Northwest Maritime (NWM) has teamed up with the city of Port Townsend in a move to expand service to residents and visitors. 

The new collaboration is part of what the city calls a “collaborative hub and spoke model for visitor information services,” which now includes the Port Townsend Main Street Program’s seasonal greeter and the Highway 20 event leaderboard operated by Key City Theatre, according to a city press release. 

The city’s Lodging Tax Advisory Committee pivoted to the new model after the 2024 closure of the chamber-operated Port Townsend Visitor Center on Jefferson Street. 

“Our Welcome Center has already been providing visitors with informal recommendations about what to do in the area — this partnership will expand the physical items we’ll have in the space but also our staff and volunteers have been doing orientations with the City and Main St. so they ensure a cohesive, current visitor experience across the community,” wrote NWM Communications Director Anika Colvin.

NWM’s Welcome Center, at 431 Water Street, will serve residents over the phone, via email and in person. 

“We are not changing the name, the space will continue to be the Welcome Center but we will add that we offer Port Townsend Visitor Information Services to our signage and website,” Colvin wrote. “The space will continue to be the place to check out maritime exhibits and displays, purchase nautical gear and gifts plus being able to register for classes and events — it’s just enhancing by offering visitor info.” 

New additions to the space include rack cards featuring things to do around the Olympic Peninsula, a digital guest book, and new signage both inside and outside the center. 

The Welcome Center is open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.