PCAD - James and Hastings Building, Port Townsend, WA

Structure Type: built works - commercial buildings - office buildings; built works - commercial buildings - stores

999 Water Street
Downtown, Port Townsend, WA 98368

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The James and Hastings Building occupied the corner of Water Street and Tyler Street.

Building History

Scottish-born architect, Elmer H. Fisher (1844-1905), at one time lived in Port Townsend, WA, and must have retained connections in the town after he left to live in Seattle, WA, in late 1887. The ornate Hastings Block, a mixed-use retail and commercial building, was finished in 1890.

Building Notes

The three-story commercial building had an ornate, Italianate look to it, with elaborate bays projecting on the second and third floors, each lit with tall, thin, arched windows. The roofline had a very busy cornice and the parapet line was graced with a delicate wrought-iron widow's walk. The Hastings building occupied a corner site, the corner highlighted by a turret observation room topped by a candle-snuffer roof perched. This small tower room created a tiny fourth floor.

PCAD id: 12623

James and Hastings Building, Port Townsend, WA (1888-1889)