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F. Stanley piper - Architect
By Tom Heuser, May 20, 2023.
Frederick "F." Stanley Piper was born in Hull, Yorkshire, England on July 7, 1883. At the age of seventeen, he earned a degree in architecture from Blundell’s College at Tiverton, Devonshire. He worked as a draftsman for the well-established firm of King & Lister in Plymouth, England until 1907 when he immigrated to the United States. He entered the country at New York City and traveled immediately to Seattle, where his brother lived. While in Seattle, he briefly worked for another (unidentified) architect until he relocated to Bellingham by May of 1909 where he formed partnership with architect Thomas H. Carder (1868–1962). Also a native of England, Carder had immigrated to the United States just five months prior to Piper. The pair likely came to Bellingham upon the invitation of fellow English Architect William Cox (1842–1921) to collaborate with him on the design of the Carnegie Library in Anacortes, Washington, first announced in the Bellingham Herald in June of 1909 and completed in March of 1910.
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F. Stanley Piper
Cox, who was then only three years away from retirement, had been practicing in Bellingham since 1889 and would therefore have had many connections to offer, if not a legacy to pass on to the newly arrived architects he took under his wing. Thus, the pair quickly found work including a large Four-Square style residence for local lawyer Newton K. Staley (1909) and the three-story Northwest Hardware Company building on Holly Street (1910, image 1). An anonymous owner even selected the pair to design a six-story, steel-frame, commercial building in 1910, but evidence of its construction is absent from the historical record and contemporary views of Bellingham’s central business district (image 2).
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These initial projects were markedly different from those that would come to define Piper’s style starting in 1910 with the design of the Mrs. Charles Brown House on Forest Street, first published in January and completed later that year (image 1). Several others soon followed such as a pair of homes at 905 and 909 Maple Street designed for W.H. Beach and completed in June 1910, and the landmark James and Catherine Scott House at 521 15th Street (a Washington Heritage Register property) completed in 1911 (image 2).
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All were designed in either the Tudor Revival and/or Craftsman styles both of which have their roots in Piper’s native England. Architectural historian Carroll Meeks aptly described this fusion of styles as “synthetic eclecticism,” a “commingling of elements in a single building.” And although newspaper announcements of these homes cite Carder as the designer along with Piper, Carder had moved back to Seattle before any of them were built. So it is unknown what role, if any, Carder had in their actual design. The Bellingham Herald last mentioned their partnership on April 18, 1912, the day after it announced that Piper had won a contract to design the Bellingham National Bank Building at 101-111 E Holly Street (1913, image 3) in collaboration with Seattle architect John Graham, Sr. (1873–1955).*
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* Reported as six stories at the time, this may have been what eventually came of the six story commercial building that Piper originally drew up for his anonymous client in 1910 that was never built.
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F. Stanely Piper
A month later, Piper began advertising as a solo architect. After going independent in 1912, Piper soon married Minnie H. Bell (1890–1937, image 1), reportedly a frequent visitor of Bellingham, at her hometown of Booneville Missouri, on April 30, 1913. Piper quickly drew up plans for their new cross-gabled Craftsman style home at 1600 Knox Avenue (image 2) where excavation began on March 21, 1914. Curiously, Piper did not actually obtain the permit until April 29, 1914, the eve of his first wedding anniversary, perhaps making it more of a symbolic gesture to celebrate the first year of their marriage.
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The Pipers, who raised one son, were both very socially engaged. Among other activities, Minnie served as secretary of the YWCA and local Red Cross chapter and F. Stanley was a member of the Kiwanis club as well as the Episcopal Church and the Bellingham Yacht and Country clubs most of whose buildings he designed.
From the late teens into the early 1920s, Piper went on to become Bellingham’s preeminent architect designing many of the city’s most iconic and ornate structures in a variety of revival styles such as Gothic, Beaux Arts, Spanish, Colonial and French Chateauesque. These include:
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Fine Arts Building at 314 East Holly Street (1923) (Figure 5)
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Bellingham Fire Station #1 at 201 Prospect Street (1926)
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Great Northern Railroad Station at the foot of D Street (1928, image 3)
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St Paul’s Episcopal Church at 2117 Walnut Street (1927)
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However, two designs stand out in particular as his crowning achievements in the city. The first is his Gothic Revival Bellingham Herald Building at 1155 North State Street (1926) and the second is his French Chateauesque Eldridge Mansion at 2915 Eldridge Avenue (1927).
