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Old City HallSituated on a hill overlooking Whatcom Creek, the Old City Hall building has been an important landmark in Bellingham since its construction in 1892. Designed in the Late Victorian style, it's an architecturally striking building. It was built with red brick, sandstone trim, and features four cupolas at the corners and a large clock tower in the center. Inside, the building features elaborate woodwork, a grand staircase, and many decorative elements. It became a museum not long after the city moved out in 1939. The Education Center, which located next door, was built in 1926, and the Lightcatcher Building was constructed in 2009.

The historic Old City Hall Building was erected in 1892 and is one of three buildings that make up the Whatcom Museum.

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The Whatcom Museum explores the art and cultural history of the Pacific Northwest. It houses a collection of 30,000 items of art, history, and ethnography, as well as a photograph collection numbering more than 200,000. The museum is comprised of three buildings: the historic Old City Hall, the Syre Education Center, and the Lightcatcher building. The museum offers a variety of art and history exhibitions as well as youth and adult programs. Historical exhibitions and the museum's most popular programs are held in the Old City Hall. The Syre Education Center houses the photograph collection and a bird collection; educational programs are also held there. The Lightcatcher Building, which is named for its large translucent wall, holds art exhibitions throughout the year and houses the Family Interactive Gallery (a museum space geared for children). 

Whatcom Museum

This tour begins at the YMCA Building, J. J. Donovan House, and Hotel Leo before stopping at the city's railroad museum and courthouse. The tour continues on to the Elks Building, the Whatcom Museum, Mount Baker Theater, and the arch that was dedicated in remembrance of the victims of the 1907 Bellingham Riots. The tour includes several historic homes and buildings before concluding at a building that was home to the city's leading women's club at the turn of the century.   

Bellingham Washington Walking Tour

The YWCA's origins date back to the mid-1850s. The first association was established in London and not long after in the United States (there are now YWCAs around the world). As stated above, the Bellingham YWCA formed in 1907. Members first met in private homes and then rented a room in the public library. The lack of a permanent location and substantial financial help in early years made it difficult for the members but they persisted in their mission. Seeing the good work the YWCA was doing (his wife and daughter were actively involved in the organization), Charles Larrabee decided to take the lead in the effort to build the a new home for it. Unfortunately, he died before it was completed. Today, YMCA Bellingham continues to work towards empowering women from the local community.

The YWCA (Young Women's Christian Association) in Bellingham been an important institution serving the community since its founding in 1907. In 1915 it moved into this historic building, which was built, in large part, with funds from wealthy businessman Charles X. Larrabee, whose wife was a leader of the Bellingham YWCA. The YWCA's mission has been to support women and girls in need (through housing, job training, and other services) and to empower them to effectuate positive social change. The building itself is also significant for its sophisticated Colonial Revival architecture. Notable features include decorative brackets under the roof eaves, large floor-to-ceiling windows on the first floor, and an attractive front entrance portico with Doric columns. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977 for its association with the YWCA and architecture.

YWCA Building

John Joseph Donovan was born on September 8, 1858 in New Hampshire. His parents, Patrick and Julia, were Irish immigrants. They moved to the town of Plymouth where Donovan grew up. He attended the New Hampshire State Normal School and worked as a teacher for three years before studying civil engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. He graduated first in his class in 1882 and was hired immediately by the Northern Pacific Railway Company, which tasked him to survey land in Montana for the Transcontinental Railroad. He became assistant construction engineer and was at the "golden spike" ceremony in Helena where the railroad was completed. Donovan then worked on building track and bridges for a railroad that reached the Puget Sound in 1887.Next, a railroad contractor named Nelson Bennet, who founded the newly established Fairhaven and Southern Railroad, hired Donovan to build a line from Seattle to Bellingham to encourage development there (at the time the area had a few communities, one of which was called Fairhaven; they were eventually incorporated into Bellinghman). Donovan eventually became director of the railroad. He also seized other opportunities, becoming chief of the Fairhaven Land Company and a principal in the Skagit Coal and Transportation Company. In 1890, after Fairhaven was officially established, Donovan served as a member the city's first and second councils and oversaw the construction of the sewage system. In these ways, Donovan contributed significantly to the city's growth between 1889-1892. In 1898, he co-founded a logging company, which became one of the largest in the region by 1913.In addition to his business ventures, Donovan held political positions and was involved in philanthropic and educational pursuits. He served on the State Board of Road Commissioners and a number of local positions. He donated land for the construction of a hospital, served for several years on the Board of Trustees of the Bellingham State Normal School (what is now Western Washington University), and helped establish the Washington Good Roads Association. Donovan was also a moral man. When the Ku Klux Klan asked to include a float in the 1926 Tulip Parade, he, as parade chair, denied the request (he had also previously wrote an article criticizing the klan).He and his wife Clara (they got married in 1888) had three children, two daughters and a son. Clara passed away in 1936 and Donovan in 1937. The state bought the home in 1946 and converted it into a women's dormitory, which lasted for 25 years. After that, the first floor became a dentist's office and the upper floors apartments. The dentist's office seems to have closed. A statue commemorating Donovan is located on the corner of 11th and Harris streets.

Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983, this historic home was once the residence of prominent local civic leader, industrialist, lumberman, and railroad engineer and executive J.J. Donovan. Donovan was instrumental in developing Bellingham in the late 18th and early 20th centuries. The house, which is located prominently on a hill overlooking Bellingham Bay, was originally built by its first owner, Edward Fischer, in 1890. In terms or architecture, Fischer designed it in the Stick/Eastlake style but Donovan expanded the home and changed its design to the Tudor Revival style. For many years, the house was a women's dormitory for Western Washington University. 

J.J. Donovan House

When the Byron Hotel opened, the area was experiencing rapid growth thanks to the thriving lumber, fishing, and coal industries. Tourism also growing as well. In order to accommodate businessmen and wealthy tourists (and unmarried professionals), Captain Byron decided to build the hotel to give them a place to stay and socialize. With its luxurious accommodations, the hotel was the most popular hotel in the city for decades. It also hosted a variety of events including weddings, banquets, conventions, and high school proms.Byron, who passed away in 1908, was a prominent figure in the city in the early 1900s. He served two terms as councilman and played a key role in the funding of sidewalks in the downtown area. Leopold Schmidt arrived in Washington in the early 1890s and built a brewery near Olympia in 1894. While in Bellingham to establish a brewery here, he decided to buy the hotel. He lived there until he passed away in 1914. Subsequent owners expanded the hotel in the 1920s and again in 1968 with the construction of a four-story modern wing—where the original 1899 hotel building was once located—that still stands today. The hotel became a retirement home in 1985 and remained so for 33 years before declining occupancy and rising costs forced its closure. Hotel Leo opened in the fall of 2019.

Hotel Leo is a historic hotel located in the heart of downtown Bellingham. It has been at this location since 1899 and originally called the Byron Hotel after the man who built it—Captain Josiah B. Byron. The hotel consists of a building was constructed in 1929 as an addition to the original building, and a modern addition erected in 1967. By the time the 1929 addition was built, the hotel was called the Leopold Hotel, after a brew master named Leopold Schmidt bought it in 1910. In terms of architecture, the hotel was designed in the Mission style and, besides some ornamental brickwork, features little decoration. For many years the Leopold was a bustling social center and considered the best hotel in the city, hosting many famous people including President William Howard Taft, politician and skilled orator William Jennings Bryan, and actor Clark Gable. Today, Hotel Leo offers guests updated rooms and modern amenities. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

Hotel Leo

The museum's two model train layouts are at "G-scale" and depict various local industries including logging, mining, and of course, railroading. One of the layouts, the Lionel Layout, features two tracks, a subway track, a lighthouse, gatehouses, and other structures. Visitors are able to operate the trains. The other layout, the G-gauge layout, is the largest of the two and depicts similar scenes as well as a thriving town and an active stockyard. It features standard and narrow gauge trains and some of the engines make realistic sounds. As for the other items on display in the museum, these include railroad equipment, railroad lanterns, and dining car dinnerware.

Opened in 2003, the Bellingham Railway Museum is dedicated to preserving and promoting the city's railroading history. It is located in a storefont space of a large parking structure in downtown Bellingham. The museum features model trains and layouts, numerous railroad-related artifacts, and photographs. The museum is operated by volunteers, some of whom built many of the trains and layouts.

