Sharon Wootten
Once called the F.W. Hastings House, the Old Consulate Inn was the residence of the German consul from 1908-11.

Paul Boyar
Rides in a horse-drawn carriage will be available during Victorian Days.

Relive the past in Port Townsend

Victorian Days display town's history, character

SHARON WOOTTON AND MAGGIE SAVAGE FOR THE OLYMPIAN

Port Townsend is turning back the clock.

Whale-watching, harbor tours and kayaking have to wait in the wings while attention turns to Victorian homes, mustache judging, a walking tour and a costume ball during the sixth annual Victorian Days, Wednesday through next Sunday.

A big draw is the historic homes tour, this spring focusing on stages of restoration and preservation.

The seven stops include four private homes and three public buildings, including one at Fort Worden.

"They're a very elegant style of home," said Michael DeLong, innkeeper of the Old Consulate House (formerly the F.W. Hastings House).

"Go into an old Victorian with round turrets and look at the detail work. You'll find pieces of wood with a 4- or 5-foot arc that ... were planed into a curve out of a straight plank.

"You won't find someone today who will make a curved glass window and window frame around it to match. Their saws were sharpened with a file kept in a pocket. They used plumb lines and squares. They didn't have power tools," DeLong said.

"You'll find hinges that are engraved and carved with a relief carving. Who does fancy work on a hinge that's going to be inside a closed door? You don't consciously see it, but it still gives the impression of elegance and the love of the craftsmanship," DeLong said.

Visitors have a special feeling about Victorian and other old homes, said Sue Ramage, who with her husband, Ron, owns the Quimper Inn, a turn-of-the-century home and part of the Parlor Tours and Teas event.

"They have a romantic notion about the way they lived in yesteryear, that it was simpler, even though it wasn't. They're feeling like where they live, most houses are the same with doors that are hollow and woodwork that isn't wonderful," she said.

The downtown business buildings also represent the past.

The 1892 City Hall building lost its charming dormer-and-tower third floor as an extreme antidote to a leaky roof. By the late 1940s it was gone but not forgotten. A restoration drive is under way.

The city council still meets in chambers on the top floor. The Jefferson County Historical Society Museum is in control of much of the rest of the building.

"It's our largest artifact," said museum staffer Sue Rutter.

The museum will be open during Victorian Days. Be sure to go downstairs, where the old four-cell jail has been preserved. A man hanged himself in the claustrophobic-inducing solitary confinement cell; another escaped through the half-moon-shaped food hole, leaving the ball-and-chain and leg irons behind.

While Port Townsend banks on history, it also invests in the future.

An alliance of organizations, businesses and agencies are working to protect the town's maritime heritage and working waterfront, raising funds to build the 25,000-square-foot Northwest Marine Center adjacent to the Hudson Bay Marina.

The Wooden Boat Foundation will be its anchor tenant. Until then, stop by the foundation at the marina and explore a sales room with square cut copper boat nails and tools for fine carpentry.

But one cannot live by Victorian houses and history. The modern antidote to turning back the clock is to shop Port Townsend's downtown area.

The town may be small, but its shopping area is large on possibilities and it's walkable from one end to the other.

Here are a few interesting options:

- Folklore. Features clothing and other items from Peru and Ecuador: Peruvian harp, felt hats, small weavings for $5-$8. Check out the huge pod and intriguing nuts from the tagua tree. The nuts are carved like ivory into jewelry and buttons.

- Forest Gems. Native Northwest hardwoods star in a variety of manifestations: a burl rocking chair, carved creatures, wooden boxes, burl maple bowls and a friendly maple burl man. Blocks of maple and myrtle for personal projects are for sale.

- Earthen Works. Sculptures, pottery, metal creations, glass works.

- Phoenix Rising Book Store. It's spacious and the wraparound glass maximizes natural light, even on cloudy days. A wide-ranging selection follows the new-age path.

Sharon Wootten and Maggie Savage are free-lance writers from Shaw Island.

Sharon Wootten and Maggie Savage are free-lance writers from Shaw Island.

Victorian Days

The Port Townsend Victorian Days festival is March 20-24 with events that recreate Victorian lifestyles and workshops devoted to the preservation of historic buildings. For more information on an event or workshop, call 888-698-1116, or see the Web site, . Some events have fees.

- Wednesday: Beard & Mustache Contest, Parlor Tours & Teas, Rothschild House tours.

- Thursday: Rothschild House tours, Parlor Tours & Teas, Taste of Port Townsend.

- Friday: History's Mysteries Community Inquisition, St. Paul's Episcopal Church tour, Rothschild House tour, Commanding Officer's Quarters tour, High Tea.

- Saturday: History's Mysteries, Arts and Crafts Fair, St. Paul's Episcopal Church tour, Rothschild House tour, Commanding Officer's Quarters tour, Preservation-Restoration Homes Tour; Victorian High Tea, Victorian Fashion Show, Victorian Grand Costume Ball.

- Sunday: Arts and Crafts Fair, Rothschild House tour, Commanding Officer's Quarters tour, Preservation-Restoration Homes Tour, Victorian High Tea, Victorian Fashion Show.

- Workshops: They'll cover restoration, crafts, hobbies and designs of the Victorian period March 23-24 at Peninsula College, 181 Quincy St., Port Townsend. Classes include historic design and architecture, faux painting and colors, walking tour, Victorian woodwork and construction, Victorian soap- and paper-making, and Victorian gardening. Fees are $15 a class, $25 a day, $40 for the weekend.

For more local news go to the South Sound Living section.

The Olympian Copyright 2002

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