Hanging it up after 50 years: Puget Sound Coast Artillery Museum at Fort Worden closing

The Puget Sound Coast Artillery Museum’s 50th year at Fort Worden State Park is its last; the independent, non-profit museum is closing its doors on Sept. 7, 2026. Fort Worden was an active U.S. Army post from 1890 to 1953, serving most of that time as headquarters for the Harbor Defense of Puget Sound from its position on Point Wilson. The Coast Artillery Museum’s roots date to 1976, when veterans of the U.S. Army Coast Artillery Corps’ 248th Regiment turned their 18th annual reunion into a mission to “preserve and interpret” why Fort Worden, in particular, existed and operated. That year, a one-room museum was opened in Building 200. The much more expansive museum in Building 201 opened in 1985. Admission is by donation. Earlier this year, CAM’s board of directors made the decision to close. Building 201 is the last of the Fort Worden barracks that has not been significantly updated since the state’s Diagnostic and Treatment Center for juveniles operated from 1958 to 1970. The…