Caskets were built in this WA Factory for 80 years

North Coast Casket Company Building, Everett Washington

Date added: June 20, 2024 Categories:

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The North Coast Casket Company building is one of the few remaining intact buildings from the waterfront industries that defined Everett's early history, from early settlement in the 1860s, until the decline of the lumber industry in the 1960s. The industries in this vicinity, including sawmills, shingle mills and related manufacturers, and the convenient rail and water connections, helped define the city's importance in the history of the state and the region. The building is also associated with one of the city's most important early families, the Hulberts, who were pioneers in Everett's industrial development and founders of the Hulbert Mill Company.

The Hulbert Mill Company

The Hulbert Mill Company, which built the North Coast Casket Company building, was established in 1916, when William Marion Hulbert bought a controlling interest in the Fred K. Baxter Lumber Company. William Marion had first entered the lumber business with his father Ansel, who had established a farm outside of the town of Snohomish in 1875. William expanded the logging business after his father's death in 1906, developing the former Baxter mill into a 31-acre site on Norton Avenue at the foot of 10^th Street.

Following William M. Hulbert's death in 1919, his widow, Meda L. Hulbert, and his son, William G. Hulbert, reorganized the company as the Hulbert Lumber Company. William G. Hulbert managed the business until his retirement in 1956. By 1926, the mill employed approximately 200 men and was able to process 80,000 feet of cedar lumber and produce up to 50,000 shingles daily. It was in that year that the company diversified into casket manufacturing and constructed the building at the southern end of the railroad trestle to serve the mill.

On August 3^rd, 1956, much of the mill was destroyed in a fire. The four-alarm fire began in the planer mill, destroying that building, a large storage building nearby, and eight kilns full of lumber. Although the fire was large enough to threaten neighboring mills and even homes on the bluff above the mill, the North Coast Casket Company building was not damaged. William G. Hulbert, Jr., took the helm and ran the company until his death in 1986. Shortly afterward, in 1988, the family dissolved the Hulbert Lumber Company and formed the Hulbert Mill Company Limited Partnership, which sold the property, including the Collins Building, to the Port of Everett in 1991.

The North Coast and Collins Casket Companies

The North Coast Casket Company was established in 1925, and was initially located at Grand and California Avenues in downtown Everett. The company relocated to the building, which they leased, upon its completion in 1926. North Coast Casket Company built casket cases from scrap and end material from the adjacent Hulbert Mill. A tram reportedly ran between the mill and the factory to move the scrap. Another company did the finishing work, including the interiors and linings, probably Sound Casket on Baker Street. William G. Hulbert's brother, Fred Hulbert, managed the company until 1932. In 1944, North Coast changed its name to Cascade Casket Company, which was operated by Edwin C. Dams, the former North Coast shipping manager.

In 1932, the factory superintendent, Rasmus M. Collins, formed the Collins Casket Company, the largest and longest-running business on the site. Collins took over the finishing work for the casket interiors. This work was done on the second floor of the building, with North Coast/Cascade remaining on the first floor; the third floor was used for storage. Collins ran the company through the 1950s, and his son Rasmus Collins became president by 1961. Two other children, Russell and Johanna Collins Holdencamp, also worked at the plant. Both Collins Casket and North Coast/Cascade Casket operated in the building until 1962, when Edwin Dams retired. Hulbert Lumber purchased Cascade Casket and later, around 1976, also bought the Collins Casket Company.

In 1991, the Hulbert Mill Company Limited Partnership sold their 35-acre property and its buildings to the Port of Everett. The only business that remained was the Collins Casket Company, the sole survivor of several casket companies once located in Everett, and nearly the last mill-related business on the waterfront. Later that year, the company's manager, Michael Keys, purchased the business from the Hulbert family. At that time the business was down to four employees, making primarily specialty and custom-designed caskets. Keys operated the company until 1996, when it closed permanently. Since that time, the North Coast Casket Company building has housed a variety of light manufacturing and wholesale businesses.

Casket Manufacturing in Washington State

When the Collins Casket Company closed for the last time in 1996, it was among the last of its kind in Washington. Increased funeral industry regulation over the past twenty years has brought greater competition. Consumers are now able to order caskets from warehouse stores or directly from large suppliers over the Internet. This has increased the dominance of major manufacturers and made it more difficult for the small local companies such as Collins that once formed the composed the majority of the industry.

Caskets are rectangular containers, typically of wood or metal, whose primary purpose is to contain the remains during the funeral and related ceremonies. Caskets have almost completely replaced coffins, which were widely used in this country until the late 19^th Century. Coffins are simpler wooden boxes with a unique six-sided shape. As funeral ceremonies became more elaborate and public, particularly following the Civil War, the more elaborate caskets came to be seen as more appropriate for larger funerals and rituals such as viewing the remains. Caskets are also usually more substantial than coffins, providing a greater sense of protecting the body from earth and the natural process of decay. Wood caskets are usually manufactured of hardwoods, particularly cherry or mahogany, rather than the cedar used at the Hulbert Mill.

