Bellingham Then & Now: Robert I. Morse House

It’s known to neighbors as the “Blue Mansion”. At 1014 Garden St, mere blocks from Western, it’s long been known as a party house. But this Victorian era 5,000-square foot, 3-story mansion has a real name, over one hundred years of history, and a place on the National Historic Register. 

Turn down the music, clear away the red solo cups and air out the lingering smells from a Saturday night rager, and listen, and the wood floorboards and walls might whisper a tale of a house from yesteryear, and the generations that have lived under its turreted roof. 

Robert I. Morse built his home in 1895, in the Queen Anne style that was popular at the time. It stands just a few blocks away from his business - a hardware store that had established itself as a dominant supplier during an Alaskan trade boom.

The designer of this home, Alfred Lee, was a self-trained local architect who also supervised construction of the original building for New Whatcom Normal School (what we now know as Old Main at WWU) and designed the 1901 and 1907 additions on it. He also had a hand in designing the New Whatcom City Hall (today’s Whatcom Museum). 

Queen Anne architecture is in one sense a misnomer - the name references the reign of the British monarch from the early 1700s, but the style itself is based on much earlier buildings, from as far back as the late 1500s and early 1600s. The Queen Anne style was named and developed in Britain by Richard Norman Shaw in the mid 1800s, and reached American shores by 1875 (and then spread as Americans gathered in large cities for the Centennial celebrations of 1876). Twenty years later, people were building reflections of those architectural trends right here on the West Coast. 

“As with other ornate Victorian-era architecture, Queen Anne architecture found its most complete expression in detached homes that showcased its sculptural shapes and ornamented skin. These houses were typically built of wood, allowing the designer unfettered artistic expression in the patterns and details that define the style.” (source)

Characteristics of this genre exemplified in the Robert I. Morse House are its asymmetry, carving & elaborate motifs, strong visual interest in the roof pitches and angles, and - probably most apparent - the polygonal tower. 

Another characteristic of the time - plenty of color - has seen change over the years. At the time of nomination into the Historic Registry, the house was painted straight black, and the nomination form reminds us that

“Originally, of course, the color of the house was as variegated as its surface texture, though essentially ruddy, and verge boards, “pargetry” panels and other trim were painted a contrasting ivory or similar light tone”. (source)

Although one would think that the era of turreted buildings and late Victorian-era dress wouldn’t be similar to anything we experience today - wearing skinny jeans as we walk into our drywalled homes - the world of Alfred Lee and the Blue Mansion wasn’t completely unlike today. 

The United States was experiencing the Gilded Age: one known for its capitalistic advances, big business partnerships, partisanship and political crises. Hollywood’s lens stayed away from the labor strikes and racial conflict, and instead created a glamorous portrait of the East Coast upper class life. New technology of the time - the telephone, radio, and the rise of large newspapers - meant that the world was more connected than ever before. This was the era of the 1892 Homestead strike and 1894 Pullman strike, as the United States developed from an agrarian society into one dominated by major sectors - banking, oil, manufacturing, and others - and those sectors dominated by major players. 

With the passage of time, and the transformation of a nation and city, comes the necessity of change. Alfred Lee ended up closing his practice around 1907, as more and more professionally trained architects found their way to the Bellingham area. Eventually he opened one of the early Bellingham automotive shops. 

And his creation on the Garden Street hill saw changes too. The old multi-colored exterior was painted black, then eventually blue, as it remains today. By the 1960s, the over 5,000 square-foot home was subdivided into multiple units: now located as a relic in a high-density residential zone, it’s surrounded by later-built homes and apartment buildings. And today, Garden Street is a prime location for university housing, and old homes from many eras now play host to the next generation--and their college parties.

Next up on Bellingham Then & Now: The Herald Building has architectural details whose artistic origins stretch back centuries.

Previously on Bellingham Then & Now: The Leopold is going back to its roots as a hotel.

Sources:

“Labor Battles in the Gilded Age”. Khan Academy. Link. 

“Old Brick Heart”. (2008). Klipsun. Link.

“Overview of the Gilded Age”. Digital History. Link. 

“Robert I. Morse House.” COB. Link.

“Queen Anne Style Architecture (1880-1910)”. Wentworth Studio. Link.

“Washington SP Morse, Robert I House”. National Archives Catalog. Link.

Images: 

Then: WWU MABEL Archives. Link. 

Now: Cooper Hansley

Blog copy by Tiffany Holden