Bellingham ( ) is the most populous city in, and

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

Whatcom County Whatcom County is a county located in the northwestern corner of the U.S. state of Washington, bordered by the Canadian Lower Mainland (the Metro Vancouver and Fraser Valley Regional Districts of British Columbia) to the north, Okanogan Cou ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

. It lies south of the U.S.–Canada border in between two major cities of the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

, British Columbia (located to the northwest) and

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

( to the south). The city had a population of 92,314 as of 2019. The city of Bellingham, incorporated in 1903, consolidated four settlements: Bellingham, Whatcom, Fairhaven, and Sehome. It takes its name from

Bellingham Bay Bellingham Bay is a bay of the Salish Sea located in Washington State in the United States. It is separated from the Strait of Georgia on the west by the Lummi Peninsula, Portage Island, and Lummi Island. It is bordered on the east by Bellingha ...

, named by

George Vancouver Captain George Vancouver (22 June 1757 – 10 May 1798) was a British Royal Navy officer best known for his 1791–1795 expedition, which explored and charted North America's northwestern Pacific Coast regions, including the coasts of what a ...

in 1792, for Sir William Bellingham, the Controller of Storekeeper Accounts of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

during the

Vancouver Expedition The Vancouver Expedition (1791–1795) was a four-and-a-half-year voyage of exploration and diplomacy, commanded by Captain George Vancouver of the Royal Navy. The British expedition circumnavigated the globe and made contact with five continen ...

. Today, Bellingham is the northernmost city with a population of more than 90,000 people in the

contiguous United States The contiguous United States (officially the conterminous United States) consists of the 48 adjoining U.S. states and the Federal District of the United States of America. The term excludes the only two non-contiguous states, Alaska and Hawaii ...

. It is a popular tourist destination known for its easy access to outdoor recreation in the

San Juan Islands The San Juan Islands are an archipelago in the Pacific Northwest of the United States between the U.S. state of Washington and Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. The San Juan Islands are part of Washington state, and form the core of ...

and

North Cascades The North Cascades are a section of the Cascade Range of western North America. They span the border between the Canadian province of British Columbia and the U.S. state of Washington and are officially named in the U.S. and Canada as the Cascad ...

. More than of former industrial land on the Bellingham waterfront is undergoing redevelopment, with plans for a hotel, conference center, condos, retirement housing, retail and commercial development.

History

Ship construction at the Pacific American Fisheries yard, Bellingham, Washington, September 1916 (COBB 231)

Bellingham is the homeland of

Coast Salish peoples The Coast Salish is a group of ethnically and linguistically related Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast, living in the Canadian province of British Columbia and the U.S. states of Washington and Oregon. They speak one of the Coa ...

of the

Lummi The Lummi ( ; Lummi: ''Xwlemi'' ; also known as Lhaq'temish (), or ''People of the Sea''), governed by the Lummi Nation, are a Native American tribe of the Coast Salish ethnolinguistic group. They are based in the coastal area of the Pacific No ...

(or Lhaq'temish) People and neighboring tribes. People of Lummi ancestry continue to live in and around Bellingham Bay, particularly on the nearby Lummi Nation reservation. The first European immigrants reached the area about 1852 when Henry Roeder and Russel Peabody set up a lumber mill at Whatcom, now the northern part of Bellingham. Lumber cutting and milling continues to the present in Whatcom county. At about the same time, Dan Harris arrived, claiming a homestead along Padden Creek, and after acquiring surrounding properties, platted the town of Fairhaven in 1883. In 1858, the

Fraser Canyon Gold Rush The Fraser Canyon Gold Rush, (also Fraser Gold Rush and Fraser River Gold Rush) began in 1858 after gold was discovered on the Thompson River in British Columbia at its confluence with the Nicoamen River a few miles upstream from the Thompson's c ...

caused a short lived population growth that established the community. Coal was mined in the Bellingham Bay area from the mid-19th to the mid-20th centuries starting when Henry Roeder's agents discovered coal south of Whatcom Creek, in an area called Sehome, now downtown Bellingham, in 1854. They sold the coal-bearing land to San Francisco investors who established the Bellingham Bay Coal Company, eventually a subsidiary of the

Black Diamond Coal Mining Company The Black Diamond Coal Mining Company was formed in 1861, consolidating the Cumberland and Black Diamond coal mines in the region of Mount Diablo, in Contra Costa County, California.http://www.southport-land.com/PDFs/1861_06_15_1st_mtg_rev3.pdf M ...

. After a hundred years of extensive mining beneath present-day Bellingham, the last mine closed in 1955. In the early 1890s, three railroad lines arrived, connecting the bay cities to a nationwide market of builders. In 1889, Pierre Cornwall and an association of investors formed the Bellingham Bay Improvement Company (BBIC). The BBIC invested in several diverse enterprises such as shipping, coal, mining, railroad construction, real estate sales and utilities. Even though their dreams of turning the cities by the bay into a Pacific Northwest metropolis never came to fruition, the BBIC made an immense contribution to the economic development of Bellingham. BBIC was not the only outside firm with an interest in the bay area utilities. The General Electric Company of New York purchased the Fairhaven Line and New Whatcom street rail line in 1897. In 1898, the utility merged into the Northern Railway and Improvement Company which prompted the Electric Corporation of Boston to purchase a large block of shares. In 1890, Fairhaven developers bought the tiny community of Bellingham. Whatcom and Sehome merged in 1891 to form New Whatcom (1903 act of the State legislature dropped "New" from the name.) At first, attempts to combine Fairhaven and Whatcom failed, and there was controversy over the name of the proposed new city. Whatcom citizens would not support a city named ''Fairhaven'', and Fairhaven residents would not support a city named ''Whatcom''. They eventually settled on the name ''Bellingham'', which remains today. Voting a second time for a final merger of Fairhaven and Whatcom into a single city, the resolution passed with 2163 votes for and 596 against. Bellingham was officially incorporated on December 28, 1903, as a result of the incremental consolidation of the four towns initially situated on the east of Bellingham Bay during the final decade of the 19th Century. Whatcom is today's "Old Town" area and was founded with Roeder's Mill in 1852. Sehome was an area of downtown founded with the Sehome Coal Mine in 1854. Bellingham was further south near Boulevard Park, founded in 1883 and purchased in 1890 by Fairhaven. Fairhaven was a large commercial district with its own harbor, founded in 1883, by Dan Harris, around his initial homestead on Padden Creek. Bellingham was the site of the Bellingham riots against East Indian (

Sikh Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism, Sikhism (Sikhi), a Monotheism, monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Gu ...