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The Eldridge Mansion in particular, bears striking similarities to Piper’s design of the Tudor Revival style Whatcom County Home built in the North Bellingham district outside city limits that same year. The two buildings share a stucco exterior, steeply pitched roof, tall chimneys, projecting bays, arched and projecting entryway with adjacent turret, and gabled dormers as common features, albeit at different scales and configurations. Given the Whatcom County Home’s impressive footprint of approximately 22,000 square feet, it is his largest Tudor Revival building and his greatest achievement outside the city. Other Tudor Revival buildings Piper designed during and after this period with a similar sprawling form to the Whatcom County Home include the Bay Street Public Market at 301 West Holly Street (1926) and the McMurtrie Auto Court at 3005 Northwest Avenue (1933).
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F. Stanley Piper
Despite the dramatic decrease in commercial activity and construction brought on by the Great Depression of the 1930s, Piper quite successfully weathered the economic storm by largely pivoting into more practical commissions that were often funded by federal relief programs such as the Public Works and Works Progress Administrations. Published projects of this type included the remodeling of seven Bellingham School District buildings and alterations to numerous commercial buildings throughout the city. Piper also designed some new buildings during this time including Sumas Grade School (1933), Fairhaven Junior High School (1937), First Congregational Church (1937), Acme Grade School (1938), and the Grandstand at Lyden Fairgrounds (1940).
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While elements of his earlier practice carried over into these Depression-era designs, Piper had made a clear transition to the architectural trend toward Streamline Moderne in an effort to stay relevant. Meanwhile, although Piper joined a Home Building Program in Bellingham that offered loans to prospective homeowners in 1936, his first published residential commission since the 1920s was not until 1941. That year, he designed an unusually late example of a Colonial Revival style home for J.R. Wilkinson at 519 16th Street.
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After the United States entered World War II following the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor in December of 1941, Piper devoted a portion of his practice to the war effort. In 1942 and 1943, Piper designed two decontamination centers for St Luke’s and St Joseph’s hospitals at the request of Civilian Defense and Medical Aid units in the city and remodeled a number of buildings into apartments into war worker housing under the National Housing Agency.* One other major project during this time, though not expressly for the war effort was the United Airlines Terminal and Administration building at Bellingham Airport (1942, image 1). After the war, Piper obtained the last major commission of his Career for the design of the new Whatcom County Courthouse in collaboration with Seattle Architect John W. Maloney (image 2). They initially estimated the costs at $600,000, but later increased the estimate to $1.4 million resulting in the loss of the contract and a protracted lawsuit. Although Piper went on to advertise home design services up through at least 1948, he passed away in 1950 after an extended illness.
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*Remodeled buildings include the College Inn building on High Street, opposite Western Washington University, the Moose Hall on Cornwall Avenue, the Sandwick building on the northwest corner of Harris Avenue and 11th Street, and the Little Theater Guild building at Prospect and Flora Streets.
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F. Stanley Piper
Last updated: September 21 2024.
To cite this article:
CMS Bibliography:
Heuser, Tom G. “F. Stanley Piper - Architect.” In T.G. Heuser Company Encyclopedia of Pacific Northwest History. Seattle, WA: T.G. Heuser Company, May 20, 2023.
CMS Footnote:
Tom G. Heuser, “F. Stanley Piper - Architect,” in T.G. Heuser Company Encyclopedia of Pacific Northwest History, (Seattle, WA: T.G. Heuser Company, May 20, 2023), page number.
SAA Bibliography:
Heuser, Tom G. "2023. F. Stanley Piper - Architect." In T.G. Heuser Company Encyclopedia of Pacific Northwest History. Seattle, WA. 20 May.
