The youth sanctuary started in 1993 as an alcohol-free and drug-free coffeehouse and an art gallery in the basement boiler room of the Mount Baker Block Building downtown Port Townsend, WA.  Three young adults (Theresa Verraes, Ross Bratlee and Mitch Slater) recognized the need within the local youth community for a safe, creative space and after much work alongside dozens of volunteers, the Boiler Room was born.

Local musicians and artists flocked to the BR, and helped strengthen and shape the very fabric of Port Townsend’s youth “culture”. In those early days it was not uncommon to experience legendary Artis the Spoonman, hear Jenny Berry Jazz Trio and many other local performers or spot City Council members having their afternoon cup of joe at the Boiler Room. Tom and Sara Mall Johani held bronze-casting workshops at the BR, and Jaqueline Chisick exhibited her paintings on the walls. 

In 1995 it became clear that in order to sustain itself, the almost entirely volunteer-run venue must seek a non-profit status. A  Board of Directors was formed, and the Boiler Room officially became a (501)c3 non-profit.

At the end of 1997 the Boiler Room moved uptown to St. Paul’s Episcopal Church after losing its lease in the Baker Block Building. In January of 1998, the Board signed a rental agreement with the Food Co-op for a storefront rental on Lawrence Street, where it continued to thrive until May 2005, when the Boiler Room once again lost its lease due to long-overdue building renovation plans by the new owner.

For 2 months, the BR community spent “homeless”, meeting at Chetzemoka Park for weekly staff meetings and holding open mics at the Pope Marine building downtown, while the search for a new, permanent location continued.

On July 3, 2005 the board signed the purchase agreement  for the former Day Star Cafe building at 711 Water St. downtown. For 6 months dozens of volunteers worked together to remodel the old cafe. Hundreds of hours of skilled labor, as well as thousands of dollars worth of materials were donated to create the new Boiler Room, which opened its doors on Christmas Eve of 2005.

The Boiler Room has served as a regular music and art venue, a community living room, a soup kitchen in partnership with local churches, a place for peer counseling, providing a variety of programs and opportunities to local youths and young-at-heart. Theater workshops, poetry readings, weekly movie night, dances, open mike, drum workshops and storytelling, play groups for young parents, monthly health and wellness discussions, tobacco awareness presentations, bicycle workshops,knitting group – these are just some of the programs that have taken place at the Boiler Room over the years. 

While the focus is on young people and the Boiler Room is largely staffed by youths, adult volunteers also make a strong contribution to the organization. The Boiler Room is run by a paid manager, 4 interns and a volunteer board of directors that ensures that the Boiler Room is alive and well, and stays true to its mission.

NOTE FROM THE EDITOR:

I think an excellent timeline widget of sorts would be a great addition.  For every year, list managers, interns, festivals, accomplishments, etc.

Will take some research.  Could be a neat project.   BR has been around for 14 years – that means 14 people could undertake this project. Each one could research a year of history, get stories, pictures, etc…..  Sounds involved, but hey, it’s just an idea. That’s the beauty of ideas – they can be as involved or simple as anything we can imagine…. Like world peace! 

…TO BE CONTINUED…. In the meantime, please send us a note right away if you’re interested in adding, editing, helping wiht the history page in anyway. Any creative ideas?