) immigrant workers in 1907. A mob of 400–500 white men, predominantly members of the

Asiatic Exclusion League The Asiatic Exclusion League (often abbreviated AEL) was an organization formed in the early 20th century in the United States and Canada that aimed to prevent immigration of people of Asian origin. United States In May 1905, a mass meeting was h ...

, with intentions to exclude East Indian immigrants from the work force of the local lumber mills, attacked the homes of the South Asian Indians. The Indians were mostly

Sikhs Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism (Sikhi), a monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ...

but were labeled as

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

s by much of the media of the day. Bellingham's proximity to the

Strait of Juan de Fuca The Strait of Juan de Fuca (officially named Juan de Fuca Strait in Canada) is a body of water about long that is the Salish Sea's outlet to the Pacific Ocean. The international boundary between Canada and the United States runs down the centre ...

and to the

Inside Passage The Inside Passage (french: Passage Intérieur) is a coastal route for ships and boats along a network of passages which weave through the islands on the Pacific Northwest coast of the North American Fjordland. The route extends from southeaster ...

to Alaska helped keep some cannery operations here. Pacific American Fisheries (P.A.F.), for example, shipped empty cans to Alaska, where they were packed with fish and shipped back.

Geography

The city is situated on

which is protected by

Lummi Island Lummi Island lies at the southwest corner of Whatcom County, Washington, United States, between the mainland part of the county and offshore San Juan County. The Lummi Indian Reservation is situated on a peninsula east of the island, but it d ...

Portage Island Portage Island is an island in the western part of Bellingham Bay in Whatcom County, Washington, United States. It is separated from the Lummi Peninsula by Portage Bay and from the central part of Lummi Island by Hale Passage, in Whatcom County. Po ...

, and the Lummi Peninsula, and opens onto the

Strait of Georgia The Strait of Georgia (french: Détroit de Géorgie) or the Georgia Strait is an arm of the Salish Sea between Vancouver Island and the extreme southwestern mainland coast of British Columbia, Canada and the extreme northwestern mainland coast ...

. It lies west of

Mount Baker Mount Baker (Lummi: '; nok, Kw’eq Smaenit or '), also known as Koma Kulshan or simply Kulshan, is a active glacier-covered andesitic stratovolcano in the Cascade Volcanic Arc and the North Cascades of Washington in the United States. Mount ...

and

Lake Whatcom Lake Whatcom (from the Lummi word for "loud water") is located in Whatcom County, Washington, United States. It is the drinking water source for approximately 85,000 residents in the city of Bellingham as well as Whatcom County. It is approxima ...

(from which it gets its drinking water) and north of the

Chuckanut Mountains The Chuckanut Mountains (from "Chuckanut", an Indian word meaning "long beach far from a narrow entrance"), or Chuckanuts, are located on the northern Washington (U.S. state), Washington state coast of the Salish Sea, just south of Bellingham, Was ...

and the

Skagit Valley The Skagit Valley lies in the northwestern corner of the state of Washington, United States. Its defining feature is the Skagit River, which snakes through local communities which include the seat of Skagit County, Mount Vernon, as well as Se ...

Whatcom Creek Whatcom Creek is a waterway in Bellingham, Washington, United States. Approximately long, it drains Lake Whatcom through Whatcom Falls Park and through the city of Bellingham to Bellingham Bay. The creek starts at the control dam for Lake Wha ...

runs through the center of the city. Bellingham is south of the US-Canada border and southeast of Vancouver. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the city has a total area of , of which, is land and is water. The lowest elevations are at sea level along the waterfront. Alabama Hill is one of the higher points in the city at about . Elevations of are found near Yew Street Hill north of

Lake Padden Lake Padden is a lake located in Bellingham, Washington, United States. It was named for a homesteader and coal miner in the area, Michael Padden, who purchased the land around the lake in 1873. The park is popular during the spring and summer, an ...

and near Galbraith Mountain. South and eastward of the city limits are taller foothills of the

mountains.

is the largest peak in the local area, with a summit elevation of that is only from Bellingham Bay. Mount Baker is visible from many parts of the city and western Whatcom County. Lake Whatcom forms part of the eastern boundary of the city, while many smaller lakes and wetland areas are found around the region. Situated at a latitude of 48.75 North, and thus north of the 48°34' parallel, Bellingham is one of only a few cities in the continental United States that experience

astronomical twilight Twilight is light produced by sunlight scattering in the upper atmosphere, when the Sun is below the horizon, which illuminates the lower atmosphere and the Earth's surface. The word twilight can also refer to the periods of time when this ill ...

for the entire night. The phenomenon occurs every year between June 14 and June 28. Bellingham's neighborhoods are Alabama Hill, Barkley, Birchwood, Columbia, Cordata, Cornwall Park, Downtown Central Business District, Edgemoor, Fairhaven, Happy Valley, Irongate, King Mountain, Lettered Streets, Meridian, Puget, Roosevelt, Samish, Sehome, Silver Beach, South, South Hill, Sunnyland, Whatcom Falls,

Western Washington University Western Washington University (WWU or Western) is a public university in Bellingham, Washington. The northernmost university in the contiguous United States, WWU was founded in 1893 as the state-funded New Whatcom Normal School, succeeding a pri ...

(WWU) (including the campus), and York.

Climate

Bellingham's climate is generally mild and typical of the

Puget Sound region The Puget Sound region is a coastal area of the Pacific Northwest in the U.S. state of Washington, including Puget Sound, the Puget Sound lowlands, and the surrounding region roughly west of the Cascade Range and east of the Olympic Mountains. ...

