The Clallam County Courthouse is located at 319 Lincoln Street in

Port Angeles, Washington Port Angeles ( ) is a city and county seat of Clallam County, Washington, Clallam County, Washington (state), Washington, United States. The population was 19,960 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the most populous city in t ...

. It was built in 1914 and 1915, replacing an older wood courthouse built in 1892, and officially dedicated on June 14, 1915. A 1979 expansion, connected to the historic courthouse by an enclosed bridge, now houses many of the official functions, including courts, public records, and a jail. The historic courthouse houses the Clallam County Museum and the county Parks, Fair and Facilities Department. The building was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1987 and was added as a contributing properties to the Port Angeles Civic Historic District in 2011.

Architecture

The

Clallam County Clallam County is a List of counties in Washington, county in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 77,155, with an estimated population of 77,616 in 2023. The cou ...

Courthouse is three stories high with a basement and tower and was built in the

Classical Revival Neoclassicism, also spelled Neo-classicism, emerged as a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassic ...

style. It was designed by architect Francis Grant, and built by the Sound Construction Company. The interior of the courthouse (refurbished in 1999) is arranged around an atrium, open to a second floor balcony, and lit by leaded glass skylights. The atrium is faced with

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...

and

scagliola Scagliola (from the Italian language, Italian ''scaglia'', meaning "chips") is a type of fine plaster used in architecture and sculpture. The same term identifies the technique for producing columns, sculptures, and other architectural elements t ...

plaster; double curved stairs at each end lead up to the second floor. The county jail was originally located in the courthouse basement. One hundred and twenty-six

solar panels A solar panel is a device that converts sunlight into electricity by using photovoltaic (PV) cells. PV cells are made of materials that produce excited electrons when exposed to light. These electrons flow through a circuit and produce direct ...

are mounted on the roof. The panels, originally installed in 1979, were replaced in 2011, and generate approximately one-fifth of the power consumed by the facility.

Tower

The courthouse features a combination

bell tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell to ...

clock tower Clock towers are a specific type of structure that house a turret clock and have one or more clock faces on the upper exterior walls. Many clock towers are freestanding structures but they can also adjoin or be located on top of another building ...

that rises to above ground level. The tower clock was manufactured by the E. Howard & Co. of

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

and installed in 1915 by Joseph Mayer, a Seattle clockmaker and jeweler. The massive clock system (the four faces are each in diameter) was not originally intended for Clallam County. It was manufactured in 1880 and shipped all the way around

Cape Horn Cape Horn (, ) is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which is Águila Islet), Cape Horn marks the nor ...

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

. However, no buyer claimed it, and the clock was subsequently warehoused at the Seattle docks for 29 years. Discovered in storage by architect Francis Grant, it was purchased by the county for $5,115. When installed, it was connected to a tall, one-ton iron

bell A bell /ˈbɛl/ () is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be m ...

. Unlike most bells, the clapper for the Clallam County Courthouse bell strikes it from the outside, rather than the inside, giving it a distinctive and less sharp tone. The tower and clock were renovated in winter 2010–2011 as part of a $1.025 million courthouse restoration project. The Clallam County Courthouse's clock/bell tower is featured on the seal of Clallam County.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places in Washington County courthouses in Washington (state) National Register of Historic Places in Port Angeles, Washington Clock towers in Washington (state) Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in Washington (state) Courthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington (state) 1914 establishments in Washington (state) Government buildings completed in 1914 Neoclassical architecture in Washington (state)