What Is the Bellingham Herald Building?
This was the headquarters of Bellingham’s first daily newspaper!
What Makes It Historical?
On Tuesday, March 11, 1890, the first issue of the Fairhaven Herald went to print with top stories on the right focusing on state bills about prize fighting, changes in England’s military ofices, and a terrible house fire! On the left, Strader & Richards advertised real estate, loans, and… fire insurance! This was all done under the supervision of Colonel William Lightfoot Visscher, raised in Danville, Kentucky and a Civil War veteran from Company I of the 24th Kentucky Infantry. A graduate of law from the University of Louisville, he worked with multiple newspapers before settling in what was then Fairhaven, Washington to open a paper of his own!
This building didn’t even break ground until 1925, long after Sidney Albert Perkins took over and oversaw its transition from Fairhaven Herald to Bellingham Herald. Mr. Perkins was on first-name basis with six presidents and even got the nickname “Sam” from being too embarrassed to correct President Taft’s misuse of his name! He served as publisher for the Bellingham Herald for 52 years!
Designing this Late Gothic Revivalt building was a collaborative effort among Frederick Piper, Earl Morrison, Van Stimson, and W.H. Witt, and together, they created the first steel building west of the Mississippi with gypsum fireproofing—super important when your business is paper! On April 11, 1926, the paper officially moved into its new headquarters, topped by a 40-foot tall electric sign, illuminated by more than 500 incandescent bulbs. Their state of the art Hoe press was able to churn out 24,000 papers per hour, and they continued to publish from this location all the way until August 19, 2019, when the paper moved to Barkley Village and the Herald building became a business center!
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?
1155 N State St
Bellingham, WA 98225
(Take Me There!)
When Should I Visit?
There are different businesses with different hours here, but you can dine in one of the ground floor restaurants most evenings!