. The year-long average daily high and low temperatures are , respectively. Western Whatcom County has a marine

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ( ...

that is strongly influenced by the

Cascade Range The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as the North Cascades, ...

and

Olympic Mountains The Olympic Mountains are a mountain range on the Olympic Peninsula of the Pacific Northwest of the United States. The mountains, part of the Pacific Coast Ranges, are not especially high – Mount Olympus is the highest at ; however, the easter ...

. The Cascades to the east retain the temperate marine influence, while the Olympics provide a

rain shadow A rain shadow is an area of significantly reduced rainfall behind a mountainous region, on the side facing away from prevailing winds, known as its leeward side. Evaporated moisture from water bodies (such as oceans and large lakes) is carrie ...

effect that buffers Bellingham from much of the rainfall approaching from the southwest. Bellingham receives an average annual rainfall of , which is slightly less than nearby Seattle. As evident in the table below, November is typically the wettest month, with numerous frontal rainstorms arriving. Still, precipitation is distributed throughout the rainy period extending from October through April. Bellingham was reported to have the lowest average sunshine amount of any city in the US. Despite this, Bellingham also has mild, pleasant summers and confirmed scientific climate data indicates it is actually less cloudy on average than Seattle (SeaTac), Everett (Paine Field) and Olympia. The hottest summer days rarely exceed and the warmest temperature on record is on August 12, 2021. This is markedly cooler than the record high for Seattle () and most other Washington locations. Drought is rare, although some summers are noticeably drier than others and some normally reliable wells have been known to run dry in August and September. Nevertheless, crops are more frequently ruined by too much rain rather than too little. Bellingham's proximity to the Fraser River valley occasionally subjects it to a harsh winter weather pattern (termed a 'north-Easter') wherein an upper-level trough drives cold Arctic air from the Canadian interior southwesterly through the

Fraser River The Fraser River is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Blackrock Mountain in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for , into the Strait of Georgia just south of the City of Vancouver. The river's annual d ...

Canyon. Such an event was recorded on November 28, 2006, when air temperatures of were accompanied by winds. Wind chill equivalents reached according to

NOAA The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (abbreviated as NOAA ) is an United States scientific and regulatory agency within the United States Department of Commerce that forecasts weather, monitors oceanic and atmospheric conditio ...

. Several days into this pattern, local ponds and smaller lakes freeze solidly enough to allow skating. Outflow winds can collide with a

Gulf of Alaska The Gulf of Alaska (Tlingit: ''Yéil T'ooch’'') is an arm of the Pacific Ocean defined by the curve of the southern coast of Alaska, stretching from the Alaska Peninsula and Kodiak Island in the west to the Alexander Archipelago in the east, ...

moisture and create ice, snow, or heavy rains. This transition can also lead to freezing rain, referred to as a "silver thaw" that produces hazardous roads among other inconveniences. Its reverse, the "

Pineapple Express Pineapple Express is a non-technical term for a meteorological phenomenon characterized by a strong and persistent large-scale flow of warm moist air, and the associated heavy precipitation both in the waters immediately northeast of the Hawaii ...

", refers to acutely mild autumn and winter spells – for most of such a spell, an unusually warm and steady wind comes out of the south. It will typically follow several days of Arctic northeast outflow winds, and it can melt significant snow accumulations quickly, pushing drainage systems to their limits.

Demographics

As of 2000, the median income for a household in the city was $32,530, and the median income for a family was $47,196. Males had a median income of $35,288 versus $25,971 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,483. About 9.4% of families and 20.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.2% of those under age 18 and 9.0% of those aged 65 or over.

2010 census

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

of 2010, there were 80,885 people, 34,671 households, and 16,129 families residing in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

was . There were 36,760 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 84.9%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

, 1.3%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 1.3% Native American, 5.1%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0.3%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...

, 2.8% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 4.3% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 7.0% of the population. There were 34,671 households, of which 21.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 34.2% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

living together, 8.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.5% had a male householder with no wife present, and 53.5% were non-families. 35.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.18 and the average family size was 2.79. The median age in the city was 31.3 years. 15.6% of residents were under the age of 18; 23.5% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 25.9% were from 25 to 44; 22% were from 45 to 64; and 12.8% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.8% male and 51.2% female.

Economy

Workers at the smokehouse of the Whatcom Fish Products Co, Bellingham, Washington, September 1916 (COBB 68)

The mean annual salary of a wage earner in Bellingham is $49,363, which is below the Washington State average of $66,870. In the first quarter of 2017, Bellingham's median home sale was $382,763, compared to the Whatcom County median of $322,779. Strong job and income growth, along with low inventory of homes for sale, have contributed to a median monthly rental payment in February 2017 of $1,526.

Largest employers

Two ships under construction on ways at the Pacific American Fisheries yard, Bellingham, Washington, September 1916 (COBB 233)

According to Bellingham's 2017 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the largest employers in Bellingham are:

Arts and culture

Events

* The Ski to Sea race is a team relay race made up of seven legs: cross country skiing, downhill skiing (or snowboarding), running, road biking, canoeing (2 person), mountain biking, and kayaking. The racers begin at the

Mount Baker Ski Area Mt. Baker Ski Area is a ski resort in the northwest United States, located in Whatcom County, Washington, at the end of State Route 542. The base elevation is at , while the peak of the resort is at . It is about south of the 49th parallel, th ...

and make their way down to the finish line on Bellingham Bay. Organized by the Bellingham/Whatcom Chamber of Commerce & Industry, the event was first held in 1973 and traces it roots to the 1911 Mt. Baker Marathon. * The Bellingham Bay Marathon, Half Marathon, 10K & 5K is held annually on the last Sunday in September, attracting approximately 2,500 runners and walkers each year. The Boston-qualifier marathon starts near Gooseberry Point on

Nation and circumnavigates Bellingham Bay to finish in downtown Bellingham. The half marathon, 10K, and 5K races all start and end at Depot Market Square. *The Whatcom Artist Studio Tour is an annual event featuring local artists working in a variety of media. On the first two weekends in October, artists open their studios up to the public. *The Bellingham Highland Games & Scottish Festival is held every year at Ferndale's Hovander Park the first full weekend in June. The outdoor event celebrates Scottish culture and heritage, with two days of games, spectator sports, dancing, music and food. *

