EVERETT — If buildings could write classified ads, the one for Weyerhaeuser’s old waterfront office building might look something like this:
Historic, well-traveled Everett English Tudor in search of new home and occupation. Willing to move. Free to a good home.
Built in 1923, the building is at the entrance to Marina Village. But it may soon be without a home now that the Port of Everett commission has approved a $200 million, 72.25-acre, 12-year makeover of the north marina area.
No one wants to tear it down; the building was used as a Weyerhaeuser office for nearly 60 years and is on the National Register of Historic Places.
But port officials say it doesn’t mesh with the vision set for the north marina. The port has even offered to kick in $300,000 to help move it.
The Everett Historical Commission and the Snohomish County Museum and Historical Association are also eyeing it for a museum, and would like to see it moved across from the Everett Public Library on Hoyt Avenue or to a bluff in Legion Park.
"The park would be a great place for people visiting the museum to have a vantage point of what made Everett what it is — the lay of the land," said Eric Taylor, director of the Snohomish County Museum and Historical Association. "And by the library, it would be another draw to downtown. We could get a synergy going with the library and other cultural facilities in that proximity."
City and port leaders, and local history buffs, seem to agree that since the building has already been moved twice in its lifetime, why not once more?
An assortment of people toured the Weyerhaeuser building Wednesday afternoon to discuss such a move. It has been empty since December 1999 when the Everett Chamber of Commerce moved out of it.
"The commission will never do anything to endanger the building," said John Mohr, Port of Everett executive director, from the building’s porch. "We really believe there is a better use and location for the building other than right here."
Before the tour, Everett Public Library historian David Dilgard joked that someone should just put wheels on the building.
Joking aside, it probably is one of the only buildings around with photos of it being moved.
A lot of things have grown up around the building, Mohr said, and the area is no longer appropriate for that type of building. He added that the port is interested in the idea of it being a museum.
Ed Morrow, Everett historical commissioner and a former City Council member, was also on Wednesday’s tour.
"It would be a perfect building for a museum," Morrow said. "We’d like to see (the Snohomish County Museum) proliferate — to have a permanent home. But we can’t do it without the city."
The museum idea is nothing new, nor is the idea of how the city can justify pitching in to help pay for it. Everett City Council member Bob Overstreet has been talking about it for a couple of years, and two years ago the council agreed to spend $17,932 to study the cost of the move.
Mayor Ray Stephanson said he has spoken to the groups involved and is still looking into the cost of moving the building for use as a museum.
Depending on where it is moved, the price tag could reach as high as $3 million, he said, which is too much for the city alone to shoulder.
"We’re looking at a number of options where we might be able to use the old Weyerhaeuser building," Stephanson said. "I think, speaking for myself, I certainly think it’s a jewel in our community that we don’t want to lose."
Stephanson, speaking by phone Friday, said the relocation and refurbishing project would be a good opportunity for public- and private-sector financial contributions.
"What remains ahead of us is can we all come together in a cost-effective and fair way to move this to a better location?" he said. "I’m certainly interested in having those discussions and getting more serious."
Taylor said whether the building ends up across the street from the library or in Legion Park, where the Snohomish County Museum was in 1958, the bottom line is that the building needs to be saved and the museum needs a new home.
The Snohomish County Museum is currently renting a cramped space on Hewitt Avenue and has been looking for a permanent home for four years, Taylor said.
Making the Weyerhaeuser building into a museum would save it and help preserve the county’s history, he said.
"We’d have to be creative about that, but I think it could be done," Taylor said. "It’s such a unique structure. People notice it. It’s hard not to notice."
Reporter Jennifer Warnick: 425-339-3429 or jwarnick@heraldnet.com.
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