PORT TOWNSEND — Growing popularity and the May 1 Hood Canal Bridge construction closure have prompted the Northwest Maritime Center to schedule “public preview” tours of the Northwest Maritime Center, now under construction at the end of Water Street.
The tours will be held during the six-week closure to replace the Hood Canal Bridge’s eastern half.
The first tour will be from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, May 31. Tours will continue Wednesdays through June from noon to 12:30 p.m.
“We’re wanting to be sure that we can do as much as we can to add activity to Water Street during the bridge closure,” said Kaci Cronkhite, managing director for the Northwest Maritime Center.
Hard hats are required for the 30-minute tour, so those who want to see the center building interior must phone 360-385-3628, ext. 108, or e-mail ask@woodenboat.org to let the Maritime Center know how many will be in the party.
About 12 hard hats are available for each tour, she said.
Get on the water
Also during the public previews, visitors can row a longboat,take private sailing lessons, participate in Boat Shop volunteer projects, learn about wooden boat tools and history and shop at the wooden boat store in the Cupola House.
The $12.5 million Northwest Maritime Center is building new, 27,000-square-foot waterfront facilities at the east end of Water Street and adjacent to Point Hudson Marina.
The two-building center is designed after the nearby Sail Loft building and the former DeLeo brothers lumber building that once stood on the waterfront.
Primo Construction of Carlsborg is building the center.
The formal ground-breaking for the project took place in July 2008.
Keys to the Maritime Center buildings at the end of Water Street are scheduled to be turned over to the Northwest Maritime Center and Wooden Boat Foundation in July, and the buildings will remain closed to public access so that finish work can be completed.
One building, the Education Center, is scheduled to open in September, in time for the Wooden Boat Foundation’s 33rd annual Wooden Boat Festival Sept. 11 to 13.
The Heritage Center is expected to open about Jan. 1.
As a result of a cooperative agreement with the city of Port Townsend, more than 60 percent of the waterfront location will be available for public use 24 hours, seven days a week.
This includes the center’s courtyard and second-story decks, from which all commercial vessel traffic crossing Admiralty Inlet will be visible.
It’s been almost seven decades since the community has had full access to this portion of the Water Street shoreline.
Other Northwest Maritime Center activities during May include opening day of boat season at 12:45 p.m. May 9, sponsored by Port Townsend Yacht Club, when the parade can be viewed from the Northwest Maritime Center Pier.
Special membership promotions take place that day, and visitors can sign up for the free public tours.
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Port Townsend-Jefferson County Editor Jeff Chew can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at jeff.chew@peninsuladailynews.com.