LinuxFest Northwest LinuxFest Northwest is an annual technology conference and expo held in Bellingham, Washington. It is a Saturday and Sunday weekend event held in late April or early May. The event is dedicated to discussion and development of the Linux operating ...

is a free conference dedicated to discussion and development of the

Linux operating system Linux ( or ) is a family of open-source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged as a Linux distribution, which ...

and other

open-source Open source is source code that is made freely available for possible modification and redistribution. Products include permission to use the source code, design documents, or content of the product. The open-source model is a decentralized sof ...

and

free-software Free software or libre software is computer software distributed under terms that allow users to run the software for any purpose as well as to study, change, and distribute it and any adapted versions. Free software is a matter of liberty, no ...

projects. It is a weekend event held at

Bellingham Technical College Bellingham Technical College (Bellingham Tech or BTC) is a public college, public technical college in Bellingham, Washington. Although it awards some bachelor's degrees, it primarily awards associate degrees. Campus events *Linuxfest Northwest ...

in late April or early May which draws more than a thousand enthusiasts. *The annual International Day of Peace is celebrated in Bellingham on September 21. The holiday was instituted by the United Nations as a 24-hour global cease-fire. The Bellingham-based Whatcom Peace & Justice Center publishes a calendar of upcoming activist events with a theme of non-violence, community dissent, and worldwide peace. *The Bellingham Festival of Music is an annual celebration of orchestral and chamber concerts, held in July, hosting musicians from North American orchestral ensembles. *Bellingham Pride is a gay pride parade and festival held in July each year to celebrate

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

people and history. The parade passes through the downtown and ends in the public market area.

Beer

Craft beer is a major emerging industry in Bellingham. There are now 14 breweries within Bellingham city limits and three additional breweries in Whatcom County. In 2018, these breweries combined won 46 medals at seven national and international brewery competitions.

Downtown

The Bellingham Farmers Market is open on Saturdays from early April to late December. Originally opened in 1993, the Farmers Market now features more than 50 vendors, music and community events. The association also operates a weekly Wednesday market in nearby Fairhaven. Wednesday nights in the summer see Downtown Sounds, a family-friendly concert series featuring food booths and a beer garden with local breweries held on Bay Street. From May to September, the Downtown Bellingham Partnership runs the Commercial Street Night Market, with local food, artisan vendors, live music and performances.

Local attractions

Boulevard Park and Boardwalk and Bellingham Cruise Terminal

The

Whatcom Museum of History and Art The Whatcom Museum (housed in the Old City Hall, Lightcatcher building and Syre Education Center) was originally built in 1892 as the city hall for the former town of New Whatcom, before it was joined with surrounding towns to form Bellingham, Was ...

sponsors exhibits of painting, sculpture, local history, and is an active participant in the city's monthly Gallery Walks which are pedestrian tours of the historic buildings of the city, offering history and art lessons for local schools and adult groups, and historic cruises on Bellingham Bay. The Bellingham Railway Museum has educational displays on the history of railroading in Whatcom County, as well as model trains and a freight-train simulator. The

SPARK Museum of Electrical Invention The SPARK Museum of Electrical Invention (formerly the American Museum of Radio and Electricity) is an interactive museum located in Bellingham, Washington, United States, which offers educational experiences for audiences of all ages through ...

, formerly known as the American Museum of Radio and Electricity, has a collection of rare artifacts from 1580 into the 1950s, providing educational resources about the history of electronics and radio broadcasting. The AMRE also operates KMRE-LP 102.3 FM, a low-power FM radio station which broadcasts a number of old shows popular many decades ago, as well as programming of general interest to the community. Mindport is a privately funded arts and science museum. Upper Whatcom Falls-110506

Whatcom Falls Park Whatcom Falls Park is a park in Bellingham, Washington, United States. The falls are on Whatcom Creek, which leads from Lake Whatcom to Bellingham Bay. The park has four sets of waterfalls and several miles of well maintained walking trails. Oth ...

is a large () public park encompassing the Whatcom Creek gorge, running directly through the heart of the city. It has four sets of waterfalls and several miles of walking trails. Popular activities during warmer weather include swimming, fishing, and strolling along the numerous walking trails. On 10 June 1999, the

Olympic pipeline explosion On June 10, 1999, the Olympic pipeline operated by Olympic Pipe Line Company, carrying gasoline at the time, exploded in Whatcom Falls Park in Bellingham, Washington. The disaster started at 3:25 PM PDT (22:25 UTC) when a mostly underground gaso ...

occurred in Whatcom Falls Park, killing three boys who were playing in the vicinity. Operated by Olympic Pipe Line Company, the gas line that crossed Whatcom and Hanna Creeks leaked highly flammable material that turned the creeks pink, and then exploded into flames. About east of Bellingham the

holds the world record for the greatest amount of snowfall in one season (winter 1998–1999). During most years the depth of accumulated snow exceeds . South of the city of Bellingham Chuckanut Drive (

Washington State Route 11 State Route 11 (SR 11) is a long state highway that serves Skagit and Whatcom counties in the U.S. state of Washington. SR 11, known as Chuckanut Drive, begins at an interchange with Interstate 5 (I-5) north of Burlingto ...

) has cliffside views of the sea, the San Juan Islands and the Olympic Mountains, the hills and forests of the Chuckanut mountains, and several small bays along the edge of the

Salish Sea , image = PNW-straits.jpg , alt = , caption = The Salish Sea, showing the open Pacific Ocean at lower left, and from there, heading inland: the Strait of Juan de Fuca, the narrow Puget Sound at lower ri ...

. Several miles from Bellingham in the southern part of Whatcom County there are many places for outdoor recreation, including

Larrabee State Park Larrabee State Park is a public recreation area located on Samish Bay on the western side of Chuckanut Mountain, south of the city of Bellingham, Washington. It was created in 1915 as Washington's first state park. The park covers and feat ...

(popular for hiking),

(popular for swimming, fishing and golfing), and

Lake Samish Lake Samish ( ) is a lake south of Bellingham, Washington, United States. Visible to the west of Interstate 5 when travelling between Alger and Bellingham, Lake Samish is heavily used for recreation in the summer months by local residents. ...

