Fort Worden Blog

We are excited to announce the reopening of Fort Worden’s historic and unique rental accommodations on Saturday, August 1, 2020! We have missed you!

We have adapted our interactions, taken significant precautions and refined our offerings to re-imagine your stay in a safe way.

The following areas are also opening:
• Cablehouse Beach Canteen – open to all guests, campers and visitors for take-out food and beverage and outside dining

• Taps at the Guardhouse – open to all guests, campers and visitors for take-out beverage and outside dining

• The Front Desk on Officer’s Row – temporarily relocated to 15 Pershing Avenue (House 15) across from the Tennis Courts

The following areas are temporarily closed:
• Reveille at the Commons
• The Commons
• All Venue spaces, with the exception of USO

For information about Fort Worden onsite programs and State Park amenities and campsites, please visit our website for direct links to these organizations.

For all current and new reservations, please view our website for accommodation details and contact our In-House Reservations Department at reservations@fortworden.org or call 360-344-4400 ext. 304 for more information. Reservations are required in advance and must be booked on the phone.

Fort Worden places the highest priority on the health and well-being of our employees, guests, visitors and community. From the beginning, Fort Worden has increased its efforts to protect the safety and well-being of all who visit and will remain one of our top priorities. We continue to follow the CDC, Washington state and local health guidelines on gathering, physical distancing and masking mandates. As the situation remains fluid, additional changes may transpire and we will communicate any updates as they arise.

For everyone’s safety, facial coverings are required in all indoor areas and outdoor areas and encourage guests to maintain physical distancing.

Fort Worden is unable to make or honor reservations through May 4, 2020, as a result of Governor Inslee’s “Stay Home” order issued Monday, March 23, 2020 and the temporary closure of Washington State Parks beginning Wednesday, March 25, 2020.

Please know that your leisure travel reservations can still be made or changed for May 5th and beyond by contacting reservations@fortworden.org or calling 360.344.4400 ext. 304 Monday – Friday between 8:00 am and 5:00 pm PST. We would be happy to review future availability for your stay.

We will continue to keep our guests updated on any changes that may occur and encourage you to visit fortworden.org/blog for the latest communications.

We appreciate your patience as we are working with a limited staff and all messages will be received and responded to by our sales and reservations team.

Thank you for your continued support of Fort Worden, and we look forward to hosting you soon.

To our guests and customers:

These are unprecedented times, and our priority is to protect the welfare and wellbeing of our employees, guests, and community. We continue to adjust operations in accordance with Governor Jay Inslee’s directives to help prevent the spread of the COVID-19 illness.

Last week, we closed our restaurants, reduced operations across campus, and were offering accommodations for guests who sought to visit and could still do so under the guidelines at that time. With the Governor’s “Stay Home” order issued Monday night and the temporary closure of State Parks beginning on Wednesday, the PDA is now temporarily closed for all public-facing business.

Even though hotel workers are considered among “essential employees” by the Governor, we can’t sustain the Fort’s hospitality operations without vehicle access to the Park. We strongly support the temporary closure of all state parks to help limit opportunities for social gatherings on State Park properties. According to the State Parks’ press release, all restrooms, campground and day use areas will be closed and vehicle access will be prevented. For the latest information about State Parks operations, please visit: parks.state.wa.us/COVID19

With the latest changes we also are now in the process of further reducing, on a temporary basis, the limited number of staff members who are maintaining critical operational functions. We expect to re-evaluate operations in early April based on any changes to the Governor’s orders.
Please check back with us often for updates as we continue to monitor and respond to the situation.

If you have questions regarding your Group Sales Event that has been affected by the closure, please email our team at salesgroup@fortworden.org.
If you have questions about your leisure travel, please email reservations@fortworden.org.

We appreciate your patience as we are working with a limited staff and messages are being forwarded if your contact is not currently working.

We continue to be heartened by people’s commitment to doing the right thing for the sake of the larger community. We thank you for your continued support of Fort Worden, and we look forward to hosting you soon.

Dave Robison
Executive Director, Fort Worden Public Development Authority

To our guests and customers,

We continue to adjust to the evolving COVID-19 pandemic that has affected the entire world in some way. This week we’ve responded to Governor Jay Inslee’s directives on closing restaurants, limiting group gatherings, and social distancing. This means Reveille and Taps at the Guardhouse are temporarily closed. We are heartened by the public’s commitment to these virus containment measures because they will save lives. That’s what is most important.

We also want to let you know that we are still offering hospitality services for guests seeking overnight accommodations. For those who can make it to Fort Worden now for a getaway, please call our reservations desk at 360-344-4400 ext. 304 or email reservations@fortworden.org. For those who can’t, we’re helping them reschedule for later in the year or into 2021.

The 15 Fort Worden partner nonprofit and for-profit businesses that are part of our Lifelong Learning Center are making independent decisions about their operations, many of which are closing temporarily. Those organizations are updating information about their status and program plans on their websites. Fort Worden partner websites can be reached via https://fortworden.org/our-story/onsite-programs/

Meanwhile, Fort Worden Historic State Park remains open. Visitors can still access the beach, bunkers and other park amenities with a Discover Pass or day-use pass. For the latest on state park operations, visit the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission’s website: parks.state.wa.us/covid19.