Bellingham Railway Museum

In the early 1900s, the nearest courthouse was all the way down in Seattle—85 miles away—which was impractical and inconvenient for local trials. As a result, in 1906, Congress appropriated funds to buy the property on which the old post office and courthouse stands. The land was purchased within the year or so but it took another few years for the work to get started. The property was and still is located in the heart of downtown Bellingham. The building's design was likely inspired by the Boston Public Library, which was built in 1898 and designed by the well-known architecture firm McKim, Mead, and White. A branch of the U.S. Treasury Department designed and oversaw the construction of the building. Bellingham's postmaster, Hugh Eldridge, also had a hand in the design. For example, he demanded that the entrances be at sidewalk level, as opposed to at the top of a flight of steps which was common at the time (in fact, it is believed that the building was the only one of its kind in the country up to that point with the entrances at ground level). He argued that this made it accessible for older and physically handicapped people. The main post office left in 1963 and the federal court moved to Seattle in 1975 (transportation between the cities had improved significantly by then).

Now referred to as the Federal Building, the former U.S. Post Office and Courthouse is the finest example of Second Italian Renaissance Revival architecture in Bellingham. Built it in 1913, the three-story building features a sandstone facade, large arched windows on the Magnolia Street side, decorative stonework, two cast bronze lamps on either side of the main entrance, bas-relief medallions, an ornate cornice (the top edge of the walls), and a mission tile roof. Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979, the building still houses a post office as well as federal government offices.  

U.S. Post Office and Courthouse

The BPOE and other fraternal organizations began to form in the late 1800s. Generally speaking, their primary purpose was to provide opportunities for leading men in the community to network and socialize. Over time, many adopted philanthropic, cultural, or social causes and also constructed their own local headquarters buildings that were often referred to as lodges, temples, or shrines. As the fraternal orders grew in size they transitioned from meeting in private homes to rented space to building their own structure and using part of the building for their space while renting the rest of the building out for income. When this building was completed, it was considered one of the most striking in the city. It was also built during in a period in which the city was experiencing significant growth. The BPOE, whose members were important political and business figures, became one of the most influential organizations in Bellingham. The lodge's prominent location also contributed to the group's prestigious status. Its members participated in charitable, patriotic, and civic causes, and also supported youth activities. At the lodge, members did not only conduct official Elk activities, they could also participate in recreational activities including playing pool, bowling, and playing cards. The Elks left the lodge in 1971 after they constructed a new building in the suburbs. The former lodge building has since been vacant or occupied by a variety of businesses including nightclubs and restaurants.

This building was completed in 1913 for the local chapter of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks (BPOE), a fraternal order that offered social opportunities for members and organized philanthropic endeavors. The Elks were founded in 1868 in New York City and the Bellingham chapter of the order occupied this building for several decades and played an important role in the city's social, cultural, and civic life. The structure remains a fine example of Neo-Classical Revival architecture and one of the more attractive buildings in downtown Bellingham. Notable features include an ornate cornice, white columns, and unique arched windows on the second floor. The interior has been significantly altered. For a time the building was home to an Italian restaurant. Its current status as of early 2020 is unclear but it has remained an important landmark in the city. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1992.  

Bellingham Elks (B.P.O.E.) Building

By the time Robert C. Reamer was hired to design the theatre, he had solidified his reputation as an accomplished architect, having designed the aforementioned hotel in Yellowstone National Park and many buildings in Seattle's downtown business district. The theatre, like the hundreds of others built around the country during the 1920s, were meant to be "atmospheric," giving visitors a place a sense of immersion and escape from reality. It took workers a year to build the theatre, including skilled craftsmen in stone masonry, carpentry, and plaster casting. It boasted state-of-the art equipment including a flying screen and the Wurlitzer organ.Eventually, vaudeville shows ended as the popularity of movies increased. The Great Depression also signaled the end of the construction of expensive movie palaces. As a result, Mount Baker Theatre began to only show movies. Once television became popular, movies began to decline in popularity as well. Mount Baker Theatre, however, survived by operating as a performance venue (it remained largely unaltered as well). Nonetheless, it was under threat of demolition in the early 1980s. Fortunately, the community organized to prevent this from happening. The theatre later underwent renovations between 1991-2004 and then again in 2008. The Wurlitzer organ was upgraded in 2013. It is holds the distinction of being one of the best working organs in the country. An organist plays it a few times during the year.