. To the east of the city lies

, which provides the local public water supply and is the source of Whatcom Creek. Between Lake Whatcom and Lake Padden is

North Lookout Mountain Galbraith Mountain is the common name for North Lookout Mountain, located between the communities of Sudden Valley and Bellingham, Washington. A area was owned by the Trillium Corporation until April 1, 2010, when the company surrendered the pro ...

, known locally as Galbraith Mountain, with many mountain bike trails. In the waters of the Georgia Strait and Puget Sound it is possible to go

whale watching Whale watching is the practice of observing whales and dolphins ( cetaceans) in their natural habitat. Whale watching is mostly a recreational activity (cf. birdwatching), but it can also serve scientific and/or educational purposes.Hoyt, E. 2 ...

to see several pods of

orca The orca or killer whale (''Orcinus orca'') is a toothed whale belonging to the oceanic dolphin family, of which it is the largest member. It is the only Extant taxon, extant species in the genus ''Orcinus'' and is recognizable by its black ...

s (killer whales).

Bellis Fair Mall Bellis Fair is an enclosed shopping mall in Bellingham, Washington, United States. Opened on August 4, 1988, it features JCPenney, Kohl's, Macy's, Macy's, Macy's Home Store, Dick's Sporting Goods, DSW, Inc., DSW, H&M, Forever 21, Ashley Furniture ...

, the city's main shopping mall, opened in 1988.

Music scene

Bellingham's location between two major cities, universities, record labels, and music magazines have all contributed to making Bellingham a desirable and recognized local music scene. The presence of a large university-age population has helped Bellingham become home to a number of regionally and nationally noted musical acts such as

Death Cab for Cutie Death Cab for Cutie is an American rock band formed in Bellingham, Washington, in 1997. The band is currently composed of Ben Gibbard (vocals, guitar, piano), Nick Harmer (bass), Dave Depper (guitar, keyboards, backing vocals), Zac Rae (keyboar ...

Odesza Odesza (; stylized as ODESZA) is an American electronic music duo originating from Bellingham, Washington. It consists of Harrison Mills and Clayton Knight, known individually as Catacombkid and BeachesBeaches. They formed in 2012, shortly bef ...

The Posies The Posies were an American power pop group. The band was formed in 1986 in Bellingham, Washington, United States, by primary songwriters Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow. Their music has its origins in Merseybeat and the Hollies. They are i ...

Crayon A crayon (or wax pastel) is a stick of pigmented wax used for writing or drawing. Wax crayons differ from pastels, in which the pigment is mixed with a dry binder such as gum arabic, and from oil pastels, where the binder is a mixture of wax an ...

Idiot Pilot Idiot Pilot is an alternative rock duo from Bellingham, Washington, consisting of Michael Harris and Daniel Anderson. History After their previous band, pop-punk outfit Azero Cherry, broke up, high schoolers Michael Harris and Daniel Anderso ...

Mono Men The Mono Men were an American garage punk band, based in Bellingham, Washington. Their sound contained elements of grunge (distortion-heavy guitars, sneering vocals), but the Mono Men filtered these through a mimicry of 1960s Washington proto-p ...

, No-Fi Soul Rebellion,

Sculptured Sculptured is an American experimental and progressive metal band, mixing melodic and atonal segments. Biography Following the dissolution of his previous band, guitarist Don Anderson began Sculptured as mostly a one-man project in 1996. With ...

Federation X Federation X or "FED X" is an American rock band, originally formed in Bellingham, Washington, founded by Ben Wildenhaus (guitar), Bill Badgley (guitar, vocals), and Beau Boyd (drums) in 1998. Career In 1999, the band released a self-titled LP o ...

, The Trucks, Black Eyes & Neckties, Black Breath, The High Mountain String Band, Dizzy Spins, and Shook Ones. Local independent record labels include

Estrus Records Estrus Records is an independent record label from Bellingham, Washington that makes Surf music, surf, Garage rock, garage and trash rock music. They have released such bands as Mono Men, The Drags, The Mummies, Supercharger, Impala (band), Impa ...

and Clickpop Records. The city was also home to ''What's Up! Magazine'' which covered the local music scene for 22 years ending in March 2020, and Lemonade Magazine, devoted to music and entertainment of all kinds. Bellingham is also the home of an active classical music scene which includes the Bellingham Symphony Orchestra (formerly the Whatcom Symphony Orchestra), North Sound Youth Symphony, numerous community music groups and choirs, and the internationally recognized Bellingham Festival of Music.

Literary scene

Bellingham is home to an active writers community at the local universities and independent of them. Western Washington University's English Department publishes the

Bellingham Review The ''Bellingham Review'' is an American literary magazine published by Western Washington University. The magazine was established in 1977 by the poets Knute Skinner and Peter Nicoletta.San Francisco Chronicle, October 1, 2008 ''The Bellingham ...

. In 2011, the city hosted the first annual Chuckanut Writers Conference, run by Whatcom Community College and Village Books, a local bookstore. Clover, A Literary Rag, a publication of the Independent Writers' Studio, has produced 9 volumes since 2010. The city is home to writers including

Steve Martini Steven Paul "Steve" Martini (born February 28, 1946) is an American writer of legal novels. Early years Born on February 28, 1946, in San Francisco, California, Steve Martini was raised until the age of ten in the Colma area of Daly City jus ...

and George Dyson. Bellingham Public Library provides free library services at the Central Library, Barkley Branch and Fairhaven Branch.

Local theater

Bellingham's theater culture is boosted by the performing arts department at Western Washington University. There are several theaters and productions in Bellingham: *

Bellingham Theatre Guild The Bellingham Theatre Guild is a community theater located in Bellingham, Washington. Founded in 1929, the guild has been housed in its current location - the old Congregational Church converted for live theater use - since 1944. Academy Award ...

– This non-profit community theater was founded in 1929.

Hilary Swank Hilary Ann Swank (born July 30, 1974) is an American actress and film producer. She first became known in 1992 for her role on the television series '' Camp Wilder'' and made her film debut with a minor role in ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' (1992 ...

performed here before moving to LA to pursue her career in acting. * Historic

Mount Baker Theatre The Mount Baker Theatre (officially abbreviated MBT) is a 1,517-seat performing arts venue and national historic landmark in Bellingham, Washington. The theater hosts professional productions and concerts as well as community performances from t ...

