Then & Now: the History of Buildings in Bellingham

Well folks, we did it. 22 separate blog posts covering every single house in Bellingham that’s on the National Historic Register. And we’re pretty stoked. Thanks for coming along with us on this tour!

Six months after starting this project, this video reviews some of the threads that tie these different houses together in a tangled knot that was Bellingham society at the turn of the twentieth century: the singer that performed at the Lincoln Memorial and Lairmont Manor. The church that was originally built on land donated by Henry Roeder and redesigned a generation later by a prominent local architect who also designed the Herald Building. The Park Commissioner who developed Elizabeth Park, named after Henry’s wife Elizabeth, and which was also the proposed site of a failed 1950s plan to preserve their daughter’s home, Elmheim. And the railways - through downtown, around Lake Whatcom, out to Sumas - that brought it all together. 

New to this series? Check out the Best of 2019 for a roundup of our favorites and why we love them. Where to find them: here are the approximate locations of each building we’ve covered in the last six months.

Photography & Videography by Cooper Hansley. Blogging by Tiffany Holden.