During the 1920s, and into the 1950s, Everett had three or four local casket companies, although those that were not located in this building were apparently not connected with a mill. The Hulbert Mill Company's diversification into this industry in order to use its waste materials appears to have been a relatively unusual event. The Pacific Northwest lumber industry has primarily focused on producing raw or milled lumber rather than on producing value-added products such as furniture. Most lumber had been shipped elsewhere to factories located closer to markets and end-users.

While casket manufacture was considered part of the wood products industry, few of the plants on the West Coast were located in areas close to sawmills, which would have been logical if they were directly connected activities. Although the two factories located in Seattle in 1928, were in the South Lake Union area, close to sawmills, they do not appear to have been directly connected to the mills. Their location was also convenient to a rail line, roads, and cemeteries.

Everett was, relatively speaking, a center for the casket manufacturing industry. In 1950, the city had three of the state's eleven casket factories, with another three found in Seattle, a much larger city, but one that had many industries other than lumber. Other factories were found in Tacoma and Spokane (two each), larger cities that also had a variety of industries. Only one of the factories was located in a "timber town," Omak, Washington. The pattern was even stronger in California, where 15 of the state's 19 wood casket manufacturers were located in the urban areas of San Francisco or Los Angeles.

The production of wood caskets at the Collins Company was a complicated process. Skilled workers used specialized equipment (some of it designed and made for the plant) to cut, mold and glue the 69 parts required for each casket shell. At the height of its production, the Collins Casket Company had 17 workers producing 12,000 casket shells annually, sold to funeral homes throughout the region. In its final years, between 1991 and 1996, it had four to ten employees producing about 10,000 units a year. Although it had been the largest producer of cedar caskets in the world, the scarcity of cedar forced the company to turn to pine. In the company's early years and again in the 1990s, only casket shells were produced; they were then sent to other companies to be lined completed with liners and padding.

Today, few small casket companies remain, with none in the Seattle area. The great majority of caskets are manufactured by a small number of companies. The largest is Batesville Casket Company, headquartered in Batesville, Indiana, with five plants throughout the country. The firm's evolution illustrates the industry's development. The firm began in 1884, as a manufacturer of handmade wooden coffins. Beginning in 1906, a new owner mechanized production with new equipment and expanded and intensified marketing. The company initiated production of metal caskets in 1918. World War II metal shortages ended this product line for a time, but afterward metal caskets proved to be so popular that the company halted wood casket manufacturing from 1953, until 1973. Current production includes both metal and hardwood models, with the latter being somewhat more expensive.

Another large manufacturer, York, began as the York Wagon Gear Company in York, Pennsylvania, switching to automobile chassis. The Depression forced diversification, including casket manufacturing. Since 1958, the company has focused on caskets, and is now one of the largest manufacturers, merchandising through more than 1,000 funeral homes.

Everett's Industrial Development

The North Coast Casket Company building was constructed by one of Everett's most important mills, the Hulbert Mill Company, and is adjacent to the site of the former 14^th Street dock, the city's industrial center in the early 20^th Century. Early development focused on exploitation of the region's mineral, forestry, and agricultural resources, often financed by eastern investors. The Port Gardner area, which would become the site of the city of Everett, grew slowly after the initial Euro-American settlement in 1861, with logging and mills as the predominant industry at the time. Although the first railroad reached the Pacific Northwest at Tacoma in 1887, it was not until 1889, that the first rail line came to Everett. The Seattle, Lake Shore and Eastern Railroad's line ran between Seattle and Sumas, at the Canadian border, going through Everett. That same year Washington became a state. In 1890, Tacoma lumbermen Henry Hewitt and Charles L. Colby of Northern Pacific Railroad persuaded John D. Rockefeller to invest in their vision of a great city that would draw upon the abundant raw materials of the region to become the likes of Pittsburg or New York, and perhaps even the new terminus of the Great Northern Railway. Rockefeller authorized up to $800,000 to acquire land for a town site. By late 1890, Hewitt had acquired 5,000 acres around the Port Gardner area and incorporated the Everett Land Company on November 19^th, 1890.

In the following year, 1891, Everett's industrial possibilities were enhanced by its first waterfront rail line. The new Seattle-Montana Railroad joined the Seattle, Lake Shore and Eastern Railroad at the point where their tracks crossed the Snohomish River before continuing north to connect with Canadian lines. That year also saw the future city's first newspaper, school, bank, newspaper, doctor's office, church, and saloon.

The early industrial conglomeration, known as the 14^th Street Dock, was constructed by the Everett Land Company in 1892. The facility, extending over 2,000 feet into Port Gardner Bay, was sited here because of the convenient waterfront location and the proximity of the rail line. Its construction established a defensible outer harbor line and reserved the area shoreward for landfill from mill wastes, allowing the later development of level industrial land. Industrial development began immediately, with the James Bell sawmill beginning production in September 1892, and the Neff & Mish Shingle Mill opening the following month. That year, Everett's population reached 5,600, increasing from 35 only two years earlier. Construction was complete on many new factories and the town had electricity, streetcars, streetlights, and telephones, as well as twenty permanent buildings of brick or stone.