– The Mount Baker Theater is the largest performing arts facility north of Seattle and is listed on the register of National Historic Places. The theater is an example of Moorish architecture, with several sections of the 1927 theater having been restored over the past two decades. * Upfront Theatre, an improv comedy venue established by Bellingham resident

Ryan Stiles Ryan Lee Stiles (born April 22, 1959) is an American-Canadian actor, comedian, and producer whose work is often associated with improvisational comedy. He is best known for his work on the original British series and American version of ''Who ...

of ''

Whose Line Is It Anyway? ''Whose Line Is It Anyway?'' is a short-form improvisational comedy show originating as a British radio programme, before moving to British television in 1988. Following the conclusion of the British run in 1999, ABC began airing an American ...

'' fame. * Northwest Ballet, a regional ballet company, performs classical ballets * iDiOM Theater — Non-profit regional theater, and almost every show is new, locally written work. * Firehouse Performing Arts Center, a Fairhaven firehouse converted into a dance classroom and theater

Activism

The Whatcom Peace & Justice Center was founded in 2002 by local activists, and has been one of the most active such centers in the nation. In October 2006, the Bellingham City Council passed a Troops Home! resolution, making Bellingham the first city in the state of Washington to pass the resolution. Two years later, the City Council passed a resolution urging elected representatives and the federal government to avoid war with Iran, becoming the first city in the state to do so. In 2012, the City Council unanimously passed a resolution calling upon the federal government to overturn the Supreme Court's decision in the case of FEC v. Citizens United by declaring that U.S. Constitutional rights apply to natural persons and not to corporations. In 2014, coinciding with Columbus Day that celebrates the arrival of European explorers, the City Council officially established Coast Salish Day to celebrate the Native American peoples who continue to call the geographic region their home. In 2015, the

Seattle Arctic drilling protests Protests against Arctic drilling began in Seattle in 2015 in response to the news that the Port of Seattle Port authority, authority made an agreement with Royal Dutch Shell to berth offshore drilling, offshore drillships and semi-submersibles at ...

spread to Bellingham when a protester chained herself to the

anchor An anchor is a device, normally made of metal , used to secure a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the craft from drifting due to wind or current. The word derives from Latin ''ancora'', which itself comes from the Greek ἄγ ...

chain of a

Royal Dutch Shell Shell plc is a British multinational oil and gas company headquartered in London, England. Shell is a public limited company with a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and secondary listings on Euronext Amsterdam and the New Yo ...

ship for 63 hours.

Future development

Bellingham is frequently named on Best Places to Retire lists; 2008-2013 population growth in the 55+ year old segment outpaced overall population growth, at 3.7% to 0.8% annually. However, the high cost of housing has also caused it to be listed among America's Worst Cities as well. (In 2016, Washington State scored the fastest growing housing prices in the country.) Bellingham saw apartment vacancy hit 0.6% in 2016, and plans to use multi-family housing to accommodate more than 50% of the projected growth in housing units (16,525 units by 2036). According to Aaron Terrazas, senior economist at Zillow, "Given the area's pace of growth, it would require very aggressive building to keep rent affordability in check." The city has resisted expanding the Urban Growth Area for many years, and hopes to fit both multi-family and single-family growth within the city limits. Builders counter that even City planners acknowledge that the city is "largely built out" and that the remaining land is difficult or expensive to build on. Attempts to increase density, ease restrictions on 'accessory dwelling units', or even to develop land already zoned residential, are regularly met with fierce neighborhood opposition: Padden Trails was opposed by the Samish Neighborhood Association; a dense development at the Sunnyland D.O.T. site was scaled-down; Fairhaven neighbors led the effort to prevent the development of Fairhaven Highlands, (now Chuckanut Ridge), which the City ended up purchasing for $8.2 million, preventing more than 700 new housing units; neighborhood groups pressured the City Council to go against staff recommendation to rezone Squalicum Lofts for residential development. In 2017, the Bellingham City Council began acknowledging housing affordability as a critical issue, and hosted a town hall meeting on housing affordability and homelessness.

Waterfront redevelopment

Bellingham, Washington, harbor, filled with logs, 1972

The Bellingham waterfront has served as an industrial center for more than a century, starting with the arrival of Henry Roeder and Russell Peabody in the mid-1800s.

Georgia-Pacific Georgia-Pacific LLC is an American pulp and paper company based in Atlanta, Georgia, and is one of the world's largest manufacturers and distributors of tissue, pulp, paper, toilet and paper towel dispensers, packaging, building products and r ...

(G-P) purchased the Puget Sound Pulp and Timber Company in 1963 and operated a pulp mill on the central downtown waterfront until 2001. In 1965, G-P built a

chlor-alkali The chloralkali process (also chlor-alkali and chlor alkali) is an industrial process for the electrolysis of sodium chloride (NaCl) solutions. It is the technology used to produce chlorine and sodium hydroxide (caustic soda), which are commod ...

facility, which became a source of

mercury Mercury commonly refers to: * Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun * Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg * Mercury (mythology), a Roman god Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to: Companies * Merc ...

contamination in the Whatcom Waterway and on the uplands of the site for decades. The documentary film, "Smells Like Money – The Story of Bellingham's Georgia Pacific Plant" tells the story of the site, which has since been purchased by the

Port of Bellingham The Port of Bellingham is a government agency in Bellingham, Whatcom County, Washington, United States which operates two large marinas, port facilities and the Bellingham International Airport Bellingham International Airport is three miles ( ...

chiefly to create a marina in the wastewater lagoon. The Port of Bellingham purchased the G-P site for $10 with the understanding that the port would assume liability for the contamination. The City of Bellingham and the Port of Bellingham entered into several interlocal agreements in which the City agreed to pay for all infrastructure costs, and the Port would create a marina, clean up the site, and retain all zoning. The cleanup site (approximately ) was divided into two areas: pulp and tissue mill area and the chlor-alkali area. Contaminated soils and building materials were removed in 2011 and 2013; the Department of Ecology finalized the Interim Cleanup Work Plan in January 2017, and that work was completed in April 2017 when 31 acres were capped with a protective barrier. Work continues on evaluating cleanup alternatives for the entire chlor-alkali area of the site. The City and Port have entered into a partnership to redevelop the property, and in 2013 contracted with Harcourt Developments to develop . The Granary Building remodel will be completed in 2017; Harcourt has submitted plans for two waterfront condo buildings in 2018 and 2019; the city will be constructing two main roads through the side in 2017.

