T. G. Richards and Company Store, Historic brick commercial building in Bellingham, Washington.
The T.G. Richards and Company Store is a two-story brick building with large windows and classical commercial design from the mid-1800s. The structure displays typical features of early West Coast business districts, with solid materials and clear architectural lines.
The building was constructed in the mid-1800s to supply goods to travelers during the region's gold rush period. Later it became the county courthouse and also housed local media operations.
The building served as the center of local government and journalism for Bellingham for many years. It shows how important this place was to the city's early growth.
The building stands on E Street, where the former tide flats were filled in, so the original first floor is now the basement and the entrance level is the old second floor. It houses the Helen Loggie Museum of Art, opened in 2021 after a period restoration finished in 2020; check opening times before visiting.
The bricks were made in San Francisco and arrived on the bark Ann Parry on July 16, 1858, which carried 100,000 bricks and 73 barrels of lime. In spring 2012, they were matched to a fragment from Nagle, an early local brickmaker.
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