Additional Information - The Kulshan Club

The Kulshan Clubhouse is recognized as an excellent example of the bungalow style of architecture that was a popular design for private clubs in the early 1900s.  The two-story structure with basement was completed in September 1909, with a festive open house occurring on New Years Day of 1910.  It is one of two Fairhaven historic buildings constructed for non-commercial purposes.  The second is the Fairhaven Carnegie Library.  For several decades, The Kulshan Clubhouse was a handsome and prominent building on the Fairhaven cityscape.

Photo courtesy Gordy Tweit
View of Kulshan Club before the construction of Fairhaven Gardens
 
A Kulshan Club member returning from the past might have a hard time locating the most hidden of Fairhaven’s historic buildings.  Here’s why.   The club house was originally located on 12th Street directly across from the Fairhaven Carnegie Library. According to Whatcom Museum Photo Historian Jeff Jewell, in 1935 a short section of road was constructed immediately north of the business district on 12th Street to connect to the major arterial from downtown Bellingham.   (This new connector would be named “Finnegan’s Way” in 1945 after Kulshan Club member and beloved Fairhaven Pharmacy owner George Finnegan.) To accommodate this new roadway, the clubhouse was forced to move from its original location on 12th to the property between 11th Street and  newly formed Finnegan Way.    Gordon Tweit remembers hearing that round timbers were placed underneath the building which was then rolled directly west. 

A  small piece of the original Kulshan Club’s property between Finnegan’s Way and the Fairhaven Carnegie Library is now the site of the Flagpole Veterans Project; a joint effort of the Old Fairhaven Association and Joel Douglas. 

Years after the Kulshan Club House was moved, new buildings were constructed to the North and South, obscuring the view to this beautifully designed structure. From Finnegan’s Way it appears to be one-story; on the opposite end, on 11th Street, the two-story building is unimpressive and easy to ignore. Neither view provides clues to the beauty of this building that once graced a hilltop in Fairhaven.

View West from Finnegan Way

                                                                                                                                                                                                                 View East from 11th Street

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