Whatcom Museum of History and Art
About this property
The Whatcom Museum is a natural history and art museum located in Bellingham, Washington. Accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, the Whatcom Museum has a three building campus that includes Old City Hall, Old Fire Station No.1, and The Lightcatcher. The Whatcom Museum was established as a non-profit organization in 1982. The museum has a three building campus that includes Old City Hall, Old Fire Station No.1, and The Lightcatcher which encloses the Family Interactive Gallery (FIG). The museum is jointly managed by the City of Bellingham and the Whatcom Museum Foundation. The Old City Hall building was originally built in 1892 for the former town of New Whatcom. The original building was designed in a Late Victorian style by Alfred Lee, a local architect, who used red brick and Chuckanut sandstone for its construction. The design itself was an almost exact replica of the second Saginaw County Courthouse in Saginaw, Michigan (1884, destroyed 1971), designed by Fred W. Hollister. At the time of construction, the building was situated on a bluff above Bellingham Bay. However, over the years, significant amounts of the waterfront were filled in to make more land. Currently, the building sits above Maritime Heritage Park. The building served as city hall until 1936, and became part of the museum in 1941. In 1962, fire damaged the building, but efforts from the community raised money to restore the building. In 2009, the Whatcom Museum opened a location in the newly designed The Lightcatcher. The Lightcatcher, designed by Seattle-based Olson Kundig Architects, is named for its 37 feet high and 180 feet long translucent wall, which facilitates a number of energy saving strategies. The Whatcom Museum houses a collection of over 30,000 objects. Key holdings in the collection are the 4,000 plus items from the archives of Pacific Northwest photographers Darius Kinsey and Tabitha Kinsey. The museum contains the John M. Edson Hall of Birds, which is a floor of hundreds of taxidermized birds, from the collection of John M. Edson. Kirk, Ruth; Alexander, Carmela (2003). Exploring Washington's Past, University of Washington Press. McQuaide, Mike (2006). Insiders' Guide to Bellingham and Mount Baker, Globe Pequot. Mueller, Marge (1995). North Puget Sound , The Mountaineers Books.
Location
Categories
Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).
Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Everything a full report reveals about Whatcom Museum of History and Art
This page lists Whatcom Museum of History and Art. A full Aubrey report for an address near it pulls together this listing alongside battlefield records, land patents, and every other historical record within a chosen radius:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Questions about this property
When was Whatcom Museum of History and Art listed on the National Register?
Whatcom Museum of History and Art was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on April 2, 1970.
What type of historic resource is Whatcom Museum of History and Art?
Whatcom Museum of History and Art is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the period of significance for Whatcom Museum of History and Art?
The period of significance for Whatcom Museum of History and Art is recorded as the industrial era.
Can I research the history near Whatcom Museum of History and Art?
Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near Whatcom Museum of History and Art will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
More in Whatcom County
Historic places, battles, and census history across Whatcom County.
Explore WhatcomCounty ›More historic places in Washington
Browse all historic places in Washington.
View Washingtonhistoric sites ›Washington history
Colonial settlement, territorial period, and statehood narrative.
Washingtonhistory ›Research the history near this site
An Aubrey US report for an address near Whatcom Museum of History and Art will include this listing alongside battlefield records and other historical sources within your chosen radius.