In 1893 connections with eastern markets were further assured by the construction of a Great Northern Railroad railhead on the pier, which allowed direct transfer from ship to rail. The Great Northern Railroad, controlled by "Empire Builder" James Hill, completed its northern railway link over Skagit Pass in January of 1893, connecting with the Seattle Montana line near Burlington and continuing south to its terminus in Seattle.

The City of Everett was incorporated on April 27^th, 1893, shortly before the "Panic of 1893" which generated the worst depression yet seen in the United States. This financial upheaval ultimately brought an end to the Everett Land Company and the severing of the Rockefeller connections. The next several years were bleak, with severe unemployment, bank failures, and general stagnation until 1899. However, federal funds allowed construction to begin on a protected harbor to enhance trade. In 1895-96, nearly 15,000 feet of protective dike were built, with the dredging of the channel completed in 1897.

In 1899, the holdings of the Everett Land Company were transferred to a new corporation called the Everett Improvement Company, financed by James Hill. Hill's local representative, John McChesney, immediately initiated plans to improve the city's transportation, utilities, and parks, and began offering choice industrial lots on the waterfront either free or at a nominal cost. By the end of 1900, there were 14 mills on the waterfront with a combined capacity of 1,389,000 shingles and 903,000 feet of lumber per day, as well as other new industries, including shipyards, a flour company, and a brewery.

Hill also convinced his neighbor from St. Paul, Minnesota, lumberman Frederick Weyerhaeuser, to purchase 900,000 acres of Northern Pacific Railway timberland along his northern rail route. Everett was an ideal location to locate the first mill of the new Weyerhaeuser Timber Company. Weyerhaeuser purchased the old Bell-Nelson Lumber Mill on the southern end of Everett's waterfront and increased its capacity and efficiency. Weyerhaeuser's "Mill A" began operation in 1902, the first of three mills that the company would locate in Everett.

The 14^th Street Dock became a linear industrial complex of nearly a dozen mills stretched out into the bay. Everett, a "City of Smokestacks" was booming once again, although lumber and shingle prices were volatile throughout the decade. By 1910, Everett had 95 manufacturing plants, 22 of which were located on the 14" Street Dock. The city had 11 new lumber mills, such as the Hall-Hill Shingle Mill, the Robinson Manufacturing Company, the Clark-Nickerson Mill, the Wheelahan & Weidauer Lumber Company, the Hartley & Lovejoy Lumber Company, the Everett Lumber Company, and the Jamison and Canyon Shingle Mills. The Bell-Nelson and Eclipse mills also expanded at this time. The city's population increased to 25,000 in 1910 from only 8,000 in 1900.

By 1914, the Fred K. Baker Lumber Company had built a mill at the foot of 12" Street. Mills operating on the nearby 14^th Street Dock included the Shull Lumber & Shingle Company, the Everett Shingle Company, the White Brothers Shingle Mill, and at least two others. In 1915, Weyerhaeuser developed their "Mill B" on the north side of the peninsula on the Snohomish River. This mill eventually had the capacity to handle 1,000,000 feet of lumber a day and was reported to be "one of the largest and most up-to-date sawmills in the United States." As industrial development increased, the Port of Everett was created in 1918, bringing public management to the waterfront.

Although the Everett economy suffered somewhat during the post-war depression of 1920 and 1921, by 1923, Everett's lumber mills were thriving again, partially due to rebuilding after the disastrous Tokyo earthquake that struck that year. In 1924, Weyerhaeuser added "Mill C" adjacent to the large "Mill B" on the Snohomish River. The Port used the enthusiasm during these years to expand its holdings, including the acquisition of the 14^th Street Dock in 1928. Several mills expanded or diversified and, sometime during this decade, Norton Avenue was constructed on wooden pilings west of the railroad tracks. This improved vehicle access, along with the general boom in the lumber industry, no doubt was a factor in the Hulbert Mill Company's decision to diversify into casket case manufacturing. The North Coast Casket Company building was constructed during this period of prosperity, in 1926.

However, soon afterward, the "Great Depression," beginning in 1929, brought almost everything to a standstill in Everett. Although most plans for improvement on the Port's new properties were postponed, the Port did undertake a major landfill at 21^st Street to provide deep-water ship access, and the Corps of Engineers modified the channel opposite the 14^th Street Dock to reduce costly maintenance dredging.

Despite these improvements, there was a general decrease in trade due to the Depression and Everett experienced a general decline in shipping and industrial activity during the 1930s.

The decline of the lumber industry in the 14^th Street Dock vicinity was further exacerbated by changes during World War II. The federal government condemned port property in the East Waterway for a shipyard, and as a result, pleasure craft were relocated to the south side of the 14^th Street Dock where the fishing fleet was located. In 1944-47 the Port filled 40 acres adjacent to the pier, extending northward approximately 900 feet, nearly to the Hulbert Mill Company complex, to provide upland support facilities. Norton Avenue (renamed West Marine View Drive in 1982) had also been filled as far north as 10^th Street. Other marine-related industries gradually located to this new landfill and, by 1950, only the Super Shingle Company was still operating in the vicinity. In 1956, the Hulbert Mill Company, one of the few remaining mills, was destroyed in a fire. By 1962, the last remaining mill in the area ceased operation.

