PORT TOWNSEND — Workers set out to lay a City Hall annex foundation within minutes after city leaders finished a ground-breaking ceremony for the $5.4 million project Wednesday morning.
To mark the beginning of the City Hall restoration and annex construction project, a group of city and county officials gathered on a construction lot behind the stately City Hall building at Madison and Water streets.
About 20 people attended the ceremony.
Golden shovels were passed out to city leaders and the symbolic piece of ground turned.
“This is a historic moment,” said City Councilman Kees Kolff after the ceremony.
Besides Kolff, Mayor Catharine Robinson and Councilwomen Freida Fenn and Michelle Sandoval attended the event on an overcast, windswept and chilly day.
New Jefferson County Commissioner Phil Johnson, a longtime Port Townsend contractor, also attended the event, along with city and county business leaders.
112-year-old building
The idea of restoring the 112-year-old building had been around for more than 30 years, with one City Council passing it off to the next.
The Jefferson County Historical Society holds a 99-year lease on City Hall. For $1 a year, it operates the Jefferson County Museum, traditionally located within City Hall, and provides services to the city.
For the duration of the restoration, the museum has moved to the Kuhn Building, at the corner of Water and Polk streets.