Fort Worden - Fort Worden State Park

Fort Worden State Park

The Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission acquired most of Fort Worden on September 30, 1971, when the state closed the juvenile treatment center. The 433-acre (175 ha) Fort Worden State Park was opened on August 18, 1973. Today the 2.1 miles (3.4 km) of sandy beaches and high bluffs attract residents from around the region to the multi-use recreation facility.

The extensive system of large, abandoned bunkers are available for exploration. The state park includes the Coast Artillery Museum, a balloon hangar that was used for airships, three 3-inch anti-aircraft gun emplacements, and several restored quarters on Officers' Row. The Point Wilson Lighthouse is also located here.

The Commanding Officer's Quarters have been restored to reflect the early 20th century Victorian period, and are open in the summer for tours.

The independent publisher of poetry, Copper Canyon Press, located permanently at Fort Worden in 1974.

The park also is the home of the Port Townsend Marine Science Center, whose natural history museum, hands-on tidepool exhibits and educational programs promote understanding about coastal ecosystems.

Hosteling USA (part of Hostelling International) maintains a 32 bed youth hostel at the park.

The 1982 movie An Officer and a Gentleman was filmed at Fort Worden, as well as the 2002 film The Ring.

Goddard College's Port Townsend campus hosts several of its program residencies at Fort Worden.

One notable feature of the park is the underground Dan Harpole Cistern, orignially built to hold water for fire-fighting, in the event that the fort was attacked and put to the torch. The cistern was drained in the 1950s when the Fort was closed, leaving an underground space more than 200 feet in diameter and 14 feet deep. This huge subterranean chamber has an acoustical reverberation time of around 45 seconds, and has attracted the interest of various musicians and recording artists, among them Pauline Oliveros and Stuart Dempster. The Park management rents out the cistern for recording events, on a day to day basis.