News
Small Island - Big History
Friday Harbor, WA Celebrates Preservation Month
Friday Harbor, Washington – Next month Friday Harbor, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and individuals and organizations nation-wide will celebrate National Preservation Month—May 2008. Last February, the Trust designated Friday Harbor as one of its Dozen Distinctive Destinations for 2008.
In Friday Harbor and elsewhere on San Juan Island during Preservation Month, we open doors, view the streetscape and shoreline, and otherwise bring interesting, hard-scrabble historic characters and events to life. Partnering in this year’s activities are the Town of Friday Harbor, San Juan Historical Museum, San Juan Island National Historical Park, Hacket Larson Post 163 of the American Legion, and the maritime research vessel, the Pacific Catalyst II. For such a small island, a whole lot of history happened here! (Event descriptions follow)
CONTACT INFORMATION
For more information about historic Friday Harbor, National Preservation Month and activities in and around Friday Harbor, visit http://historicfridayharbor.org.
PHOTOGRAPHS
High resolution digital images are available upon request.
EVENTS
Historic District Walking Tours: Every Saturday in May, 9:00am-10:00am, the Town of Friday Harbor’s Historic Preservation Review Board is giving free, guided walking tours of the downtown historic district. Rain or shine. Space is limited and reservations are required. To register and receive more information, go to www.historicfridayharbor.org or call 360.378.2810 during regular business hours.
Silver Tea at the James King House Museum: Saturday, May 3rd, 2-4pm the good china comes out, cookies are baked and tea served by Museum volunteers dressed in period clothing at the San Juan Historical Museum’s James King House. The Museum is located in Friday Harbor at 405 Price Street. For more information go to www.sjmuseum.org or call 360.378.3949.
Heritage Vessel Open House: Sunday, May 4th, 2:00pm – 4:00pm. Come aboard the historic Pacific Catalyst, a restored 1932 wooden vessel. Her maiden voyage was up the Inside Passage and across the Gulf of Alaska, beginning her oceanographic research for the University of Washington’s, Friday Harbor Labs, and the marine sciences community. The Catalyst has been thoroughly and richly restored, and now takes visitors on marine adventures in the Salish Sea and north into Alaska and Canada. Friday Harbor is her home base, and on this day you will find her moored in the Friday Harbor Marina. For more information call 360.378.7123 or visit http://www.pacificcatalyst.com/index.htm.
Rural Architecture in Friday Harbor: On Wednesday, May 14, 7:00pm-9:00pm, the Town of Friday Harbor and the San Juan Historical Museum present a history talk by local historian and preservation architect, Boyd Pratt, entitled Paying Attention to the Ordinary: Friday Harbor’s Rural Architecture. This event takes place in the research center of the San Juan Historical Museum, 405 Price Street. For more information go to www.historicfridayharbor.org.
Memorial Day Parade and Commemoration: Monday, May 26, 10am. For over 80 years, Hacket Larson Post 163 of the American Legion and town citizens have commemorated those who have died in war for the nation, with a parade and waterfront ceremony at the town’s Memorial Park. This annual event hasn’t changed much over time. The town and island visitors turn out to watch as Veterans of World War II, the Korean and Viet Nam wars, and others more recently returned from the Middle East; Pig War re-enactors from the San Juan Island National Historical Park’s Company D; and local Boy Scouts and school children—all participate to create a touching and authentic memorial event. The parade takes places along the first two blocks of Spring Street, but the best viewing locations are on the waterfront at Memorial Park, the first monument erected in Washington to honor those who died in WWI. For more information about this event call 360.378.5705 or visit http://www.post163.org.
Lecture: Pre-History of San Juan Island: Saturday, May 31st, 10:00am. University of Washington archaeologist, Dr. Julie Stein, traces ancient habitation of San Juan Island in this guided walk on the American Camp prairie, San Juan Island National Historical Park. For information call 360.378.2240, or visit http:/www.nps.gov/sajh.
Pig War Story Tour: Saturday, May 31, 11:30am, American Camp, San Juan Island National Historical Park. Rangers and volunteers describe events leading up to and including the Pig War and the peaceful joint occupation of San Juan Island by British and American troops. For information call 360.378.2240, or visit http:/www.nps.gov/sajh.
Life during the Joint Occupation of San Juan Island: Saturday, May 31, 12:30pm – 3:30pm, English Camp, San Juan Island National Historical Park. Rangers and volunteers recreate military and civilian life during the island's early pioneer period. Activities include blacksmithing, coopering, weaving, needlework and exhibitions of military equipment and skills. For more information call 360.378.2240 or go to http://www.nps.gov/sajh.
ABOUT FRIDAY HARBOR
Though only one square mile in size, Friday Harbor boasts nearly 150 historic buildings reflecting the community’s civic, commercial and residential history. Friday Harbor is one of Washington’s few seaport villages to survive the turn-of-the-century fires that engulfed early Seattle and other cities. Its authentic downtown streetscape and postage-size Memorial Park are the gateway to discovering the rich history, rural character and pristine marine environment of the San Juan archipelago.
In and around Friday Harbor, there are five national and state historic register sites, including: the San Juan County Courthouse, Odd Fellows Hall (now the Whale Museum), Lime Kiln Light Station, Roche Harbor and the San Juan Island National Historical Park. Here visitors experience the history of the Territorial Northwest “up close and personal,” through historic buildings, sites, exhibits, tours and re-enactments. There is no better place to celebrate National Preservation Month and the return of spring than the San Juans.
OTHER DOZEN DISTINCTIVE DESTINATION* TOWNS AND CITIES
Other towns and cities designated as Distinctive Destinations by the National Trust in 2008 include Aiken, S.C.; Apalachicola, Fl.; Columbus, MI.; Crested Butte, CO.; Fort Davis, TX; Portland, Or.; Portsmouth, N.H.; Red Wing, MN.; Ste. Genevieve, MO.; San Juan Bautista, CA.; and Wilmington, N.C.
*The National Trust for Historic Preservation is a non-profit membership organization bringing people together to protect, enhance and enjoy the places that matter to them. By saving the places where great moments from history – and the important moments of everyday life – took place, the National Trust for Historic Preservation helps revitalize neighborhoods and communities, spark economic development and promote environmental sustainability. With headquarters in Washington, DC, nine regional and field offices, 29 historic sites, and partner organizations in all 50 states, the National Trust for Historic Preservation provides leadership, education, advocacy and resources to a national network of people, organizations and local communities committed to saving places, connecting us to our history and collectively shaping the future of America’s stories. For more information visit www.preservationnation.org.