During the 1960s, the Port of Everett increased its focus on marina development and landfills to support recreational boating. In 1965 the Port developed the 950-slip North Marina and its support facilities, followed by the South Marina in 1980. In 1984, the Marina Village area development began. By 1987, development in the area was essentially as it is today, with a combination of commercial buildings, marine commercial uses, and non-lumber industrial uses. In the mid-1990s, the Navy developed a homeport and Marine Spill Response Corporation built a warehouse/office complex immediately west of the North Coast Casket Company building.

Industrial Buildings

With the advent of the Industrial Revolution, new building types and methods of construction were necessary to house the machinery and industrial processes of the factories. Different types of buildings, using different construction types were used to house the different parts of the factory works: powerhouses, production sheds, forge shops and foundries, storehouses and offices were all necessary. Of the early examples of industrial construction, textile mills innovated a type easily adaptable to other production industries. American builders preferred frame construction to load load-bearing mass of European construction, because the materials, wood, iron, and steel, necessary to build frames were abundant in America.

The three biggest factors in industrial engineering were load capacity, daylight, and fire resistance. By using a frame to bear the load, the walls only had to support their own weight and could open up with large windows to provide light and ventilation to the interior of the building. Fire resistance was accomplished by using fire resistant materials such as brick and steel, as well as methods of construction least likely to burn.

Early textile mills in the Northeastern United Sates used a timber frame construction, which had several advantages over cast iron or steel construction. Wood was less expensive and more reliable structurally than cast iron. In America iron columns were cast horizontally instead of vertically and were prone to weakness due to the uneven distribution of metal around the perimeter. Also the elasticity of wood helped to offset the effects of oscillation and vibration caused by the machines. The problem with wood construction is that wood is more flammable than masonry and iron.

Mill construction overcame some of the fire danger to wood by eliminating characteristics that made the building susceptible. By using large columns and large beams, eliminating joists and creating a thick floor that lay directly on the beams, the more flammable corners were reduced and airspace between members eliminated. Mills also used flat roofs in order to eliminate attics where fire might smolder undetected. This heavy timber construction proved reliable in fire, the exterior of the wood would char, and the interior strength maintained preventing collapse of the building. The slow burning wood framed construction advocated by fire insurance companies, called Factory Mutuals, became known as mill construction. Because the method became reliable insurance rates for mill construction were lower, and even though the "Factory Mutuals" didn't insure other types of industries beside textiles, their codified requirements for slow burn construction were widely copied.

Even though theoretically the size of the structural members could be reduced on upper floors of the building, most mills retained the same timber dimensions throughout the building, which might have been a response to the insurance codes of the day. Common sizes for columns were 12x14 inches and for beams 10x12 inches. Because the floor lay directly on the beams and bore the load without benefit of joists, column spacing in the longitudinal direction was limited and generally ranged from 8' to 10', and rarely up to 12'. Transversely, the column spacing was limited by the size of the beams and ranged from 20' to 25'.

Because the frame carried the load, and the walls had only to bear their own weight, window walls started to develop in some industrial buildings in the 1870s. The first approach to window walls occurred in wood frame buildings where the sash was placed directly between vertical posts and the walls above and below were sheathed with horizontal wood siding or shingles, producing alternating horizontal bands of sash and siding. This method of construction was especially popular in Rhode Island.

Window sash in the 19^th Century was generally made of wood. Fireproof windows were often experimented with, but the high cost of steel sash and the tendency of metal to expand and contract, thus shattering the glass made most engineers wary of metal-sash windows, although metal-clad wood windows and other sash types were experimented with. The invention of the fireproof window, comprised of steel sash of narrow rolled steel sections, and wire glass, started to be produced in the United States around 1910.

Another way that fire risk was mitigated in factory building was with sprinklers. Automatic sprinklers were in general use by the 1880s. Towers were a common architectural feature in industrial buildings, often for stairs or for factory bells to regulate worker shifts. After sprinklers started to be used, towers were often built to hold the water tanks.

During the 19^th Century, the mechanical distribution of power was a limiting factor in industrial architecture. The term millwork refers to the machinery of power transmission. Buildings could not be longer than the power could travel.

The North Coast Casket Company Building differs in several particulars from general mill construction. The most evident is the way that the structural members reduce in size on each successive floor, in contrast to the typical column/pintel/beam construction where the members remain uniform size for all floors. The other difference is the slope in the roof, although there is no attic in the building. Mills in the northeast often used masonry for their outer walls, to provide a more fire-resistant perimeter, and because wood material started to become more limited and expensive there. However, in the northwest, wood was the most plentiful material available and it was logical for the Hulberts to built the walls of wood, especially 2x4 mill ends, stacked one on top of the other provided the same fire-resistant qualities as the solid 2x4 floors. The 100' width of the casket factory is in widest range of early industrial buildings, generally, better daylighting was achieved by having narrower buildings, and many mill owners preferred a 60' width.

For the most part the casket factory adheres to the same principles as mill construction. The columns and beams are heavy enough resist failure in a fire; the floors are solid 2x4 stock spanning a typical 10' bay of mill construction. The transverse column spacing is also mill construction typical at 20'. The continuous window sash also is typical of wood-frame industrial buildings.

