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Terminal Building: Tenants through the Years The Corner and Uphill Locations
 | 1904 Photo by Rembrandt Studios
Whatcom Museum #1960.37.242
| 1101 Harris Avenue (The Corner)
Denny Butler’s Sideboard Saloon was an early occupant of the first floor corner space with George D. Pierce’s barbershop adjoining. You can see Denny in both photos -- in the doorway left, and tending bar, right.
The original Sideboard Saloon of the early 1890s became Christian Norgaard’s Corner Bar in 1907. It closed when Bellingham outlawed saloons in 1910.
After a number of grocery stores, the building became home to John Finnegan’s "Busy Corner” in 1923. Perfectly named, the store, with its popular soda fountain, was located at the intersection of the main electric street railways. "Come In and Wait for the Car” was painted on the side of the building.
| Whatcom Museum Photo Archives #1996.1.3782
1960s photo of The Terminal Building
Far left is Kulshan Club
| In the 1930s and 1940s, it was known as Will Berthiaume’s Terminal Store. Business declined over the years and Will walked away from the store in 1950. This closing of the Terminal Store has special significance for Fairhaven, as Gordon Tweit, then in his early 20s, was called in to clean out what had been left behind. His discovery of some postcards tucked into a wall sparked his love of history and collecting--our premier Fairhaven Historian was born!
During the 1970’s Fairhaven was considered a significant counter-culture hangout. Jackie Lynch, former City Planner, remembers an almost continual game of hacky sack in front of the Terminal building lasting until the mid 1990’s.
From 1971 to 2022, this corner had been "Tony’s”. It started out as Tony Campbell’s Tea and Spices and is credited with bringing espresso to the region about the same time Starbucks opened at Pikes Place Market. Since they roasted the beans on the premises, the district was full of the smell of roasting coffee, which was glorious--except when they burned the beans.
 | Although Tony Campbell no longer lived in Bellingham, the name continued as Tony’s Coffee. Tony returned to Fairhaven to celebrate Lanny Little's new renovation of the Mural on Fairhaven Village Green. Yes, that's Tony, standing in front of of Tony's with a cup of coffee on the mural at Fairhaven Green. In 2022, Tony's changed it's name to Old Independent Coffeeshop; still serving Tony's Coffee! | |
Tony Campbell
From Fairhaven Green Mural
Artist: Lanny Little
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1103 Harris (uphill)  | |
Whatcom Museum Photo Archives #1996.1.9373 1970s Photo Grand Opening Tony's Tea & Spices & Fairhaven Bicycles
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The retail space one door up the hill saw many businesses come and go. In the early years it was W.R. Newman’s Furnisher and Hattier, then Jarvis & Odell Cigars and Billiards. Jarvis and Odell also occupied the EM Day Building around the corner--a doorway, since eliminated, at the rear of both buildings connected the two buildings to form one store.
In 1914 this was the temporary quarters of George Finnegan’s Fairhaven Pharmacy. The 1930’s saw the arrival of the "Drop In-Café” run by Ole Bjorndahl, Effie Malone and finally Rose Schwan, who lived upstairs.
The Townsend Club (run by Althea Cutler) occupied this space in the late 1940’s, and in 1952 it became Chic Murray’s barbershop. The 1970’s brought Fairhaven Bicycles (which shared its grand opening with Tony’s Tea and Spices) and then The Toy Parlor. In more recent history it had been the Paradise Café, and then for several years had been the popular Harris Avenue Café.
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