HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena — as catalogued
Bellingham bar on the site of the old Palace Meat Market, where butcher Frederick L. Dames was killed in 1905 in a case that was never solved.
1017 N State St, Bellingham, WA 98225
Research updated June 2026
Age
21+
Cost
Free
Operating bar; no cover to view the building from the public sidewalk. Drinks at standard bar prices for 21+ patrons inside.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Downtown sidewalk frontage; bar interior is a converted commercial storefront.
Equipment
Photos OK
Site of the 1905 Palace Meat Market murder of butcher Frederick L. Dames · One of Bellingham's enduring unsolved homicide cases · Retains butcher-shop fixtures (meat hooks, refrigeration tubing) in the current bar
The building at 1017 North State Street in Bellingham stands on ground tied to one of the city's most notorious early crimes. According to WhatcomTalk's history of haunted Bellingham, the site was once the Palace Meat Market, run by butcher Frederick L. Dames. On the night of April 11-12, 1905, Dames was killed with a hatchet in a shack behind his shop, and his young delivery boy discovered him the next morning.
The killing drew a long investigation and several suspects but was never officially solved. A man named Charles Weatherford confessed in 1908, but his mental state at the time left the confession unreliable, and no conviction followed. The case remains on the books as one of Bellingham's enduring unsolved murders.
In the years since, the address has been redeveloped as the Redlight Bar. WhatcomTalk notes that fixtures from its butcher-shop past — old meat hooks and refrigeration tubing — were kept as part of the bar's interior, a deliberate nod to the building's history. The Good Time Girls, who run Bellingham's Gore and Lore walking tours, include the city's downtown true-crime sites on their route.
Sources
Unlike many sites on Bellingham's ghost circuit, the former Palace Meat Market is remembered primarily for what is documented rather than for a named resident spirit. The 1905 killing of butcher Frederick Dames behind his shop, and the long unsolved investigation that followed, are the reason the address still appears on the city's true-crime and Gore and Lore tour routes.
The atmosphere is reinforced by the building itself. According to WhatcomTalk, the Redlight Bar kept old meat hooks and refrigeration tubing from the shop's butcher-shop era as part of its interior, so patrons drink among physical traces of the building's past. Any reports of a presence at the site are anecdotal and tied to that history rather than to a distinct, well-attested haunting, which is why the location is held for further review.
Visitors can take in the site respectfully from the public sidewalk, or join the Good Time Girls' downtown walking tour to hear the Dames case told in context alongside Bellingham's other dark-history stops.
Notable Entities
View the building at 1017 N State St, which stands on the site of the old Palace Meat Market and the 1905 Frederick Dames murder. The Good Time Girls' Downtown Gore and Lore walking tour covers Bellingham's true-crime and haunting sites if you want a guided version.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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