Site Description

The North Coast Casket Company Building is a three-story heavy-timbered structure that has a footprint measuring approximately 200' x 100', the longer (longitudinal) dimension running north/south. The building's walls extend approximately 35' in height from the surrounding grade level. The exterior walls are sheathed with red-painted 6" beveled cedar siding horizontally mounted with an approximately 4.25" exposure. The siding is flared, or battered, near the main floor line. The building's most prominent visual feature is three horizontal bands of divided-light wood-sash windows that wrap nearly around the perimeter of the building (except for the northwestern corner of the building), one band on each floor. Although the majority of the windows in these bands are fixed, several have been retrofitted to be center horizontal pivot windows. Structural vertical mullions separate the windows within each band and all windows have divided lights except a few non-original windows that have been added. All original window sash, mullions, muntins, and trim are painted white. The exterior window casing is approximately 6" wide. On the second and third floor levels there are hinged scuppers in the center of the structural bays on the both the eastern and western facades. The northwestern corner of the building is mostly unglazed except for some small rectangular windows on the second floor. There are loading docks on the building's northern and eastern sides. The roof is a simple gable roof with a slope of 2-in-12 and has a simple fascia board with metal gutters on the eastern and western sides, which are drained by nine round metal downspouts. The roof ridge runs in a north/south direction and the roof is covered with bituminous membrane roofing.

Structural system:

The building has a structural grid of columns spaced 10' on center running from north/south, and a 20' spacing in the east/west direction. This structural grid corresponds to an underlying system of driven wooden piling below the main floor. This grid creates 20 east/west bays and 5 north/south bays, with a total of 126 pilings. These untreated Douglas fir pilings are approximately 16" round or greater. They originally supported the upper several feet of the structure above Ordinary High Water (normal high tide) and were driven several feet below the intertidal surface. The pilings along both the second and fourth north/south beam line, counting from the building's western face, are capped with horizontal 12"x12" untreated Douglas fir transversely oriented piling caps. These piling caps are approximately 3'-4 1/2" long and centrally placed in the inner bays and approximately 9'-3" and running inward in the outer bays. The pilings were originally longitudinally braced in the east/west (shorter) direction by diagonal 4'x9 3/4" wooden timbers between the pilings at the two outer north/south running bays. This bracing, although now redundant because of later earth filling, is rotted off at ground level. Earth fill now extends to approximately 2'10" below the top of the pilings, allowing the pilings to be seismically stable as cantilevers. The pilings were inspected in 1999 and were observed to be in deteriorating condition, considered serviceable for only the short term.

The pilings and piling caps support untreated heavy-timber 12"x13 1/2" Douglas fir beams running east/west that are secured to either the piling caps or piling by iron or steel drift pins and 1/2" round through bolts. The ends of these beams project past the exterior face of the building slightly. By being bolted together with the spliced beams above, the piling caps tie the floor beams together forming a nominally continuous beam. The beams support a floor system of untreated 3 1/2"x11 1/4" Douglas fir joists running north/south at 24" on center (OC) typical. The joists support a floor composed of random-length Douglas fir nominal 2x4 boards laid upright and nailed together. The flooring provides little, if any, lateral support in the longitudinal direction.

Above the building's floor level, there are a series of 21 east/west one-story heavy-timber nominal moment frames, or bents, constructed of Douglas fir, that are placed transversely along a north/south axis creating 20 structural bays. No intermediate heavy-timber longitudinal members, or girts, connect the bents, other than the floor system and the western and eastern exterior walls. The structural columns of the individual bents are interrupted at the beam/column assemblies at each floor, creating a stack of three individual bents, two supporting floors and one supporting the roof. This arrangement differs from the typical column/pintel/beam connection usually found in timber mill buildings from this general period.

The structural columns supporting the second floor are two sizes: nominal 8x10s around the perimeter and 10x12s on the interior. Approximately seven structural columns have received recent splices near the floor line. The perimeter columns are situated so that the longer side is parallel to the exterior wall. The columns on the interior are oriented with the longer dimension running east/west, aligning with the beams above. The columns are connected to the floor beams below by iron or steel drift pins. These transversely oriented caps are connected to the column below with iron or steel drift pins and are fastened to the beams above by 1/2" round through bolts, two on each side of the column line. The column caps are nominal 10x12s at all interior columns and the outer eastern and western perimeter wall columns. The interior column caps are approximately 5' long while those at the perimeter have 30" long caps. All caps have an angle cut at exposed ends. At all but the southernmost and northernmost transverse beam lines the column caps support nominal 12x14 beams that span between columns, but stop short of meeting, creating a pocket for the column above. The southernmost and northernmost transverse beam lines on this floor have nominal 8x14 transverse beams with 8x12 column caps. This column/cap/beam assembly creates a nominally continuous transverse beam. The floor beams support a floor system composed of random-length Douglas fir nominal 2x4 boards spanning north/south laid upright and nailed together. Sub-floor-to-sub-floor height between the first and second floor is approximately 14'-3".

