THE HERALD BUILDING TURNS 100
Saturday, September 26, 2026
1155 N. State Street • Downtown Bellingham
This September, one of Bellingham’s most recognizable landmarks turns 100—and we’re inviting the whole community to celebrate.
Built in 1926 as the home of The Bellingham Herald, the six-story Herald Building has witnessed a century of Bellingham history from its corner on State Street. On Saturday, September 26, we’re opening its doors and bringing together history, local businesses and community for a day celebrating not just an extraordinary old building, but 100 years of Bellingham stories—and the people writing the next chapter.
The celebration is free and open to the community, with historical tours throughout the day, a once-in-a-century community photograph, and a 1920s-inspired Centennial party.
Pick up a free Historic Herald Guide & Passport while you’re here. The commemorative guide is your companion to the Centennial celebration—with event information, special offers from Herald Building businesses, and a Historic Herald Passport that invites visitors to explore the building, meet the people and businesses inside, and enter to win prizes.
Hosted by Daylight Properties, Presented by our generous sponsor First Fed.
WHAT'S HAPPENING
11 AM–3 PM | FREE HISTORICAL TOURS
Herald Building •
1155 N. State Street
Step inside one of Bellingham’s most iconic buildings.
Free guided tours will take visitors through the Herald Building and its fascinating past—from its beginnings as a state-of-the-art newspaper headquarters to the generations of doctors, professionals, entrepreneurs and local businesses who have worked within its walls.
Visitors will discover historic architecture, artifacts and stories while meeting some of the local businesses carrying the Herald into its next century.
Free and open to the public.
11 AM–3 PM | Historic Herald Passport
Herald Building •
1155 N. State Street
Grab your Historic Herald Guide & Passport and make your way through the building, visiting participating businesses along the way. Visit nine Passport stops, collect your stamps, and turn in your completed Passport for a chance to win prizes. Along the way, discover the remarkable variety of people and businesses that call this 100-year-old landmark home.
3 PM | THE CENTENNIAL COMMUNITY PHOTO
In front of the Herald Building
Come be part of Bellingham history.
In 1926, Bellingham residents gathered outside their brand-new Herald Building. One hundred years later, we're inviting the community to gather again for a commemorative Centennial photograph in front of the building.
Everyone is invited.
Arrive by 3 PM and be part of the picture.
3–6 PM | CENTENNIAL PROHIBITION PARTY
Ono Kitchen & Bar • Herald Building
After the tours, we're turning back the clock to the Roaring Twenties.
Join us for a lively 1920s-inspired celebration marking the Herald Building's first 100 years—with food and drinks, music, costumes, local history and plenty of Centennial festivities.
Come as you are—or come dressed for 1926.
THE STORY BEHIND THE CENTENNIAL
The Herald Building isn't simply an old building. For a century, it has been part of the everyday life of Bellingham.
When it officially opened on June 26, 1926, roughly 6,000 people came through its doors for the grand opening—which was a lot of people in 1926!
Originally built for the Bellingham Publishing Company, the building housed the newspaper on the ground floor and 140 offices above it.
Its arrival even helped change the map of downtown: local merchants successfully petitioned to rename Elk Street as State Street in 1926, believing the new Herald Building deserved a more “metropolitan” address.
And that famous rooftop HERALD sign? It was first illuminated in 1926 with 370 incandescent bulbs and was reportedly the largest sign in northwest Washington.
For most of its first century, the building's identity was inseparable from local journalism. The Bellingham Herald was published here for generations, with reporters, editors, photographers, printers and press operators documenting the life of the community from inside these walls. Day after day, the news produced here recorded Bellingham's elections and industries, triumphs and tragedies, debates, celebrations and everyday lives—creating an extraordinary record of the community while helping residents understand and participate in the place they called home.
But the Herald Building was never home to journalists alone. From the beginning, its upper floors were designed for businesses and professionals. The Bellingham Clinic opened here in 1926, and by 1948 some 45 doctors, dentists and other medical professionals practiced under its roof.
A century later, that tradition continues. Today, nearly 100,000 square feet of the Herald Building are filled with an extraordinary cross-section of Bellingham life: entrepreneurs, health and mental-health providers, designers and stylists, engineers, nonprofits, restaurants, bars, independent businesses and remote workers. Circle of Life Caregiver Cooperative alone includes more than 50 caregivers serving elders and people with disabilities throughout the region, while Bellingham Bay Coworking provides a professional home for more than 20 local and global organizations. Clarity Mental Health & Recovery operates a substantial mental-health and substance-use treatment practice from the fifth floor, while longtime ground-floor businesses such as Argyle Salon bring the public through the Herald's doors every day.
The presses may no longer rumble in the basement, but the Herald remains what it was designed to be in 1926: a working building, filled with people doing work that shapes and serves the community around it.
This centennial celebrates that remarkable continuity—100 years of Bellingham stories, work and community within these walls, and the people who will carry the Herald into its next century.
Hosted by Daylight Properties, Presented by our generous sponsor First Fed.