With heavy hearts we must note that most of our employees are on standby because of the financial loss the pandemic has delivered to the hospitality industry. With standby status, most of those employees can qualify for unemployment benefits almost immediately. And we are covering health insurance premiums through April 30 for employees with those benefits. Our crew that remains is focused on supporting our guests and maintaining critical operations. This decision was so difficult, and we look forward to bringing everyone back as soon as possible. Like the Fort itself, our team is resilient and we will lean on one another to get us through.

All of this demonstrates that the ripple effect of the virus is vast, and it also reminds us of how interconnected we are. So many people here and beyond need support, and our community needs to find creative ways to meet this challenge. We encourage you to consider the Give Jefferson Emergency Funding Campaign. The campaign is raising money for local nonprofits and community-serving government agencies so that they can increase their services to meet basic human needs and address unexpected financial hardships. Donation information is at https://jcf.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/list/grant

Take care, be safe, and stay healthy.

Dave Robison
Executive Director, Fort Worden Public Development Authority

Dear Fort Worden Community Members,

We wanted to let you know of our plans with staffing and operations to help slow the spread of COVID-19. While we’re told that most people with this virus will experience mild illness, we recognize people’s concerns and the impact the virus can have on certain populations and are taking measures to help maintain a safe community.

As confirmed cases of the infection developed in Seattle, we increased deep cleanings on campus and communications about best hygiene practices. We are now implementing the next stage of our plan with news of Jefferson County’s first confirmed case of COVID-19. Our strategies include following recommendations from the Washington State Department of Health, Jefferson County Public Health, and the Centers for Disease Control to prevent or respond to illness in the workplace should it happen here. We also have adjusted practices in our restaurants and dining areas, and on a case-by-case basis are evaluating the events that we provide. With this in mind, the “Crab Boil” at Taps on Sunday, March 8, 2020 will be rescheduled. Stay tuned for more information about this signature spring event and watch for updates on Facebook. Other events and operations are scheduled to continue for the time being.

We are committed to providing you regular updates as we work together to take precautions for the health of our community.

Sincerely,

Dave Robison

Located on Madrona Hill in Fort Worden, the brick tower resembling a rook from a giant chess set has a long and storied past. The story starts in 1883, when John B. Alexander who was rector of St. Paul Episcopal Church (corner of Tyler and Jefferson), purchased land on a bluff overlooking Point Wilson from Mary Fowler for $250, payable in gold. According to legend, he built the home for his Scottish bride to be, and in a style reminiscent of their native country.

The story continues that Alexander returned to Scotland to fetch his fiancé only to find that she had married another. Returning to Port Townsend, he resigned from the ministry in 1884, and accepted the position as her majesty’s (Queen Victoria) British Vice-Consul in Tacoma. He continued to live in his castle home which served as his consular residence until 1892, when he placed the property in the care of Oscar Klockers and moved permanently to Tacoma.

Alexander’s departure from Port Townsend was felt in the social circles as well as the business community. James G. McCurdy, banker and local historian who had business dealings with Alexander, described him as “a physically large man, a charming bachelor, and a social lion at afternoon teas.” McCurdy goes on to note he was a natty dresser with, “a heavy jet-black mustache. He acquired the popular nickname of “The Jack of Clubs” because of the huge cane he invariably carried and his unusual physique and manner of dress.”

Leaving his castle in the care of Klockers, who lived on Jefferson Street (the house still stands), the three story structure served as a rental property. The upper floor with its parapet-roof held a large water tank and the basement a deep cistern for the collection of rain water. Unfortunately, no record of who the tenants were has been found because the late great local historian James Hermanson, wrote. “It was during this time the only known tragedy took place. A man who had been living there drowned when he fell into the cistern in the building.”

The Castle changed hands again in 1894, when local banker Colonel Henry Landes acquired the title and held it until it was sold to the U.S. government for the fort construction project. After the buildings and barracks went up all around the castle, McCurdy mused, “…before there was any parade ground, or officers’ row, or cluster of barracks, or guns on the hill, the Castle dominated this locality. Now the other buildings have deprived the Castle of the solitary dignity it had earlier.”

In 1908, Alexander was bequeathed a legacy requiring his return to England to serve as guardian to his orphaned niece. He remained there until his passing in 1930 at King’s Lynn, Norfolk, England (Captain George Vancouver’s birthplace).

During the time the Castle was Army property it served as the original Post Exchange (PX) and later the Post’s tailor shop. Joseph Bruzas, a Russian immigrant, operated the shop until the fort’s decommissioning 1953. The Fort Worden newspaper, the “Salvo,” noted in its May 9, 1941, edition, once the British Consul residence, now “….in the east-wing room where Mr. Bruzas sews chevrons and measures waists, there is little indication today that here the fastidious Reverend Alexander used to wax his mustache and adjust his Norfolk jacket, but weathered and deglamorized, the Castle carries on in its humbler role amid the bustle of the modern Harbor Defenses of the great Puget Sound.”

No longer the humble little workshop, the Castle now provides overnight guests with comfortable surroundings, amazing views, and a sense of history that enlightens the experience of staying at Fort Worden.