PORT TOWNSEND — The historic Bartlett-Cotton Building’s new life as a visitor center and a place for community gatherings and public art displays began Saturday with a dedication ceremony that drew about 35 people.
“This is a great space,” said Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Teresa Verraes.
“It’s a wonderful place for us to meet our families and neighbors to enjoy public art.”
The restoration of the 1888 building downtown at 607 Water St. was part of a $5.1 million refurbishment of the Civic District — the area between Monroe and Madison streets in downtown Port Townsend.
“It took a whole lot of people to make this happen,” said Mayor Michelle Sandoval as she presided over the short ceremony that preceded a panel discussion about art in public places.
Sandoval acknowledged City Manager David Timmons, Planning Director Rick Sepler, Public Works Director Ken Clow and project manager Tom Miller for their roles in the building’s renovation.
Among those attending was Dorothy Cotton, whose family members were the most recent private owners of the building.
Cotton said she was honored that her family name was being preserved and glad the space was being used to promote art.
The one-story brick building was built as a three-story structure in 1888, said Bill Tennent, Jefferson County Historical Society executive director.
It was a popular resort that contained a saloon, wine parlor and a club room.
At various times since, it has been a hardware store, bowling alley and mortuary.
In 1955, the Cotton family removed the top two stories after a wind storm damaged them.
From 1975 to 2009, the structure housed the Port Townsend Police Department, which has moved to Mountain View Commons.
The city now will rent the space for various functions and display rotating art exhibitions.
“We had an old building here, but we have preserved it in a way that we can use it for community programs,” Timmons said.
Timmons said the path to preservation had several obstacles, including the removal of five fuel tanks and the eradication of lead paint and mold.
The project cost $1,415,000. The work was funded by a Federal Emergency Management Agency Hazard Mitigation Grant and a 2008 city bond.
The current exhibition in the building explores the development of Gerard Tsutakawa’s “Salish Sea Circle,” which will be installed on the corner of Water and Madison streets and dedicated Saturday, May 14.
Another project in the sprucing-up of the Civic District, the $70,000 bronze statue was funded through the city’s One Percent for Arts Program, which allocates 1 percent of the capitalized costs of eligible public construction projects for public art, and the city bond.
Pope Marine Park in the Civic District also was renovated, with $224,000 from the city bond, and Madison Street improvements stretched from Memorial Field to the Pope Marine Building at 100 Madison St. — a $678,000 project funded by a Public Works Board Small Communities in Rural Counties grant and the 2008 city bond.
The $2 million Water Street streetscape project placed overhead utilities underground and installed a stormwater pipe with grant funding from the state departments of Transportation and Ecology, the Jefferson County Public Infrastructure Program and the city bond.
Also as part of the downtown work, the Wave Viewing Gallery’s damaged pilings were replaced in a $758,000 project funded by an Aquatic Lands Enhancement Account grant and the city bond.
Still to come this summer is the retrofitting of the Wave Viewing Gallery for handicapped access and the conversion of the Tidal Clock into an amphitheater.
Today, a variety of children’s art activities are planned from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. in the Pope Marine Building at Water and Madison streets during Main Street’s Art Wave, and the Jefferson County Historical Society will hold its annual Founders’ Day celebration at 1 p.m. in City Council chambers, 540 Water St.
Founders’ Day will be followed by a reception in the Cotton Building that will feature desserts prepared from recipes from the newly published Rothschild House Dessert Cookbook.
These two events are free but have limited seating and will require reservations, available by phoning 360-385-1003.
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.