PORT ANGELES — The next time you walk in downtown Port Angeles, look up.
There’s a whole other world on the second floor of many downtown buildings.
The secret world of the second floor will be revealed in a new, free tour organized by the Port Angeles Downtown Association, the “Second Story Story” tour, taking place from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday.
“Most people have no idea what’s behind these little doors,” City Council member Brad Collins said, referring to the entrances to the second floors.
Barbara Frederick, executive director of the downtown association, said the group wants to reveal that world and let people know of the opportunities that the second floors hold.
The tour will be of six buildings on First, Laurel and Oak streets.
Some of the second stories have been remodeled to look like modern office space, while others have maintained their early 20th century character.
Frozen in time
The K.O. Erickson Building, on the southeast corner of First and Laurel, adjacent to the downtown fountain, seems frozen in time.
There is a distinctive “old building” smell and the wooden stairs creak and groan with every step.
An Oriental-style runner on the stairs gives way to polished clear fir floors, a reminder of the glory days of logging on the Olympic Peninsula.
Upstairs, the United Way of Clallam County takes up the bulk of the office space.
Executive Director Jody Moss has one of the best office views you could ask for – looking down Laurel Street to the waterfront.
Moss said it is always entertaining to have a bird’s-eye view of the goings on downtown.
“The best days are when the Christmas tree goes up and Halloween,” she said.
The building is owned by the K.O. Erickson Trust, which offers office space at a reduced rent.
“We couldn’t afford this much space without it,” Moss said.
None of the buildings on the tour are handicapped-accessible; there are no elevators.
Moss said that United Way workers who meet with people who are not able to use the stairs must make appointments to get together elsewhere.
Still, it’s a small price to pay for affordable and atmospheric office space with a killer view.
W. Morse Building
Across the street, in what old-timers will recall was the Chronicle newspaper office, the North Olympic Land Trust has offices on the second floor of the W. Morse Building.
A renovation included painting the walls in soft earth tones and a triptych mural by Michael Anderson.
Greg Good, executive director of the land trust, said office workers enjoy being in the “heart of the downtown.”
“We see things on a daily basis that most people don’t get to see,” he said.
“It’s appropriate that an organization that preserves land has moved into a restored building,” Frederick said.
Good added that one of the goals of the land trust is to assist downtowns to remain vibrant so the land outside the city limits can be preserved for farmland.
“It speaks to our mission of creating a walkable community,” Good said.
While the second-story spaces, with their long flights of stairs, may not be suitable for businesses with a lot of foot traffic, they are ideal for businesses that involve planning or telecommuting.
But more than one downtown second-floor space also holds apartments with to-die-for views.
Apartments upstairs
Above the Country Aire, in the building known on the tour as the Piggly Wiggly Building, at 117 E. First St., Sandra Elmelund works and lives in a small studio.
Her hair studio, “On the Roof,” is actually in her studio apartment, with a deck overlooking the rooftops of Front Street and the harbor.
From her deck, Elmelund points out her favorite views, many of them unique to the second story.
“Look at those skylights,” she said, pointing to the Front Street building across the alley that houses Studio Bob on its second floor.
“I fell in love with those skylights.”
While not many people have taken advantage of it yet, Collins said the downtown is zoned for residential living, and it’s something he would like to see develop.
“More people living and working downtown make a more upscale, vibrant downtown,” he said.
Leading the tours Saturday will be Frederick and Collins, Jan Harbick and Richard Stephens.
Participants will meet tour guides at the Conrad Dyar Memorial Fountain at First and Laurel streets at 10 a.m. and divide into groups.
Each stop on the tour will take about 15 minutes.
Buildings on the tour are:
• Savings Bank Building (K.O. Erickson Building), 104 E. First St., built in 1927.
• W. Morse Building, 104 N. Laurel St., built in 1915.
• Aldwell Addition, 105 E. First St., above the Toggery, built in 1922.
• Piggly Wiggly Building, 117 E. First St., above the Country Aire, built in 1925.
• Oak Street Center, 107-09 N. Oak Street, next to First Federal.
• Annex Hotel, 233 W. First St., above the former Lyre’s Club, built in 1930.
For more information, visit http://portangelesdowntown.com.
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Features Editor Marcie Miller can be reached at 360-417-3550 or marcie.miller@peninsuladailynews.com.