Bibliography
Felber, Lynette, “F. Stanley Piper: Bellingham’s Prolific Architect in the 1920s,” The Journal of the Whatcom County Historical Society. December 2018.
1908 Seattle Polk Directory - F Stanley Piper, architect, p1051
1909-06-19 Bellingham Herald - Anacortes Library Plans Complete, p20
1909-09-18 Bellingham Herald - Store Building May Cost 20,000, p20
1909-12-25 Bellingham Herald - Colonial Renaissance Home Is Erected, p16
1909-12-25 Bellingham Herald - Hardware Building One Of Most Substantial Blocks in the City, p16
1909-12-25 Bellingham Herald - NW Hardware Co Building
1910-01-02 Bellingham Herald - Brown Bungalow Commands Fine View, p25
1910-01-16 Bellingham Herald - 125k Six-Story Office Building Planned for 1910, p17
1910-01-30 Bellingham Herald - Anacortes Library Building Is Almost Complete, p21
1910-06-10 Bellingham Herald - Two Fine Homes On Maple Are Completed, p24
1910-07-10 Bellingham Herald - Plans For Scott Home Complete, p24
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1910-08-28 Bellingham Herald - Local Architect Designs Finest Dwelling In Sumas, p17
1910-09-04 Bellingham Herald - Minnie Bell, 5
1910-11-21 Bellingham Herald - Social and Personal, p8
1912-04-17 Bellingham Herald - Piper dashes off to Missouri, p6
1912-04-17 Bellingham Herald - Plans Drawn For 6-Story Building, p2
1912-05-28 Bellingham Herald - Architects, p9
1914-03-21 Bellingham Herald - Brief Local News, excavation started, p3
1914-03-27 Bellingham Herald - Playhouse To Be Erected On Luther Corner, p1
1914-04-29 Bellingham Herald - Brief Local News - Permit obtained for Piper house, p6
1914-09-22 Bellingham Herald - Brief Local News - Piper granted citizenshp, p3
1918-07-04 Bellingham Herald - Red Cross News, p8
1919-11-07 Bellingham Herald - N K Staley Dies At Home After Short Illness, p9
1932-03-02 Bellingham Herald - New Type Apartment House To Be Erected By Officer McMurtrie, p2
1932-03-12 Bellingham Herald - Home Is Attractive, p5
1932-04-19 Bellingham Herald - It Is A Tribute To The Herald Building (ad), p11
1932-05-27 Bellingham Herald - Ramp To Replace Elevator In Diehl Motor Building, p15
1933-04-11 Bellingham Herald - View Plans For Club House, p3
1933-08-01 Bellingham Herald - Repairs Ordered, p1
1933-11-10 Bellingham Herald - Contracts Issued - Lynden Company Will Build New Sumas School, p5
1934-03-17 Bellingham Herald - Piper Will Discuss Fair Architecture, p3
1934-03-30 Bellingham Herald - Cartograph of Sound Country Is Presented To Chamber By Piper, p16
1934-05-10 Bellingham Herald - Brief Local News - Piper gives another architecture talk, p10
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1934-07-17 Bellingham Herald - Building Proposed, p1
1934-07-17 Bellingham Herald - Building Proposed, p9
1934-12-22 Bellingham Herald - 11,000 Will Be Spent On Garage Building, p1
1934-12-22 Bellingham Herald - 11,000 Will Be Spent On Garage Building, p8
1935-01-14 Bellingham Herald - Advertisement for Bids (Blaine School Dist gym), p8
1935-06-27 Bellingham Herald - 200 Boats Will Be In Bellingham Bay, p8
1935-06-29 Bellingham Herald - Yacht Club Leaders, p9
1935-10-29 Bellingham Herald - Contracts In Pair (Bellingham Schools repair), p5
1935-11-18 Bellingham Herald - Approval Received, p3
1936-01-25 Bellingham Herald - Hoffman Urges No Delay In Program (school repair), p1
1936-01-25 Bellingham Herald - Hoffman Urges No Delay In Program (school repair), p8
1936-01-31 Bellingham Herald - Junior High School At Fairhaven Is Favored, p1
