Bellingham Then & Now: George Bacon House

If we look back on the scope of even the history of a Western understanding of democracy - from the Greek empire and forwards to today - the peaks and valleys of societal change, that seem in such sharp relief today, level out under the longer gaze of time, and we see rises and falls not in terms of months, but centuries. 

Those rises and falls are reflected in the artistic records of the eras. While written records can often focus on the minutiae of time-date-place, art, music and architecture tell a lengthy yet textured story of the human experience. The artistic works of the past are themselves metaphorical sculptures carved by the chisels of war, of communication, of trade, of politics. 

Take classical architecture: it’s inspired by any one of the five orders (categories) of architecture from ‘classical antiquity’ - essentially, Greek and Roman times. One of the surviving pinnacles of Greek construction is the Parthenon on the Acropolis in Athens, built in the 5th century BC.

The style is easily recognizable in our country - many of our Federal buildings like the Capotil and Supreme Court echo the tall columns, white marble, and symmetrical lines. The birthplace of democratic thought is a fitting inspiration for the buildings built in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, as the first generations of our own democracy built its governmental buildings. 

Not only is it a fitting inspiration, the less-romantic corollary is that neoclassicism was simply in vogue again on a large scale, as it had been during the Renaissance. In the 1500s, Anread Palladio, possibly the greatest Italian architect of his time, developed his own brand of neoclassicism that was not only influential in his day, but re-emerged in England in the early 1700s, and spread to the United States. Ironically, this trend faded when ‘true’ neoclassicim again rose to prominence, and architects and designers looked back to those original Greek and Roman buildings for inspiration instead of the Palladian interpretation. 

There is a distinct privilege any artist has - to look for inspiration not only in a linear, orderly fashion, but to skip in time and select beauty to bring forward, essentially folding eras upon themselves - to bring disparate pasts together at one completely different point in time and place on the globe.  

Such was the privilege of the great American architect Henry Bacon, and two of his many works: one, an iconic national monument, the other, a house overlooking Bellingham Bay. 

George Bacon was an early realtor, financier (mortgagor) and city councilman in this area in the late 1800s and early 1900s. His wife, Mabel Donovan Bacon, was one of the early teachers and “served on the Bellingham library board for 20 years.” (source) 

George also happened to Henry Bacon’s cousin, and in celebration of George and Mabel’s wedding, Henry gifted the couple with the plans to a Palladian-inspired house of their own (you can see recent interior photos here!). The house was constructed in 1906, just five years before Henry Bacon designed the structure for his most famous work: a 36-pillared neoclassical structure: the Lincoln Memorial.

Previously on Bellingham Then & Now: the Eldridge Mansion looks out over Bellingham Bay.

Next up on Bellingham Then & Now: Sycamore Square (Mason Block) tells the story of the revitalization of Fairhaven.

Sources

American Neoclassical Architecture. Study.com. Link.

Capitol Hill Neoclassical Architecture. Architect of the Capitol. Link.

George Bacon House. City of Bellingham. Link. 

George Bacon House. National Archives Catalog. Link. 

Lincoln Memorial. National Park Service. Link. 

Palladianism. Encyclopaedia Britannica. Link.  

Parthenon. Encyclopaedia Britannica. Link.  

Images

Then: George Bacon House. City of Bellingham. Link. 

Now: Cooper Hansley

Blog copy by Tiffany Holden