Historic Weyerhaeuser house to be moved to new waterfront park

Sturdy and well-traveled at 93, an Everett landmark is about to make one more move. The handsome Weyerhaeuser building, which has twice voyaged by barge to new sites, will make an overland trip this spring.

By June, if all goes according to Port of Everett plans, the historic 6,000-square-foot building will be trucked to its new waterfront home in the port’s Boxcar Park. The ornate building, designed by architect Carl Gould as a showcase for Northwest wood products, is now at 1710 W. Marine View Drive near the Inn at Port Gardner and the port marina’s south docks.

Donated to the port by Weyerhaeuser, the building was moved there in 1984. It traveled down the Snohomish River from Weyerhaeuser’s Mill B site, where it had been since 1936. Built in 1923, its original home was Weyerhaeuser’s Mill A, near what is now the port’s South Terminal.

If you don’t know where Boxcar Park is, that’s understandable. The port is working on its Waterfront Place development. Visitors are seeing big changes in the area, including a paved trail and other public access to the waterfront.

Boxcar Park, a 2-acre grassy space at the water’s edge, is just north of the Everett Yacht Club building, which is at the foot of 14th Street. The park is in the Central Pier area, in a section the port calls its Esplanade District. Plans call for apartments and retail space. And a boutique hotel is planned for the Everett Yacht Club site.

In the current issue of its Portside publication, the Port of Everett says the Weyerhaeuser building will “serve as the centerpiece of the new Boxcar Park.”

“It’s a beautiful location,” said Lisa Lefeber, the port’s director of public affairs. “One of the historic displays, the saw blade, commemorates mill history on the site.”

In October, The Herald reported that the Everett Farmers Market will move this year from its longtime home along West Marine View Drive near Lombardi’s Italian Restaurant to the Boxcar Park area. The park is named for a rail spur that once followed 14th Street to the waterfront, Lefeber said.

Terrie Battuello, chief of business development for the Port of Everett, said the Weyerhaeuser building will serve two main purposes. Plans call for it to be a clubhouse for marina groups, including the Milltown Sailing Association, the Mukilteo Yacht Club, the Everett Sail and Power Squadron, and the Everett Sea Scouts. Lefeber said the Everett Yacht Club may relocate to another site.

The vintage building also will be a backdrop for an outdoor stage, a venue for concerts and plays. Outdoor movies may be shown there this summer. Development plans show that the old building will be called the Weyerhaeuser Muse.

Battuello said there was interest in other uses of the Weyerhaeuser building. It might have been something as mundane as a dental office. “The port feels strongly that it is an important building,” she said, adding that the community should have access to it.

But first, there are the logistics of the massive move, a 10-hour process. “It will be the first time it’s moved any distance by land,” Lefeber said.

She said the move could happen by Mother’s Day, May 8, “and more than likely at night.” A portion of West Marine View Drive will be closed in both directions as the building moves a few blocks north. It will cross port property on South Seiner Drive to 14th Street, where it will travel along the marina area to Boxcar Park.

The move and a new foundation will cost about $750,000, which is part of $1.6 million the port plans for total capital improvement costs for the Weyerhaeuser building, Lefeber said.

The building, which once housed the Everett Area Chamber of Commerce at its present site, is on the National Register of Historic Places. Built for $30,000, its interior woodwork is hemlock, and its inside walls are fir. It has a dining room, a foyer that could host receptions, an upstairs area, glass-enclosed offices and the company’s original safe.

The port has already invested in a new roof, exterior painting, and a new heating system for the grand old building.

Plans call for symmetrical landscaping to evoke the 1920s. “It was originally in a big mud field, but we want to show what a garden would have looked like then — with everything as true to history as possible,” Battuello said.

“It’s going to be pretty cool,” Lefeber added.

Julie Muhlstein: 425-339-3460; jmuhlstein@heraldnet.com.

Julie is taking some time off. Her column will return Jan. 20.

Learn more

For more details about the Port of Everett’s waterfront plans, go to www.portofeverett.com and click on “Waterfront Place Project.” The Weyerhaeuser building will be moved to Boxcar Park, just north of the current Everett Yacht Club building.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Trader Joe’s customers walk in and out of the store on Monday, Nov. 20, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Trader Joe’s opens this week at Everett Mall

It’s a short move from a longtime location, essentially across the street, where parking was often an adventure.

Ian Bramel-Allen enters a guilty plea to second-degree murder during a plea and sentencing hearing on Wednesday, March 6, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Deep remorse’: Man gets 17 years for friend’s fatal stabbing in Edmonds

Ian Bramel-Allen, 44, pleaded guilty Wednesday to second-degree murder for killing Bret Northcutt last year at a WinCo.

Firefighters respond to a small RV and a motorhome fire on Tuesday afternoon in Marysville. (Provided by Snohomish County Fire Distrct 22)
1 injured after RV fire, explosion near Marysville

The cause of the fire in the 11600 block of 81st Avenue NE had not been determined, fire officials said.

Ashton Dedmon appears in court during his sentencing hearing on Tuesday, March 5, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Everett Navy sailor sentenced to 90 days for fatal hit and run

Ashton Dedmon crashed into Joshua Kollman and drove away. Dedmon, a petty officer on the USS Kidd, reported he had a panic attack.

A kindergarten student works on a computer at Emerson Elementary School on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘¡Una erupción!’: Dual language programs expanding to 10 local schools

A new bill aims to support 10 new programs each year statewide. In Snohomish County, most follow a 90-10 model of Spanish and English.

Logo for news use featuring the Tulalip Indian Reservation in Snohomish County, Washington. 220118
Woman drives off cliff, dies on Tulalip Reservation

The woman fell 70 to 80 feet after driving off Priest Point Drive NW on Sunday afternoon.

Everett
Boy, 4, survives fall from Everett fourth-story apartment window

The child was being treated at Seattle Children’s. The city has a limited supply of window stops for low-income residents.

People head out to the water at low tide during an unseasonably warm day on Saturday, March 16, 2024, at Lighthouse Park in Mukilteo, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Everett shatters record high temperature by 11 degrees

On Saturday, it hit 73 degrees, breaking the previous record of 62 set in 2007.

Snohomish County Fire District #4 and Snohomish Regional Fire & Rescue respond to a motor vehicle collision for a car and pole. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene, near Triangle Bait & Tackle in Snohomish. (Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office)
Police: Troopers tried to stop driver before deadly crash in Snohomish

The man, 31, was driving at “a high rate of speed” when he crashed into a traffic light pole and died, investigators said.

Alan Dean, who is accused of the 1993 strangulation murder of 15-year-old Bothell girl Melissa Lee, appears in court during opening statements of his trial on Monday, March 18, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
31 years later, trial opens in Bothell teen’s brutal killing

In April 1993, Melissa Lee’s body was found below Edgewater Creek Bridge. It would take 27 years to arrest Alan Dean in her death.

Logo for news use featuring the municipality of Snohomish in Snohomish County, Washington. 220118
Man dies after crashing into pole in Snohomish

Just before 1 a.m., the driver crashed into a traffic light pole at the intersection of 2nd Street and Maple Avenue.

Bodies of two men recovered after falling into Eagle Falls near Index

Two men fell into the falls and did not resurface Saturday, authorities said. After a recovery effort, two bodies were found.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.