The structural system supporting the third floor and its detailing are similar to the second-floor structural support system, although column and beam size change. The perimeter columns are nominal 8x8s and the interior columns are nominal 8x10s that are oriented with the longer dimension running east/west, aligning with the beams above. The interior column caps are nominal 10x12s at throughout the interior and at the outer eastern and western perimeter walls. At all but the southernmost and northernmost transverse beam lines the column caps support nominal 8x14 beams. The southernmost and northernmost transverse beam lines on this floor have nominal 8x14 transverse beams with nominal 8x12 column caps. The floor beams support a floor system composed of random-length Douglas fir nominal 2x4 boards spanning north/south laid upright and nailed together. Sub-floor-to-sub-floor height between the second and third floor is approximately 9'-11". The transverse floor beams are sloped down slightly toward the eastern and western exterior walls on the second and third floor and floor scuppers are present on the eastern and western exterior walls. This sloping was probably done intentionally to allow the building to drain after sprinkler activation, preventing structural failure due to increased floor loads from accumulation of water.

The roof support system is located above the third-floor level. All columns are nominal 8x8s and extend continuously from their bearing point to nominal 8x10 roof rafters that are sloped at a 2-in-12 pitch. The columns and rafters are probably connected with drift pins, although recent structural repairs have included new steel plates at these connections where columns have considerable twisting. The rafter bearing point on the outer eastern and western perimeter wall columns is approximately 10'-0" from the top of the sub-floor. The roof rafters are spliced at the second and fourth longitudinal column line and run continuously from that point to the ridge. All rafter splices are made with driven steel drift pin staples on both rafter sides. Double nominal 2x8 collar ties run transversely across the building and are connected to the upper portion of the exterior columns and spliced along the interior with steel spikes. The collar ties in the central bay are raised approximately 2'-6" at some areas of the northern portion of the building. The structural roof is composed of random-length Douglas fir nominal 2x4 boards spanning north/south laid upright and nailed together.

Exterior walls, where there are no openings, are composed of stacked nominal 2x4s laid flat and nailed together. On the eastern and western walls, this construction provides some lateral resistance for the building.

Exterior Facade Description:

Because of the building's original siting as a freestanding building, all facades are primary. An adjacent semi-attached concrete tilt-up building that was built in the early to mid-1960s has visually and physically impacted the eastern facade.

The northern facade contains the primary entrances to the building, two entry doors, and a large loading door. This side of the building originally faced the adjacent Hulbert Lumber Mill to the north and all visitors, employees, and materials entered from that direction. A small non-original shed lean-to addition is located with its northern face flush with the northern face of the original building. This lean-to has horizontal bevel siding not matching the original building. The roof slope of the addition is approximately 4-in-12. Two horizontal sliding aluminum windows are mounted on the north face of the addition. The floor level of the main floor is approximately 36" from the adjacent grade. A concrete loading dock is located on the westernmost side of the elevation with a concrete ramp extending downward and to the west from the western edge of the original building. Two large sliding loading doors provide access to the interior from the loading dock. The doors slide on an exterior mounted rail and are situated in such a way that from a closed position, they slide inward over a portion of the wall between the openings, that is equal in width to the doors. As the doors are on the same track only one door at a time can be opened fully. The doors are each approximately 12' wide and 9" high and are each composed of three sections of two panels each, the upper panel of which is a 12-light glazed panel. The intermediate wall section contains three fixed sash 12-light wood-sash windows; the westernmost is separated from the central window by a wide mullion covering the structural column. Adjacent to the eastern door are two windows. The westernmost is a taller 20-light fixed wood-sash window that has a head height of approximately 10'. The easternmost window is a smaller 20-light fixed wood-sash window with a lower head height.

On the eastern side of the facade on the main floor are a group of windows and two building entrances. On the eastern edge are three 6-over-1 wood-sash double-hung windows. To the west of these three windows is a four-panel entrance door with an upper glazed panel and with a glazed transom light. This door provides access to the original office. To the west of the entry door are two 8-over-1 wood-sash double-hung windows. To the west of these two windows is a six-panel non-original entrance door with a glazed transom light. This door provides access to a stair vestibule. To the west of this door is a 20-light fixed wood-sash window with a higher head height. The entrance doors share a wooden framed porch with a light-frame guardrail. Access to the porch is by way of wooden stairs centered on the westernmost door. Both entrance doors have shed roof covers supported on pair of wood knee braces secured with heavy lags or bolts.

On the second floor is a band of 12 fixed 16-light wood-sash square windows, four windows each between the structural columns. Two non-original horizontal vinyl-sash sliding windows are placed on the western side of the second floor. The third floor has a band of 12 fixed 20-light wood sash rectangular windows, four windows each between the structural columns. Immediately beneath the roof ridge is a non-original vinyl-sash sliding window. The roof has an approximately 12" overhang and an approximately 6" bargeboard and the roof is sloped at a 2-in-12 pitch. An external piped sprinkler system is installed at the roof eave and over the heads of the second-floor windows. An electrical service mast and meter are located at the building's northwestern corner.

