OCAW Wenger Building

This building was originally constructed in 1915 as the Wenger Building by H.E. Croasdale with a machine shop as an original tenant.  Over the years, the building has housed the Port Angeles Printing Co. (The Olympic Tribune), a restaurant, a quick print shop and commercial offices.  It was constructed during the later half of the downtown's third phase of development.  Still concentrated at the intersection of Front Street and Laurel Street downtown was now just beginning to expand with the regrading of Front Street and the bluff, which covered this site.  This building helps to record the transformation of Port Angeles' downtown from its boomtown roots.  The motley collection of irregular and small wooden structures crowded together along a two block muddy path on the edge of the Tide Land was being replaced.  Built on solid ground this building was though modest in size constructed of more permanent materials.  Few buildings from this period remain especially with as much integrity.  So successful was this First Wenger Building it was expanded to Front Street in 1926.

This is a single story square plan building having three storefronts facing Lincoln Street.  It is a masonry building with red brick piers at the end and separating each storefront.  The individual storefronts have original looking display windows raised on low bulkheads that splay inward to recessed doors.  Flush to the facade, infilling each storefront opening, is a continuous eight-panel band of transom windows.  A few courses above the masonry storefront openings are a full width decorative  cornice dropped below a brick parapet.  The cornice, with long narrow trecessed panels between piers, has square diamond tile sahpes centered above each pier.

This building was adopted by Windemere Realty to be painted.  They were the first project to begin and many hours were devoted     hours to bringing out details of the buillding. The project started April 29 and was completed June 7.