Waldron Rennovation

Renovation began in the mid-1970’s but wasn’t completed.  The Waldron Block was described in 2001 by the Whatcom Watch as a “multi-level eyesore” having sat empty for three decades. 

In 2005 the building was purchased by developer Dave Ebenal.   The Bank of Fairhaven’s vault was removed to make way for extensive renovation.  The building became just a shell of its former self—only three of the Waldron’s original walls were left standing.  Construction was completed in 2007 and “The Waldron” opened as a luxury condominium with prime retail space again on the ground floor. 

Photo Courtesy City of Bellinghan

In what seems to defy possibility, Charles Waldron’s daughter, Frances Waldron Barber, attended a celebration at the top floor of her fathers' building in October of 2008.  Frances was born in the early 1920s when Charles was in his 70s.  (Charles’ second wife, also named Frances, was in her 20s.) The event was to celebrate the unveiling of the bust of an important figure in Fairhaven history, C.X. Larrabee, installed on the site of Dave Ebenal’s Waldron & Young development.  For the very first time, Frances was able to enter the building that her father had built almost 117 years earlier.  (For Photos see 2010 Fairhaven Guide available through merchants in Fairhaven.)

For the Waldron Block, the saying “Everything Old is New Again” certainly applies.  Whidbey Island Bank moved into the corner space in early 2009.  The original vault used by the Bank of Fairhaven has been returned and now decorates the new bank. (Thank you Ken Imus.)

A small stained glass window is located above the door of the corner entrance at 12th and McKenzie. It remains intact, ready to welcome bank customers again as it did in 1892.

Photo courtesy Gordy Tweit
The late Ty Tillson in front of the Bank of Fairhaven's vault in the 1970s

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