Friday, September 27, 2013

The City Of Dreams Is A Dreamy City

My friend said to me, "You're better than rich.  You're in a place very few people, Americans, Canadians, anyone, will EVER see, and you got paid to go there.  Can you beat that?" 

No, I don't think I can.  Well, unless I was obscenely rich.  Then I wouldn't get paid to go to all these places, I would just be going.  And if I were rich rich, I might not even be here, I might be in
St. Anton, or the Amalfi Coast, or Saint Petersburg, Russia.

But I'm here.  In
Port Townsend, Washington, and it's beautiful.  And chock full of beautiful buildings.  Old buildings.  This is a place known for its abundance of Victorian-era homes and  historical buildings.  It's one of three Victorian seaports listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
 
The Hastings Building, 1889.  Constructed by the Hastings Estate Company, owned by Lucinda Hastings.  She was the first non-native woman to settle in Port Townsend.  It cost $35,000 - $45,000 to build and was said to be the "handsomest building in Port Townsend". 
The James & Hastings Building, 1889.  Built by Francis W. James (1832-1920) and Lucinda Hastings, the widow of Loren B. Hastings.
The N.D. Hill building, 1889.  Cost to build - $25,000.  Nathaniel D. Hill ran a drugstore from the building.

The interior of the Clapp Building, 1885.  Built for $13,000, four bricks thick.  It was a dry goods store, saloon, grocery and bank.  In the right rear of the building is a small brick room that housed the vault.  The steel doors still remain.  I wanted to live in this room, it was gorgeous.
The Catherine McCurdy Building, 1887.  Catherine McCurdy spent $10,000 to build this building in 1887. 
The Fowler-Caines Building, known as the Fred Lewis Building, 1889.  The building was erected for $25,000.
 

Top of the Fred Lewis building.
The Mount Baker Block Building, 1890.
The Starrett House.  "Built by George Starrett, one of Port Townsend's most prolific home builders, this is a Victorian residence of national stature. Its architecture is unique, and the free-hung circular stairway, a "two-tier free-floating staircase," is believed by the Smithsonian Institute to be the last of its kind in America. The domed ceiling in the staircase tower has a fresco that depicts the four seasons and the four virtues, in eight panels. The house was built at a cost of $6,000 as a wedding gift for Starrett's wife Ann".

Get more information on some of the buildings
here

And learn more about what's going on in Port Townsend
here

And if you get the chance to go, do.  It's really a great little town.


Next time, we're bringing our bikes!

They don't call it "one of the coolest small towns in America" for nothing!



~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
2012: Five Fantastic Finds
2011: Hand Dipping Tastes Better
2010:
The Skies Were So Dark, Even GE Couldn’t Brighten Things Up
2009:
Not So Deep Impact
2008:
My America. Your America. OUR America.
2007:
Frozen In Time
2006:
Ohhh, Paaablo
2005:
Apparently, Aliens Tell Time With Their Ass

4 comments:

MAE said...

,,,I very much enjoyed touring this little town. The buildings are magnificient. Thank you for the great photos...

Gil said...

The place is so clean and everything looks well maintained. Do they have an Italian market?

Decorina said...

That house...the last one. Magnificent.

The Daily Rant said...

MAE: One day I'll take you there!

GIL: It was very clean and well maintained. And no, they didn't have an Italian market. Hey...now there's an idea! You know what's interesting? The median age in the town is 57. There were a lot of older folks walking around. Maybe that has something to do with it...they care about what their town looks like.

DECORINA: Isn't it great? The detail was fabulous.