Sports

The people of Bellingham pursue a diverse range of amateur sports, with

skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IO ...

and

snowboarding Snowboarding is a recreational and competitive activity that involves descending a snow-covered surface while standing on a snowboard that is almost always attached to a rider's feet. It features in the Winter Olympic Games and Winter Paralympi ...

at the Mount Baker Ski Area popular in the winter and

kayaking Kayaking is the use of a kayak for moving over water. It is distinguished from canoeing by the sitting position of the paddler and the number of blades on the paddle. A kayak is a low-to-the-water, canoe-like boat in which the paddler sits fac ...

and

cycling Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from two ...

in the summer. Mt. Baker claims a world record for seasonal snowfall, with recorded in the 1998–1999 season. Western Washington University is home to

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

Division II National Women's

Rowing Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically atta ...

Champions. The Lady Vikings became Western's very first NCAA champion team in 2005 and won again in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2011. The 2011-2012 Western Men's Basketball team won the NCAA Division II National Championship. In 2016, the nationally ranked Western Women's Soccer Team won the NCAA Division II National Championship. Western Washington University also operates a collegiate road cycling program that took top-5 positions nationwide at the 2006 nationals. Future Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. began his professional career with the short-season class A

Bellingham Mariners The Bellingham Mariners were a Minor League Baseball team in the Class A-Short Season Northwest League, based in Bellingham, Washington. The club served as the Seattle Mariners' short-season affiliate from 1977 to 1994. History Major League B ...

of the

Northwest League The Northwest League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Pacific Northwest, Northwestern United States and Western Canada. A Class A Short Season league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Maj ...

in 1987.

Government

The City of Bellingham has a non-partisan strong-mayor, weak-council form of government. The directly elected mayor serves a four-year term. Six of the seven

city council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

members are elected by

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

for staggered four-year terms. The seventh council member is elected

at-large At large (''before a noun'': at-large) is a description for members of a governing body who are elected or appointed to represent a whole membership or population (notably a city, county, state, province, nation, club or association), rather than ...

every two years. A municipal court judge is also elected for four-year terms. The city maintains

Bellingham Police Department The City of Bellingham Police Department, more commonly known as the Bellingham Police Department and its initials BPD, is the primary law enforcement and investigation agency within the Bellingham, Washington city limits. Bellingham Police Depar ...

and

fire department A fire department (American English) or fire brigade (Commonwealth English), also known as a fire authority, fire district, fire and rescue, or fire service in some areas, is an organization that provides fire prevention and fire suppression se ...

and operates the countywide Medic One medical emergency response service through an agreement with Whatcom County. According to

Uniform Crime Report The Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) program compiles official data on crime in the United States, published by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). UCR is "a nationwide, cooperative statistical effort of nearly 18,000 city, university and co ...

statistics compiled by the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...

(FBI) in 2010, there were 282 violent crimes and 3,653 property crimes per 100,000 residents. Of these, the violent crimes consisted of 37 forcible rapes, 73 robberies and 170 aggravated assaults, while 589 burglaries, 2,931 larceny-thefts, 133 motor vehicle thefts and six arson defined the property offenses.

Education

Bellingham School District Bellingham School District No. 501 (referred to as Bellingham Public Schools) is a public school district in Whatcom County, Washington, United States, that serves the city of Bellingham. As of the 2019–2020 school year, the district had an ...

is the local school district. There are four public high schools in Bellingham: Bellingham High School, Options High School,

Sehome High School Sehome High School is a public school in Bellingham, Washington, located approximately north of Seattle and south of Vancouver, British Columbia. The school serves students mainly from the western and southwestern sections of the City of Bellin ...

, and

Squalicum High School Squalicum High School is a public school in Bellingham, Washington, United States, and is part of the Bellingham School District. The school serves the northeast population of Bellingham, including the area surrounding Lake Whatcom. Squalicu ...

. Bellingham has four public middle schools: Kulshan Middle School, Shuksan Middle School, Fairhaven Middle School, and Whatcom Middle School which was recently rebuilt after extensive fire damage in 2009. Private schools in Bellingham include Whatcom Hills Waldorf School (Prekindergarten through 8th grade), Whatcom Day Academy (Prekindergarten to 8th grade), St. Paul's Academy (Prekindergarten to 12th grade), and Assumption Catholic School (Kindergarten to 9th grade). Western_Washington_University_Looking_North

Western_Washington_University_Looking_North

is located in Bellingham. It has more than 16,000 students. The Northwest Film School is a private, non-profit educational institution specializing in digital media production. It operates in a partnership with Western Washington University to offer a one-year certificate in Video Production. Bellingham has two community colleges: *

Whatcom Community College Whatcom Community College (WCC or Whatcom) is a public community college in Bellingham, Washington, in Whatcom County. Established in 1967, Whatcom has been accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities since 1976. Academi ...

For-profit school For-profit education (also known as the education services industry or proprietary education) refers to educational institutions operated by private, profit-seeking businesses. For-profit education is common in many parts of the world, making up m ...

s include Charter College, Lean Leadership Institute, Washington Engineering Institute and Washington Technology Institute. Lummi Nation School has a Bellingham postal address but it is away from the city limits in an

unincorporated area An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

on the

reservation.

Media

Newspapers

The Bellingham Herald ''The Bellingham Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Bellingham, Washington, in the United States. It was founded on March 10, 1890, as ''The Fairhaven Herald'' and changed its name after Bellingham was incorporated as a city in 1903. ''Th ...