The historic Mount Baker Theatre is significant as one of the last surviving grand movie palaces built in the region. Erected in 1927, its design is also unique. Architect R.C. Reamer, who designed Old Faithful Inn in Yellowstone Park, designed the theatre in the Moorish-Spanish style. It features a concrete and terra cotta exterior, Spanish tiles, a tall octagonal tower with a dome and arches. The design is more elaborate inside, incorporating decorations of French Baroque, Moroccan, Hindu, Mayan, and other cultural styles. The auditorium itself features a large decorated dome, an ornate chandelier, and an 80x30-foot stage, and a functioning Wurlitzer organ. When it opened, the theatre could host vaudeville acts and show movies. Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978, it continues to be a popular performance and arts education venue. 

Mount Baker Theatre

Racial tensions and job competition between white workers and recent Asian immigrants in Washington state reached a fever pitch in the fall of 1907. On September 4th of that year, approximately 500 white men in Bellingham armed themselves and vowed to South Asian workers from "their" city. They took two hundred migrants as their prisoner and placed them in the basement of the City Hall, beating any police officer that stood in their way. In the wake of this and other attacks, nearly every Asian immigrant left Bellingham. As the local newspaper celebrated, it was as if the Asian community had been "wiped off the map."

Erected in 2008, this monument acknowledges the often brutal treatment of nonwhite immigrants with an emphasis on three tragic events: the expulsion of Japanese immigrants in 1885, the 1907 Bellingham Riots against East Indian mill workers, and the placement of Japanese Americans in internment camps during World War II. 


Arch of Healing and Reconciliation (1907 Bellingham Riots)

Miners had been searching for gold in the Fraser fields for a few years before they finally found some in 1857. A shipment of 800 ounces of gold arrived in San Francisco where it was to be minted. News of the discovery spread quickly and during the following Spring and Summer, droves of prospective miners headed north and passed through Bellingham on their way to the Fraser River. Merchants like Richards and his partners saw an opportunity to make a lot of money from the miners, who would need food and supplies. Not surprisingly, many of these businessmen were veterans of the California Gold Rush (1849) and were eager to make money once again.The partners of the T.G. Richards &amp; Co. were brothers Thomas and Charles Richards, and John Hyatt. Charles and John made the trip to Bellingham from San Francisco, where the company was based. Charles and Hyatt were among the first merchants to arrive in Bellingham. The Richards Building was initially used as a warehouse before becoming the general store (the partners first built a wood building that they used as the store during the construction of the brick building).Unfortunately for the partners (and other businessmen in the town), the boom generated by the rush faded quickly. Not long after the Richards Building was completed, the governor of British Columbia ordered that miners must go to Victoria on Vancouver Island to sign permits to mine on the Fraser River. As a result, the miners left and many businesses in Bellingham went bust. However, T.G. Richards &amp; Co. store survived and continued to operate for four years before selling it to Whatcom County in 1863, at which point it became as a courthouse—the first brick courthouse in the county. It also housed the offices of the county treasurer and assessor. Courthouse functions moved to a new building in 1890 and the Richards Building was used as a meeting hall for an organization for Civil War veterans (the Grand Army of the Republic).Other organizations used the building after the Grand Army left in 1922. In the 1940s and early 1950s, Jehovah's Witnesses worshipped here. In the decades that followed, it became a taxidermy business, woodworking shop, pottery studios, the home of a counterculture newspaper, and an outdoor store. Efforts to begin to restore it began in the early 2000s under the direction of the Whatcom Historical Society.

Named after the company that built it, T.G. Richards & Co., the Richards Building is the oldest surviving brick building in the state of Washington. Two business partners of the company built it in July 1858 with the intention of using it as a store to sell goods to miners who were starting to make their way to the Fraser gold fields in British Columbia, Canada (gold was discovered there in 1857). The building is also historically significant for its simple, yet utilitarian Classical Revival architecture, it was later used as a courthouse, meeting hall, post office, and church. Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2003, it appears to be undergoing a second phase of restoration as of early 2020. 

