Our history and heritage have been preserved

BOAT BUILDERS and fishermen used to call Gig Harbor their home. And now, generations to come will have a chance to see how the Maritime City’s pioneers weaved their craft.

The opening of the historic Eddon Boatyard building this week culminates a five-year cleanup and restoration project that wouldn’t have been possible without a public vote, a wonderful vision and continued support from many different organizations.

That’s why today is a perfect time to celebrate. When the ribbon is cut this afternoon, Gig Harbor voters will see the promise of a public platform come to fruition. It’s the reason they approved a $3.5 million bond in 2004: To have the historic site preserved, restored and shared with anyone who wishes to better understand our heritage.

Especially when it concerns the downtown core, Gig Harbor has been protective of its past. Committees and non-profit organizations have formed to keep our identity alive through acquisition, improvement and education.

Often times, it drives city policy, especially when it concerns building size or views of either the bay or the basin from which the town has risen. Other times, it’s as simple as having a community gathering place, like a Skansie Brothers Park, for citywide events.

Any waterfront property has skyrocketing value because of the aesthetics involved, and with the Eddon Boatyard — even in its previously decrepit condition — citizens saw that value. It could have fallen into further disrepair until a developer tore the building down and replaced it with something only city code could regulate. It could have been a condemned piece of property that would have continued to pollute Gig Harbor Bay with all kinds of environmental toxins that were dredged and removed from the site.

But when the opportunity arose, the public seized it. And now, it will return to the way it was in the 1940s, when boat builders were exposed to the elements as they went to work.

It’s been five years, and it may seem like longer. Improvements to the Eddon Boat site were slow and arduous, and they weren’t always on the city’s timeline. What we’re left with, though, is better than we ever had before, because Gig Harbor BoatShop, a non-profit organization with Guy Hoppen as its president, has moved into the building and will provide public programming. Folks will be able to receive hands-on demonstrations of how boat builders went about their craft, including the reconstruction of a Thunderbird sailboat.

It’s taken a long time, but the beginning of public’s reward for its patience surrounding the Eddon Boat restoration project is here.