What Is the U.S. Post Office and Courthouse?
Today, this is the Bellingham Federal Building and the best surviving Renaissance Revival building in Bellingham!
What Makes It Historical?
Three years after Bellingham became a united city, Congress authorized $20,000 (over $700,000 In 2025) to construct a new post office and courthouse downtown! The design of the building owed much to Auditor—then Postmaster—Hugh Eldridge, who’d also been the first pioneer child born on Bellingham Bay back in 1860. He abandoned the norms of grand staircases and insisted that all entrances be on the ground level to accommodate elderly and handicapped folks! That meant, by the time of its completion, it was the only Federal building in the country set up that way!
The styling of the building fell to architect, James Knox Taylor, who worked for the Department of the Treasury and had a hand in post offices from Augusta, Maine to Trinidad, Colorado to Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania! Construction ran from 1911 until 1913, and despite years of renovations, the building still has one of the best preserved turn of the century courtrooms in Washington!
How Can I #HelpTheHelpers?
- Volunteer with the Whatcom County Historical Society!
- Become a member of the Whatcom County Historical Society!
- Be a responsible visitor! Please respect the signs and pathways, and treat all structures and artifacts with respect. They’ve endured a lot to survive into the present. They’ll need our help to make it into the future!
How Do I Get There?
104 W Magnolia St
Bellingham, WA 98225
(Take Me There!)
When Should I Visit?
Since this is a government building, you’ll have to enjoy it from the outside, but in any season!
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