1936-01-31 Bellingham Herald - Junior High School At Fairhaven Is Favored, p11
1936-04-04 Bellingham Herald - Columbia School Bids Called By Board, p1
1936-05-07 Bellingham Herald - Plans for Fairhaven Junior High, p4
1936-05-09 Bellingham Herald - Home Building Program Planned In Bellingham, p5
1936-10-15 Bellingham Herald - Plans Discussed - Congregational Church Going Ahead With Building, p10
1936-12-12 Bellingham Herald - School Directors In County Plan Building, p1
1936-12-12 Bellingham Herald - School Directors In County Plan Building, p8
1936-12-31 Bellingham Herald - Acme Consolidated School Dist Is Perfected, p3
1937-04-27 Bellingham Herald - School Will Rise, p12
1937-06-22 Bellingham Herald - Work Is Under Way On first Unit of New Edifice, p1
1937-06-22 Bellingham Herald - Work Is Under Way On first Unit of New Edifice, p9
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1937-07-15 Bellingham Herald - Fairhaven Junior High School Building Is Done, p10
1937-08-05 Bellingham Herald - One Grade School Building To Replace Six, p2
1937-12-09 Bellingham Herald - Sketch of New School Building at Acme, p2
1937-12-10 Bellingham Herald - Mrs Piper Dies In Hospital, p1
1937-12-13 Bellingham Herald - Piper Is Chosen As Yacht Official, p13
1938-04-06 Bellingham Herald - Dedication Plans Complete (1st Congregational), p2
1938-08-06 Bellingham Herald - School Patrons At Custer In Favor of Building, p1
1938-08-14 Bellingham Herald - Acme Consolidated Grade School Nears Completion, p6
1939-05-24 Bellingham Herald - Lynden Fairground Work Started, p1
1939-05-24 Bellingham Herald - Lynden Fairground Work Started, p12
1939-06-26 Bellingham Herald - Boys Sail Small Boat Across Bay, p5
1939-07-09 Bellingham Herald - Montague - McHugh Building To Be Remodelled, p1
1939-07-16 Bellingham Herald - Sketch of Changes in Montague-McHugh Bldg, p11
1939-12-01 Bellingham Herald - 114 Building Remodeled For Stores and Offices, p7
1940-02-16 Bellingham Herald - Auditorium-Gym At Custer Assured, Cost 50k, p1
1940-06-23 Bellingham Herald - Grandstand Is Rated Among Best In State, p76
1940-10-02 Bellingham Herald - 25 Years Ago - Piper elected member of AIA, p4
1940-10-04 Bellingham Herald - Brief Local News - Navigation Class, p7
1940-10-20 Bellingham Herald -Sea Scout Activity Grows In This Area, p7
1941-07-14 Bellingham Herald - Brief Local News - Wilkinson residence, p6
1942-01-15 Bellingham Herald - Architects Sketch of United Air Lines' Building, p8
1942-03-09 Bellingham Herald - Ferndale Favored For Vocation Building, p1
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1942-07-10 Bellingham Herald - Bham airport, p10
1942-07-10 Bellingham Herald - City Takes Place On Nation's Air Map, p10
1942-09-11 Bellingham Herald - New Sea Scout Craft Launched Here, p10
1942-11-06 Bellingham Herald - Annexation Action To Be Completed, p5
1943-07-16 Bellingham Herald - College Inn To Be Remodeled, p3
1943-08-05 Bellingham Herald - Contracts Awarded For Remodeling, p1
1943-08-10 Bellingham Herald - Sandwick Building To Be Remodeled, p5
1943-09-17 Bellingham Herald - Theater Guild To Lose Building, p5
1944-11-01 Bellingham Herald - Contract Awarded At Ferndale, p2
1945-09-26 Bellingham Herald - Details of Modern Courthouse Described By Architects, p1
1945-09-26 Bellingham Herald - Whatcom Co Courthouse, p1
1948-10-19 Bellingham Herald - F Stanley Piper Suffers Wound, p1
1950-03-02 Bellingham Herald - F Stanley Piper Called Thursday, p8
