PORT TOWNSEND — The Depression was a dark time in American history. But a museum showcasing light fixtures from the Depression era provides a bright moment in Port Townsend history.
“This is great for the community,” Daphne Kilburn, a Victorian Festival volunteer, said during the opening of the Kelly Art Deco Light Museum in Port Townsend on Saturday evening.
Purportedly the only museum of its kind in the world, it showcases Vintage Hardware owner Ken Kelly’s 400-piece collection of light fixtures dating from 1928 to 1938.
Guests at Saturday’s opening were invited to wear ’30s era clothing, and were greeted by Kelly, who wore a black, pin-striped zoot suit.
Guests included Glenn Hughes, who wore a white dinner jacket, black pants and two-toned shoes. Nita Hughes wore a black dress with ribbon-lattice back and a black hat.
Bill Tennent, director of the Jefferson County Historical Museum, wore a black pin-striped coat and wide, geometric-patterned tie in red. Karen Gates Hildt wore a feathered hat and topped her vintage outfit with a wool coat trimmed with rows of mink on the sleeves and hem.