after the event, Cummings said.
Boats will be worked on at the boat shop and displayed in and around the center.
The chandlery and conference space inside the Heritage Building half of the maritime center will open after Jan. 1, Cummings said.
Some in use now
Administrative office space is already partially in use on Heritage Building’s second floor.
The boathouse in the Heritage half was opened last week, and rowers ceremoniously carried rowing shells and other wooden boats into their new home that features showers and lockers for boaters.
The Chandler Building boat shop already smells of sawdust and paint, where floating works-in-progress can be seen through the tall wooden doors that open wide to easily move boats in and out of the building on the Water Street and Port Townsend Bay sides.
Contractor Primo Construction of Carlsborg has been putting finishing touches on parts of the building, which will be further refined until its full opening at the turn of the year.
The Heritage Building will beckon visitors off Water Street to come into a reception area with a gift shop, exhibits and a coffee shop with a picture window for a counter.
The Chandler Maritime Education Building will be where students learn everything from the fine craft of building wooden boats to shipping and military ship traffic upstairs in the ship bridge-like Pilot House, where radio equipment allows them to hail a captain on a big vessel at sea.
Both buildings will accessible from several points.
Adjacent to the boathouse is a shower area that will be open to the public during business hours and around the clock for maritime center members.
Those coming in from an early-morning row or a long day at sea will be able use the facility.
The upper-floor office space at the 16,000-square-foot Heritage Building will have “clear light” so little or no artificial lighting will be required, saving energy, according to Cummings.
The space will also house the Horace W. McCurdy Library, which will exhibit books on all things marine.
A deck connecting the two buildings is another showcase feature at the future maritime center.
The deck leads into a section of the Heritage Building that will house a conference room complete with a wet bar.
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Port Townsend-Jefferson County Editor Jeff Chew can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at jeff.chew@ peninsuladailynews.com.
