PORT ANGELES — The old fire hall on Lincoln Street in Port Angeles may become a new home base for Clallam County veterans.
That was the idea presented to the Port Angeles City Council and city Real Estate Committee in a special meeting Monday.
Restoration of the 79-year-old art deco building at 215 S. Lincoln St. — next door to Veterans Park and its Liberty Bell replica — is part of a city plan to create a historic district along Lincoln Street.
The idea to turn the empty former fire hall — more recently home to delicatessen and bakery businesses — into a veterans’ center is in its infancy.
A feasibility study would determine the grant money needed to pay for it.
Commissioner’s idea
Mike Doherty, Clallam County commissioner and a local history buff, pitched the idea of moving the veterans’ center to the former fire hall in a 45-minute meeting at City Hall.
He said the prominent location would give veterans more visibility in the community and good access to the park next door.
The Clallam County Veterans Center — a consortium of local veterans groups — is now located at 261 S. Francis St.
“It’s a little decrepit,” Doherty said of the building.
“The county has put a big chunk of money into that for several years to maintain it, thinking veterans should be respected.
“Well, in my mind, if you visit most older Eastern cities, most of their veterans centers are on a prime arterial street as of a sign of respect,” said Doherty, D-Port Angeles.
State, federal aid
The Office of Historic Preservation, state Rep. Lynn Kessler, D-Hoquiam, and U.S. Rep Norm Dicks, D-Belfair, could help, Doherty said.
Dicks secured about $300,000 for the restoration of the Museum at the Carnegie Library just north of the former fire hall.
Kessler co-chairs a historic preservation caucus in Olympia and supports the civic historic district for Port Angeles.
“She’s well aware of this now,” Doherty said.
The City Council and Real Estate Committee endorsed the idea of turning the fire hall into a veterans center, but no formal action was taken.
Cherie Kidd, Port Angeles city councilwoman, said a restored fire hall would complete a Port Angeles Civic Historic District on the east side of Lincoln Street between Second and Fourth streets.
The district includes the restored Museum at the Carnegie Library, the former fire hall, Veterans Memorial Park and the Clallam County Courthouse.
A historic district could be listed on the National Register of Historic Places and the Washington State Heritage Register. That designation would attract more tourists to Port Angeles, Kidd said.
“We would like to restore the old fire hall,” Kidd said.
“It’s not adding to the city, to the value of the district, and it’s not a good neighbor for the Carnegie because it’s sitting there vacant.”
City-owned
The city-owned building housed the eateries until the structure was surplused about three years ago.
Built in 1931, the firehouse was also home to the City Council chambers and jail. It was later used as a juvenile detention hall and a senior citizens center before it became a privately owned bakery and, later, a delicatessen.
“This was really the center for Port Angeles,” Kidd said.
“There was so much community pride in our fire hall.”
Kidd noted that a historic district was one of the recommendations made last year by a design team from the American Institute of Architects.
“We all know that there are funding issues with the state of Washington, but there are funds available for historic projects,” Kidd said.
Doherty said the days of saving old buildings for the romantic sake of old buildings are gone. He said it takes a practical reuse of a historic building to justify the use of public money.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
