Bellingham Then & Now: Fairhaven Hotel (Fairhaven Tower)

“The Fairhaven Hotel, an imposing five-story Jacobethan Revival landmark of 1890 which was the pride of Fairhaven, stood on its corner site opposite the Mason Block”. (source)

Fairhaven was first platted in 1883 by Dirty Dan Harris, and the business district grew quickly from 1889-1890 due to the deep-water frontage available for shipping. In 1890, Longstaff and Black were commissioned to design the Fairhaven Hotel to grace the corner of a central intersection, 12th St and Harris. 

With over a hundred rooms, fourteen-course dinners, a hydraulic elevator, “grandiose oak stairways, a plush, carpeted lobby and huge hanging candelabras of gas lights” (source) - this place was fit for the social center of Fairhaven’s elite. There are reports of local women travelling to Seattle to choose ballgowns for the opening gala. 

Alas, the hotel’s grandeur lasted less than a decade. It lost much of its value in the Panic of 1893, and ended up having to close just prior to the turn of the century.  

Jeff Jewel, Whatcom Museum historian, spoke to WhatcomTalk last year and tells some of the history of the building, including one possible reason the hotel was never a commercial success during its short tenure. Owner-at-the-time Charles Larrabee (of Lairmont Manor) refused to serve alcohol at the hotel due to his family history. 

““Apparently, when people go on vacation, they like to imbibe spirits,” Jewel says. “Not having alcohol in the hotel was not a major selling point.”...The most famous guest to complain about this was Mark Twain. In 1895, Twain spent a night at the Fairhaven Hotel and was very frustrated that he couldn’t order a brandy from the hotel restaurant, Jewel says. He ended up spending his evening across the street at a gentlemen’s club and left early the next morning.” (source)

The hotel ended up closing in 1899, and in the following years a yoghurt sanatorium resided there, along with another attempt at a hotel (the Hotel Victoria). In 1953 the building was “heavily damaged in a fire” (source) and demolished in 1956.

Fairhaven as a whole saw a slump over the decades as the center of business in the area moved northwards to downtown Bellingham, but it had the start of a revitalization from the efforts of developer Ken Imus and others in the 1970s:

“Fairhaven’s business district has enjoyed a revival in recent years, owing in large part, but not exclusively, to the efforts of a private developer who in 1973 acquired and renovated for commercial lease the Mason Block, now the focal point of the district.” (source, from 1977)

A lifelong Bellingham resident, Ken purchased Sycamore Square (Mason Block) in the 1970s and over the next years, he purchased many of the aging buildings in Fairhaven. Fairhaven historian and author Tami Gorman explains how Imus’ action not only retained the old buildings, he is one of those responsible for actively adding some of the elements that really make Fairhaven what it is today:

“Had anyone else bought Fairhaven, they would have immediately discovered just how many problems were involved in its renovation and would have found it much cheaper to raze all of it and build ugly modern messes.  There was a lot of building going on in Bellingham the 1970’s, and most of it was cheap and fast. Ken was the opposite. He brought in antiques from all over the world, adding distinctive architectural touches everywhere.  They weren’t always authentic to Fairhaven’s “period”, but they created a charm all of its own… the faux cobblestone walkway, English phone booths and the double decker bus, wrought iron railings, and tin ceilings.” (source)

And the empty lot on the corner of 12th and Harris?

After years playing host to an old service station, and to a pop-up Christmas tree sale, today it’s a construction site. The design for the new Fairhaven Towers reflects the old grandeur through modern design. It’s planned to be a blend of commercial and residential, with space for 35 units.  

Sources

“1956-2018: After the Fairhaven Hotel”. FairhavenHistory.com. Link.

Gallagher, Dave. (2018). “Remember the old gas station in Fairhaven? Something much bigger is coming”. Bellingham Herald. Link.

Kolwey, Frederica. “New Fairhaven Tower Nod to City’s Past.” WhatcomTalk. Link. 

Larson, Marles. “Once-majestic Fairhaven Hotel was doomed to finally end up in rubble, and other historical memories of Fairhaven.” Written for Bellingham Herald, March 1965. Via Skagit River Journal. Link.

Van Miert, Rosamonde. (2019). “The Fairhaven Hotel 1890-1956”. FairhavenHistory.com. Link.

“Washington SP Fairhaven Historic District.” National Archives Catalog. Link.

Images

Then: Whatcom Museum. Found via Fairhaven History. Link.

Now: Cooper Hansley

Blog copy by Tiffany Holden