Port Townsend’s [1] historic “Uptown,” covers a block or so of Lawrence Street near Taylor Street. This is where you’re more likely to meet people who actually live in town. It was created as a turn-of-the-20th-century shopping district for the genteel ladies living in the hilltop mansions, a place to avoid the bawdy waterfront shopping district (“the most wicked city north of San Francisco” in the 1880s).
Today, Uptown’s mansions are elaborate B&Bs and offbeat stores. You’ll discover great views across Admiralty Inlet from a tiny park at Monroe and Clay Streets.
Links:
[1] http://www.moon.com/destinations/washington/olympic-peninsula-and-the-coast/port-townsend