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Port Townsend Historical Sites

History > Historic Homes

Name: Dimick House (Replica of 1906 Mukilteo Lighthouse)
Year Built: 1990
Location: 1935 Washington Street
Area: Uptown Port Townsend

The Dimick Lighthouse is a century (give or take) younger than most of the homes on the Historic Homes Tour, but it richly deserves its place in the lineup. It is a near replica of the 1906 Mukilteo Lighthouse (Mukilteo is a town on Puget Sound, about 15 miles north of Seattle). It was built by the Dimicks as a vacation home and they decorated the interior in Victorian style. It is notable for its unique and creative use of a tiny space. Jesse Milligan, of the West Sound Sun, writes of the Dimick Lighthouse as follows:

The lighthouse is not on the water; it's perched on a point that overlooks the city, near the Jefferson County Courthouse. It doesn't have a beacon; the Coast Guard wouldn't look kindly on that. But it's still definitely a lighthouse. It's a small, boxy structure paired with a 50-foot tower reached by an interior spiral staircase of 41 oak steps. The tower features a tine glassed-in space that would normally hold the beacon. That's where Brian Dimick says he goes to read the newspaper and drink coffee. The center of the tower is hollow, to someday allow for the installation of a dumbwaiter the exterior walkway affords sweeping views of mountains, water, and islands.

A high ceiling, lots of windows and a consistent color scheme keep (the one-room downstairs) from feeling cramped. In one corner is a double bed, which is separated from the living room by a room divider that is actually a reclaimed front door. A kitchen, with tall white glass-fronted cabinets, is separated from the living area by a low eating bar. A glass and white wrought iron dining table sits in the corner. The room is decorated in black, white, and pink. The living room walls are done in white painted wood and black and white vertically striped wallpaper. The area wall are done in a tiny black, white, and pink floral print wallpaper. The rugs are identical black and pink floral, and the couch and chair are in contrasting floral prints of the same colors.

Brian says they haven't even tabulated the total cost, but the building alone was close to $150,000. That's what happens when you add touches such as a copper roof on the tower. The lighthouse is called a replica of the Mukilteo Lighthouse, but it is actually only similar, Brian said. He sketched the Mukilteo Lighthouse and brought it to an engineer and later to builders Jerry Rowe and Steve Berg. The result is a similar but taller tower and a house that differs in a number of details, including the addition of dormers.

Some data modified from the National Register Information System. Many descriptions used by permission of the Port Townsend Chamber of Commerce. All material copyrighted by PTguide.com.