Richards Building

In 1856, West Point graduate and Captain George E. Pickett and Company D of the Ninth Infantry were dispatched to Bellingham Bay to build Fort Bellingham for the security of early Bellingham Bay settlers, and to build a Military Road from Fort Steilacoom to Fort Bellingham. They built a stockade three miles west of Whatcom Creek where at night the settlers would crowd together when northern Indian raiders were in the area.The Pickett House was a simple two story construction with undressed planks. The main section measured only only 15 feet wide and 25 feet deep. The first floor has two rooms and the second floor, originally reached only by a ladder on the wall, had two rooms. Cooking was done outside under a lean-to on the west side of the house. A fireplace made of stick and mud heated the house. Pickett's bedroom later became the present dining room. The front room was was Pickett's study, where he conducted much of his official U.S. Army business.During his stay, Picket married an Indian woman, thought to be Kaigani Haida, whom he met at Semiahmoo Bay (near Blaine, WA) during a surveying expedition. His young wife who gave birth December 31, 1857 to their son, James Tilton Pickett. The mother died when shortly thereafter due to complications from childbirth. For four years after his mother's death it appears that local women cared for James when Captain Pickett performed his military duties. At this time, Pickett was busy attending to his duties at the Garrison in Bellingham and with the <a href="https://www.nps.gov/sajh/learn/historyculture/the-pig-war.htm" target="_blank">Pig War</a> on San Juan Island. As a result, the house stood mostly vacant.Captain Pickett left in 1861 to his home state of Virginia to accept a commission in the Confederate Army as a Major General. He sent his son, James to live with good friends Catherine and William Collins who were childless. James was raised in Mason County near Olympia. James became a well-known artist with many of his paintings available to view at several museums. Pickett never returned to see his son but did provide financial support and gifts for his upraising.The Pickett House has changed ownership many times. Hattie Strother, who lived there from 1889 until her death in 1936, deeded it to the Washington State Historical Society and all her furniture to the local chapter of Daughters of the Pioneers of Washington. After her death the house became a historical monument, was designated a museum in 1941, listed on the Washington Heritage Register of historic places, and in 1971 was placed on the National Register of Historical Places.While numerous changes have been made to the Pickett House, much of it remains in its original state. Most of the improvements have made the house more livable, including electricity, plumbing, and addition of an indoor kitchen. Prior to 1891 a portion of the lean-to was converted into an extra room and the front study became a living room. A narrow stairway has replaced the ladder to the second floor. Other modification are the glassed-in front porch and shingled exterior. The Pickett house serves as an excellent example of early architecture in Bellingham.

The Pickett House is the oldest house standing in the city of Bellingham and the oldest, documented wooden structure on its original site in the state of Washington. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the house was built in 1856 by West Point graduate Captain George Edward Pickett (1825-1870) of Company D, 9th U.S. Infantry. Pickett later became a major general of the Confederate Army during the Civil War (1861-1865). He is best known for his role in the failed Confederate assault called "Pickett's Charge" during the Battle of Gettysburg, which was the turning point of the war. The local chapter of Daughters of the Pioneers of Washington has maintained this historic treasure since 1936 and conducts tours for the public. 

George E. Pickett House

The group was founded as the Aftermath Reading Circle by a group 12 young women. The club adopted the name Aftermath Club around the turn-of-the-century and incorporated at that time. Over time the club grew and decided to build a permanent meeting space. Notably, the club was the only one in the city to own its clubhouse; most men's clubs at the time rented rooms and even charged higher dues. Aftermath Club members also managed to pay off the building even as they continued their charitable work.The clubhouse not only benefited the women, it also became an important social and cultural center for the community as other local organizations rented it for their events and meetings. The ballroom on the second floor was considered one of the best in the city. The club sold the building in 1977 (it is unclear why) and continued its activities until 2003 when it dissolved. Over the years the club got involved with a variety of charitable activities, donated to local agencies and organizations, and awarded scholarships to Western Washington University students. The group's records are housed at the <a href="http://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv55411" target="_blank">university archives</a>.

Now called Broadway Hall, the Aftermath Clubhouse is significant for being the former home of Aftermath Club, a women's organization established in 1896. It is believed that the building was the first women's clubhouse in the state. The club was initially meant to be literary and social club but eventually started offering education programs and getting involved in community affairs through charitable work. The building, which the club built in 1905, is also notable for its Italian Villa design. It features an arcaded balcony with tower-like structures on either side, an arcaded entranceway, an auditorium space on the first floor, and a large ballroom on the second floor. The building, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is now a popular wedding and event venue.

Bellingham Washington Walking Tour

Whatcom Museum

Introduction

Images

Backstory and Context

Sources

Additional Information