The eastern facade has a set of six 6-over-1 wood-sash double-hung windows on its most northern portion of the first floor. The center mullion of the set is wider to accommodate a structural column. These windows provide light to the building's original office. Two electrical service masts and meters are located immediately south of the windows. To the south of the office windows is a group of small windows, the northernmost being an original fixed 4-light square wood-sash window. The central window is a small non-original sliding aluminum-sash window, and the southernmost is a larger vertically oriented window that has been partially boarded over. A heavy timber framed loading platform extends from approximately 40' from the building's northern face southward along the remaining length of the building. This platform originally served an adjacent railroad spur that was built on pilings over the water, and continued northward and angling eastward until it intersected with the main railroad right-of-way. The platform is covered with a low-slope lean-to from its northern edges southward approximately 40' where the original roof is interrupted by a higher and steeper shed roof that provides shelter for a wooden stair accessing the second-floor level and a conveyor belt extending from the second floor to a non-original eastward extension of the loading platform.

The building's fourth bay from the northern end of the loading platform has a metal screen gate that accesses a freight elevator that serves the upper two floors. Immediately to the south of the freight elevator is a pair of sliding loading doors similar to those found on the northwestern corner of the building, although because of the structural grid, the central window opening is filled with a pair of 16-light fixed wood-sash windows. To the south of the sliding doors are two pairs of 20-light fixed wood-sash windows. To the south of these windows is a pair of small non-original entrance doors. The doors are located at the northern side of the structural bay and the remaining bay area has been surfaced with horizontal siding matching the original siding. To the south of this bay is a pair of 20-light fixed wood-sash windows. To the south of these windows is a 16-light fixed wood sash window with a lower head height to accommodate the track of an adjacent 4-panel sliding door with upper glazing. To the south of the sliding loading door are 3 pairs of 20-light fixed wood-sash windows that extend to the building's southern face.

On the second floor level there is a band of 14 fixed 20-light wood-sash square windows, two windows each between the structural columns, extending southward from the building's northern face. To the south of these windows is a blank section of wall with horizontal siding that corresponds to the freight elevator shaft. To the south of this bay a conveyor belt leading downward and eastward attaches to the building. To the south of the conveyor belt is an exit door and a wood-framed egress stairway leading down and eastward parallel to the conveyor belt. The conveyor belt and the stairway share a shed roof that slopes downward from near the third-floor line. A large vertical louvered wood vent is located south of the doorway. The window band continues after the interruption of the conveyor belt and stairway with a row of 22, fixed 20-light wood-sash nearly square windows, four windows each between the structural columns. On the third floor level there is another band of 22, fixed 20-light wood-sash square windows, four windows each between the structural columns. To the north of the last window, a large vertical louvered wood vent has been inserted into an original window bay leaving the original side and head casing. To the north of this vent is one additional fixed 20-light wood-sash square window. The window band is then interrupted by one blank bay that accommodates the freight elevator shaft, before the band continues with 14 additional fixed 20-light wood-sash square windows, four windows each between the structural columns.

The southern facade is similar to the north, although the window banding is interrupted much less. On the main floor level there is a band of 16 fixed tall 20-light wood-sash rectangular windows, four windows each between the structural columns, extending westward from the eastern face of the building. To the west of these windows the regular window arrangement has been altered by the insertion of a flush panel door, the upper portion (8-lights) of the original 20-light window serving as a transom window. To the west of this doorway are three additional, fixed tall 20-light wood-sash rectangular windows. On the second floor is a band of 20 fixed 16-light wood-sash square windows, four windows each between the structural columns, extending the width of the building. The third floor has a band of 20 fixed 20-light wood-sash rectangular windows, four windows each between the structural columns, also extending the width of the building. The eighth windows from the eastern face on both the second and third floors are presently boarded over with plywood. There is a bank of six gas meters, two for each floor, with exterior gas piping extending upward along window mullions to above the window head height on each floor. The southern facade of a non-compatible lean-to addition located on the building's northwestern corner has a rollup garage door on its western end and a horizontal aluminum-sash sliding window located between the garage door and the face of the original building.

The western facade is similar to the eastern facade. A heavy-timber exit stair that provides egress from the second and third floor levels dominates the southern portion of the facade. The stair consists of two towers supporting floor landings with intermediate wood stairs. The tallest tower is diagonally braced and supports the third floor landing that is located on the facade's southernmost edge. A flush paneled door with wide flat casing provides egress from the third floor at the landing. A stair descends northward from this landing along the side of the building until it reaches the second floor landing. This landing is wider and supports a second stair that descends southward to a low landing at the main floor level, turning westward and continuing to grade level. A flush paneled door with wide flat casing provides egress from the second floor at the landing. Both stairs runs are braced back to the vertical timber landing supports and the longer lower stair has vertical timber supports. The stair has a light wood-framed triple-rail guardrail. All stair members are painted red except for the handrails, which are painted white. Most of the exit stair is supported on wood beams atop driven piling, suggesting that the stairway was built before the area was filled in the 1940s. A non-compatible lean-to addition is located at the northernmost portion of the facade. The western facade of this addition has a flush-panel sliding equipment door located in the center of the facade and a flush-panel entry door located to the north of the sliding door. The main floor level of this facade has a band of 30 fixed 20-light wood-sash square windows, two windows each between the structural columns, extending northward from approximately 20' from the building's southern face until they intersect with the addition. The second floor has a band of 5 smaller 20-light wood sash nearly square windows, two windows each between the structural columns, extending northward from approximately 35" from the building's southern face. Immediately north of the northernmost window, an original window has been removed and has been replaced by a sided wall section with a large protruding rectangular sheet metal exhaust vent. The original window casings and sill remain in this section. The window band continues with ten additional smaller 20-light wood-sash nearly square windows, two windows each between the structural columns, extending northward. To the north of the second floor window band is a pair of cased smaller horizontal 6-light casement windows. The four northernmost structural bays on the second floor have four cased horizontal non-original aluminum-sash sliding windows, one per structural bay. The third floor has a band of eighteen 20-light wood-sash windows, two windows each between the structural columns, extending northward from approximately 10' from the building's southern face.

