It cost $13,521 to build the Commanding Officer's Quarters at Fort Worden in 1904.

It's costing $503,000 today to repair the building's exterior so that what was also known as "the colonel's house" may withstand many more years. It's the Officer's Row home nearest to Port Townsend Bay.

“We're requesting $1 million every biennium to do historic exterior renovation and improvement work,” explained Brian Hageman, the Washington State Parks ranger who manages Fort Worden and six other state parks in Jefferson County.

The Commanding Officer's Quarters (COQ), which houses a museum managed by the Jefferson County Historical Society, is the first of nine Fort Worden Officer's Row houses that the state scheduled for improvements.

Hageman said the goal was to renovate two buildings a year. Because bids came in higher than expected, only one building is being done this year. Money that had been planned for the second house would go to repair and renovate handrails on all of the other houses, he noted.

Hoch Construction Inc. of Port Angeles was awarded the contract for the COQ project and started work on it on Sept. 15. Legacy Renovation Products & Services, Inc., a Tacoma-based company that has experience in preserving historical structures in Port Townsend, is the subcontractor for the project.

BUILT LIKE TANKS

“These buildings are practically tanks if they are taken care of, and that's the same for a lot of buildings in Port Townsend,” said Troy Axe, president of Legacy Renovation. “Some of the oldest buildings in the state are up there.”

Legacy Renovation also has worked on Alexander’s Castle at Fort Worden, the Port Townsend's historic city hall and the Jefferson County Courthouse clock tower.

Axe said it's hard to say how many more years the old wooden buildings like the COQ have in them.

“Preservation is built on achieving an operational life of 25 years, and our goal is to double the current life of the building,” he said, noting that talking about longevity in construction is always tricky.

The white plastic that has been stretched over the scaffolding – and torched to ensure it doesn't flap in the wind – makes the building look as if it is enclosed in an igloo.

“We're making sure it's a safe working environment and limiting exposure [of the lead paint] to the environment, including people,” Axe said.

COMPLETED IN 130 DAYS

The COQ has operated as a museum since 1982; it's outfitted as the building may have appeared in 1910. The museum had to close earlier than usual to accommodate the renovation, Hageman said.

Hageman said the project should be completed in 130 days, so it isn't expected to have an impact on the museum next year.

Lead paint is being scrapped off, and rotten siding is being removed. Legacy Renovation has taken the windows to Tacoma for restoration. Once the windows are finished and reinstalled, the entire outside of the building is to be painted gray, to conform with the original color from 1902, when Fort Worden was activated as a U.S. Army Coast Artillery post. Fort Worden was headquarters for the Harbor Defenses of Puget Sound into the 1940s.

HISTORY OF REPAIRS

Across the Fort Worden Parade Ground, at the Administration Building, Hageman said he's learned a lot about the structure from looking at records from the War Department, through which fort construction was handled.

“They spent $164.92 in repairs in 1941 and then $293.60 again on repairs in 1942,” Hageman said.

The record notes that the main building is 37 by 53 feet and that the total floor area above the basement, which was made of stone, was 3,228 feet.

Hageman also noted that in 1920, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers put in a furnace and started using oil. Before that, the building was most likely heated with coal, he said.

The next building to undergo repair would be Building No. 4, which is adjacent to the COQ, unless another building is determined to need more immediate attention. (The missing numbers in the sequence of buildings are two garages that once were located behind the residences.) All the Officer's Row buildings, most of them duplexes, were built in 1904-05. A variety of work has been done to some of the buildings, including roofs and chimneys.

“We're excited that we're getting money from the Legislature for capital projects so we can protect these historic houses,” Hageman said.

Washington State Parks still owns all of Fort Worden; the upper campus is leased to the Fort Worden Public Development Authority, but the state is still responsible for major renovation.