PRESS RELEASE - City to Renovate 1868 Charles Pink House Exterior
Restoration will continue to preserve one of Port Townsend’s oldest homes and public meeting spaces for many years to come.
PORT TOWNSEND – After receiving City Council approval on Monday, March 17, City staff are ready to move forward with the restoration of one of the oldest original homes in Port Townsend, the 1868 Charles Pink House. The home was built by prominent local carpenter Horace Tucker, who also built the Rothschild House, now a State Park property open to the public. The Pink House, as it is now known, was purchased by Charles Pink in 1874 and the Pink family would continue to own and care for the home for 92 years.The Pink House is now used as a meeting room for public needs, library programs for all ages, offices and storage upstairs for library staff, and a Friends of the Library Book Shop.
Like many historic properties in Port Townsend, the Pink House has many years of deferred maintenance needs. The exterior siding has suffered from extreme rot from the failure of the rainwater gutter collection system. This project aims to replace sections of rotten siding on nearly all sides of the house that have been damaged by the failing gutter system with a product that will match the existing siding. Additionally, the project replaces the front deck boards and support beams that face the Lawerence Street side of the house. After all the repairs have been addressed, and with recommendations from the Historic Preservation Committee (HPC) color palette, contractors will apply a fresh coat of paint.
Community Services Director, Melody Sky Weaver, said: “The Pink House is a historic treasure and vibrant contemporary public space for our community. Port Townsend’s shared value of historic preservation is at the forefront of this project as we want many generations to be able to continue to meet, enjoy storytimes and author talks, and shop for books and so much more in this beautiful and significant space.”
With proper care and maintenance, the repairs to the siding and deck will last at least another 30 years. Future work will be needed to repair the gutters and assess the roof condition, looking to a roof replacement in 2026 or 2027. For this and any future project on the Pink House, City staff will follow HPC and contractor recommendations, which are guided by historic preservation standards established by the Department of Interior.
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Learn more about the Department of Interior Standards for Historic Preservation: https://www.nps.gov/subjects/historicpreservation/standards.htm Learn more about Pink House history: https://ptpubliclibrary.org/library/page/history-charlespink-house. Horace Tucker’s tools are preserved in the Jefferson County Historical Society Collection.
Learn more about the Department of Interior Standards for Historic Preservation:
https://www.nps.gov/subjects/historicpreservation/standards.htm
Learn more about Pink House history:
https://ptpubliclibrary.org/library/page/history-charlespink-house. Horace Tucker’s tools are preserved in the Jefferson County Historical Society Collection
