The Bellingham Herald Building was built in 1926 for the Bellingham Publishing Company, and is a striking representative of Late Gothic Revival architecture. Designed by Bellingham architect Frederick Stanley Piper and Seattle architects Morrison & Stimson, the Herald Building’s design featured a fabricated steel structure on a reinforced concrete foundation – reportedly the first steel building erected in the west with gypsum fireproofing. Fear of fire, after numerous downtown Bellingham fires, likely inspired the fireproof construction of the Herald Building. Piper designed the building in the Late Gothic Revival style to be clad in terra cotta with quality interior finishes, including Philippine mahogany trim, bird’s eye maple flooring in the offices, terrazzo in the hallways, and marble in the lobby. The building’s floorplan included 140 offices, accessed by twin elevators, with the newspaper to be housed on the first floor and rented offices on the upper floors.
The Bellingham Herald building continues to serve as the home for The Bellingham Herald, the most widely read newspaper in Whatcom County.
