Whatcom Courthouse  | Bellingham |  | Downtown |  |
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Address 311 Grand Ave. Bellingham, WA 98225 676-6700 |
Hours Mon-Fri 7:00am - 5:30pm |
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From Holly Street, turn right on Flora and go left on Grand Avenue. It's a couple blocks on the left.
Description:
A thoroughly modern building, the Whatcom County Courthouse has a contemporary design of clean lines and glass, the lower section being composed of more traditional red brick. The building is particularly impressive at night, lit from below with bright diffused light. Entering the building involves passing through a glass door (with a sign informing visitors that no weapons are allowed in the building) into a foyer under a high, arched dome. Walking up a few marble stairs brings you to the information desk. Apparently there aren’t that many people who want to know what is in the courthouse building, because there is no guide to the building or the offices. The nice lady in the council office told me that, aside from the internal phone directories, there is no listing for the building, so I went from floor to floor to read the placards outside of each elevator.
The first floor contains the offices of the Assessor, Auditor, County Executive, County Council, Council Chambers, Human Resources, Information Desk, and Treasurer; Second Floor has the Prosecuting Attorney, Superior Court Department 2 and Commissioner’s Office; Third is the County Clerk, Superior Court Department 1 and 3, Public Defender and Assigned Counsel; Fourth Floor houses the District Court Clerk, District Court Probation and District Court Court Rooms; 5th floor is Juvenile Court Services (whose staff cannot offer legal advice, so don’t even ask. You should consult your attorney or library resources for assistance), Superior Court, Juvenile Court Room, Administrative Services and Finance/Purchasing. Sixth floor is Juvenile Detention.
There are many closed-circuit cameras unobtrusively planted throughout the building, including inside the elevators. Tasteful, low-maintenance grey carpet graces the floors and creamy pink hollow metal columns line the sterile hallways of all six floors. Well, I’m not that sure if the sixth floor had tasteful grey carpet. There is a triple set of plexi-glass doors at the entrance to the Juvenile Detention center. I did not try to enter. There are no weapons allowed here either but there is a nice reminder on the wall in case you missed the one at the entrance. I was looking for a view of the city and I found it on the south end of the fifth floor. Strangely enough, the view from the window not only affords a fantastic view of Bellingham Bay, Lummi Island, the South Hill and the museum, but also the building which houses “A-Quick Bail Bonds” and its red, neon 24hrs sign.
Written By: Glen Berry
Features
Wheelchair Accessible
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