The building's low-sloped roof is covered with a dark grey bituminous roofing membrane that appears to be in good condition. There is an access roof hatch located near the building's southeastern corner.

Interior Description:

The building has three floors, each containing approximately 20,000 square feet of floor area. The majority of the floor area was originally devoted to casket manufacturing, although some space on the building's northern side on both the main and second floors was devoted to administrative offices and casket sales. A straight stair providing access to the second and third floors is located along the northern exterior wall. A freight elevator that also serves the second and third floors is located on the building's eastern side a little north of the midpoint of the building. Original flooring throughout the building was Douglas fir tongue-and-groove flooring run diagonally over a sub-floor of tongue-and-groove shiplap nailed to the structural 2x4 floor decking. The original floor has been patched in many areas with various wood flooring materials and some areas have been reinforced with steel plates.

The original office area of the North Coast Casket Company is located at the northeastern corner of the building on the main floor. The original office area has one main space with two small offices located to the west. All three rooms retain original trim, paneling, windows, and doors. The painted fir paneling entirely covers the walls, ceiling, and structural elements. Wall paneling has vertical battens placed approximately 24" on-center, except beneath the north and east windows where the panels are horizontal.

Ceiling panels are rectangular with a central north/south batten and east/west battens placed approximately 36" on-center. A non-original counter is installed to the east of the main entrance door. An original small restroom and additional frame office and utility room partitions are located to the south of the office. A small workshop retaining some tools has been partitioned off at the southwestern corner of this floor. An entrance vestibule on the building's north facade leads to a door entering the main floor shop area, now used for Port of Everett general storage, or to the west leading up a set of stairs to the second floor.

The second floor is presently used as office and warehouse space. At the top of the stairs from the main floor, there is a landing leading south to a hallway. Turning east leads to a door to the warehouse, while turning west leads to a contemporary glazed door providing access to the office area. The original owners used this space as a casket/coffin showroom. Although the original room has been partitioned off, the room retains much of its original trim and paneling. The remainder of the floor area is used for general warehouse and shipping, with some partitioning for restrooms, and some general office space.

The third floor is presently vacant. At the top of the northern main stairway is a small landing. Turning south leads to a doorway entering the shop floor. A small loft area is located at the central area of the northern side of the floor. The floor has been minimally partitioned off, with one space at the northwestern corner of the building and an office space with restroom near the center of the building along the western wall. The remains of a steam wood bender are located immediately south of the freight elevator. The 2x4 roof decking has been replaced in some areas.

Site and Building Alterations

The following chronology summarizes the development and construction of the North Coast Casket Company site and alterations to the building and the site through the present. Some site changes or building alterations could not be confirmed and dates provided are based on available evidence.

1914 First buildings of what would become the Hulbert Lumber Mill were built seaward of an over-water railroad spur.

1926 The Hulbert Lumber Company built a three-story 60,000-square foot heavy timber mill building on pilings adjacent to the railroad spur. The building is used as a casket manufacturing mill by the North Coast Casket Company.

1945 The water area around the North Coast Casket Company (by now being called the Collins Casket Company) building is filled with dredge spoils.

1956 The adjacent Hulbert Lumber Mill is destroyed by fire, leaving the Collins Casket Company mill building and a few miscellaneous structures standing.

1962 The Collins Casket Company has a one-story concrete tilt-up building constructed to the east of the original mill building. A conveyor belt extending from the second floor of the original building was probably built at the same time.

1968 Alterations to the mill building's main floor offices are completed mainly including new partitions south of the original office.

1970 The large loading platform at the original mill building's northwestern corner was replaced by a smaller reinforced concrete loading dock.

1973 Code changes were completed in the original mill building's northern stairway.

1974 Reinforced concrete was placed at grade level around the original mill building's north, west, and south perimeter walls. Also, the original boiler house south of the building was probably demolished.

1986 The eastern loading dock and its roof were expanded.

1989 A spray booth was added to the second floor of the original mill building.

1990 Additional partitioning on the second floor of the original mill building. A small lean-to storage shed is built on the northwestern corner of the original mill building around this time.

1991 An egress stair is built on the eastern side of the original mill building. A new maintenance building is built to the west of the building.

1996 11 gas-fired space heaters are installed on the three floors of the original mill building.

2001 Two lumber storage buildings to the west of the original mill building are demolished. Minor structural repairs were made to the roof structure.