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Wahl's Department Store Records, 1900-1982

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Wahl's (Firm).
Title
Wahl's Department Store Records
Dates
1900-1982 (inclusive)
1918-1969 (bulk)
Quantity
16.5 linear feet
Collection Number
XOE_CPNWS0046wahlsto
Summary
This collection of materials reflects eighty-two years of the Wahl family-operated department store in Bellingham, Washington. While bound volumes of advertisements from the Bellingham Herald comprise a large portion of the collection, other materials include financial records, administrative records, real estate records, clippings, correspondence and photographs.
Repository
Western Washington University, Center for Pacific Northwest Studies
Goltz-Murray Archives Building
808 25th St.
Bellingham, WA
98225
Telephone: (360) 650-7534
cpnws@wwu.edu
Access Restrictions

This collection is open to the public.

Languages
English
Sponsor
Funding for preparing this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission. Funding for encoding the finding aid was awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
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Historical Note

Wahl's department store, located in downtown Bellingham, Washington, was owned and operated by the Wahl family from 1913 to 1972. Constructed by J.J. Donovan in 1913, Wahl's department store building was bought by J.B. Wahl that year and used as a dry goods store. After J.B. Wahl died in 1937, his son Ralph E. Wahl assumed management until his retirement in 1971. Ralph E. Wahl considered himself more of a fisherman/photographer than a businessman, and is known for his photography of the Bellingham area.

In addition to owning the department store, the Wahl family also owned the Grand Theatre housed in the same building complex. Purchased by the National Bank of Commerce in 1972, the department store and Grand Theatre were demolished two years later to be remodeled into a new National Bank of Commerce office.

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Content Description

The Wahl's Department Store records span the years 1900 to 1982. The bulk of the collection consists of twelve bound volumes of department store advertisements from the Bellingham Herald dating from September 1944 to August 1969. The Wahl's Department Store collection also includes administrative, financial, and real estate records as well as clippings and other printed matter. Real estate records document the acquisition and ownership of the department store and Grand Theatre by lot number. The real estate records also include hand-drawn floor plans and demolition photos of the store and the Grand Theatre.

The collection's administrative records consist of incoming and outgoing correspondence to and from customers, associates, and Wahl family members. Included in the correspondence materials is hate mail sent from "A Mother's Club of Bellingham" to the Wahl Department Store about a Japanese man in their employ, written in 1942.

Financial records contain invoices, company day books, bills of sale, tax records and inventories of damage costs due to a fire that occurred in the department store in 1910.

The collection also contains printed and promotional materials (including advertisements), photographs, and a small number of files relating to management of the Grand Theatre Company.

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Use of the Collection

Preferred Citation

Wahl's Department Store Records, Center for Pacific Northwest Studies, Western Libraries Archives & Special Collections, Western Washington University, Bellingham WA 98225-9123.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

The Wahl's Department Store records are organized according to the following series arrangement:

  • Series 1: Administrative and Financial Records
  • Series 2: General Real Estate
  • Series 3: Clippings, Printed and Promotional Materials
  • Series 4: Grand Theatre Company Records

Custodial History

Edward J. Wahl, Terence R. Wahl, and Richard E. Wahl donated the Wahl's Department Store records to the Center for Pacific Northwest Studies in 1997. Additional records have been transferred and donated by Tim Wahl (in December 2018) and from the papers of Edward Wahl (in March 2019).

Processing Note

Collection processed by Caitlan Maxwell, with subsequent revisions and additions by CPNWS staff.

Processing Note

About Harmful Language and Content

Administrative correspondence includes anti-Japanese-American hate mail received in 1942 with language and content that is offensive and harmful. To learn more about problematic content in our collections, collection description and teaching tools (including how to provide feedback or request dialogue on this topic), see the following Statement About Potentially Harmful Language and Content

Related Materials

The Ralph E. Wahl Photographs and Papers are also housed at the Center for Pacific Northwest Studies at Western Washington University.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

Finding aid created by Caitlan Maxwell
2019

CC Attribution
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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