PORT ANGELES — Last week’s removal of about a dozen aging or diseased trees is only the first step in a renovation of the exterior entrance to the Clallam County Historical Society’s administrative offices in the old Lincoln School site.
New doors, an artfully designed gate and the pruning of heritage elms to encourage growth into a wide green canopy also are in the works at 933 W. Ninth St., said Kathy Monds, historical society executive director.
“We’re really excited about the project,” which has been budgeted $30,000, Monds said.
“This really will enhance the front entrance.”
Most of the trees removed last week were black locusts, Monds said.
Many were diseased, according to arborist Conor Haggerty’s survey, Monds said. Others on the south side of the building were considered “hazard trees” because of rot or age.
“We had a branch fall last year and damage a building,” Monds said.
The trees could be a hazard for people who park in the area or walk into the building, she added.
Heritage elms
The removal of trees along Eighth Street will allow the heritage elms more light to grow once they are pruned, she said.
The pruning has been postponed until September, since the elms are beginning to bud now.
“They’re going to become the trees that people were hoping they’d be when they were planted,” Monds said, adding that the historical society lacks records on when the trees on the former campus were planted.
The new doors will be added this spring.
Replicas of the original doors — which are made of wood with “quite a bit of glass in them,” Monds said — were purchased several years ago with a donation from an anonymous donor, Monds said.
They were not installed because of a drainage problem and fears of vandalism.
A concrete pad in front of the door will be removed and the drainage problem fixed before the doors go up, Monds said.
Monds hopes vandalism will be discouraged by a metal gate designed by Bob Stokes and made by Gray Lucier, both of Port Angeles.
The gate incorporates the mascot for the old Lincoln School: the colts.
The third phase of the project will be the re-establishment of the rose arbor that graced the school for many years.
“Once we get the new doors up and the gate in and the new arbors built, we will have a nice view of the school,” Monds said.
The rose arbor work is last on the list, Monds said.
“We had hoped to do metal arbors, but the cost estimate was a lot higher than expected,” she said, so now the group is checking into the cost of wooden structures.
“Then, we’ll make a decision.”
Funds in use now were gleaned from last year’s garage sale, an annual fall event and the major fundraiser for the group.
“The more funds we can raise, the more we can start doing,” Monds said.
Lincoln School, built in 1916, was a grade school until it was closed in 1978. It was vacant and destined to be razed when purchased by the Clallam County Historical Society in 1991.
It since has had a seismic retrofit and new flooring.
For more information, phone the historical society office at 360-452-2662.