'' is published daily in Bellingham. Other newspapers include Cascadia Weekly (until 2021), The Front, Whatcom Watch, and

The Bellingham Business Journal ''The Bellingham Business Journal'' was a monthly business publication based in Bellingham, Washington. Established in 1992, the newspaper won several Society of Professional Journalists awards for reporting, editorial and design content. The p ...

(until 2020). '' Cascadia Daily News'' debuted on January 24, 2022 as a daily online publication and weekly print publication, replacing ''Cascadia Weekly''.

Television

Bellingham and Whatcom County are part of the

television market. The area has had exceptionally early and strong penetration of

cable television Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with broa ...

since the 1950s, and there have never been any local

translators Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transla ...

of the major Seattle TV stations. Stations in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, can be viewed over the air with a suitable

antenna Antenna ( antennas or antennae) may refer to: Science and engineering * Antenna (radio), also known as an aerial, a transducer designed to transmit or receive electromagnetic (e.g., TV or radio) waves * Antennae Galaxies, the name of two collid ...

, but those in Seattle are too distant to receive in most locations in the county. Whatcom County residents can also receive CBC and CTV stations via cable service. The

KVOS-TV KVOS-TV, virtual channel 12 ( UHF digital channel 14), is a Heroes & Icons owned-and-operated television station licensed to Bellingham, Washington, United States. Owned by Chicago-based Weigel Broadcasting, it is part of a duopoly with Seatt ...

broadcast is available in most parts of Bellingham with an antenna as well. The City of Bellingham also operates a public access channel available to Comcast cable customers on Channel 10.

Magazines

* ''Bellingham on Tap'' is a monthly nightlife magazine featuring complete happy hour and bar special listings, reviews, events, local interest articles, and columns including sex advice, rants, and astrology. * ''Bellingham Alive Magazine'' is a bi-monthly lifestyle magazine focusing on life in Whatcom, Skagit, San Juan and Island counties. * '' Frequency: The Snowboarder's Journal'' is an independent snowboarding magazine based in Bellingham, published quarterly. * ''What's Up!'' is a monthly music magazine focused on local music. It covers live shows, band bios and new artist releases. * ''Business Pulse'' has been covering Bellingham and Whatcom County business news and business profiles since 1975. * ''Southside Living'' is mailed directly to residents of Bellingham's Chuckanut Drive, Edgemoor, Fairhaven, and South Hill neighborhoods.

AM radio

FM radio

Infrastructure

Transportation

Bellingham is bisected by

Interstate 5 Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels through the states of Califor ...

(I-5), which connects it to

, and

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

. The city also has three state highways: State Route 11, a scenic byway through the Chuckanut Mountains; State Route 539, which connects to Lynden and the Canadian border; and State Route 542, which travels east to the Mount Baker Ski Area. The

Bellingham International Airport Bellingham International Airport is three miles (5 km) northwest of Bellingham, in Whatcom County, Washington, United States. BLI covers 2,190 acres (886 ha) of land, and is the third-largest commercial airport in Washington. Bellingham ...

offers scheduled commuter flights to and from Seattle and

Friday Harbor, Washington Friday Harbor is a town in San Juan County, Washington, United States. The population was 2,162 at 2010 census. Located on San Juan Island, Friday Harbor is the major commercial center of the San Juan Islands archipelago and is the county seat ...

, and regularly scheduled jet service to various West Coast airports via

Alaska Airlines Alaska Airlines is a major American airline headquartered in SeaTac, Washington, within the Seattle metropolitan area. It is the sixth largest airline in North America when measured by fleet size, scheduled passengers carried, and the numb ...

Allegiant Air Allegiant Air (usually shortened to Allegiant) is an ultra low-cost U.S. carrier that operates scheduled and charter flights. It is a major air carrier, the fourteenth-largest commercial airline in North America. Allegiant was founded in 1 ...

, and

Southwest Airlines Southwest Airlines Co., typically referred to as Southwest, is one of the major airlines of the United States and the world's largest low-cost carrier. It is headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and has scheduled service to 121 destinations in the U ...

. Alaska Airlines and Allegiant Air used to fly to Hawaii from Bellingham, serving Honolulu, Kahului, and Kona at various times, but this service ceased by 2019. The airport is home of the first Air and Marine Operations Center, to assist the

US Department of Homeland Security The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the interior or home ministries of other countries. Its stated missions involve anti-terr ...

with border surveillance. The

Whatcom Transportation Authority The Whatcom Transportation Authority (WTA) is the public transit authority of Whatcom County in northwestern Washington, based in the city of Bellingham. It provides bus service on 31 fixed routes, including branded "GO Lines" with 15-minute fre ...

(WTA) is the county's

public transit Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typical ...

agency and operates fixed bus service within Bellingham and its neighboring cities. The agency has several hubs, including the downtown station, the Western Washington University campus, and Cordata Station near Bellis Fair Mall, which is served by

BoltBus BoltBus was an intercity bus common carrier and a division of Greyhound Lines that operated from March 2008 until July 2021 in the northeast and western United States and British Columbia, Canada. As least one ticket on every bus was randomly s ...

intercity express buses to Seattle and Vancouver. Several corridors have frequent service that is branded as "GO Lines", with service every 15 minutes. WTA also offers intercity service to

Mount Vernon Mount Vernon is an American landmark and former plantation of Founding Father, commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, and the first president of the United States George Washington and his wife, Martha. The estate is on ...

, connecting with

Skagit Transit Skagit Transit is a public transit system in Skagit County, Washington, US. It operates 17 bus routes, as well as paratransit and vanpool services across the entire county. The agency was founded in 1993 and is funded by a 0.4 percent local sale ...

for onward service to Everett. The city's main train station,

Fairhaven Station Fairhaven Station, also called Bellingham, is a train station serving Amtrak's '' Cascades'' route, as well as a bus station serving Greyhound Lines and local Whatcom Transportation Authority buses, in Bellingham, Washington, United States. Bui ...

, is served by scheduled Amtrak ''Cascades'' service to Vancouver and Seattle twice a day. Amtrak also operates one Thruway bus trip to supplement its train service on the corridor. The

Bellingham Cruise Terminal The Bellingham Cruise Terminal is a ferry terminal and transportation hub located in Bellingham, Washington, United States. It is near the Fairhaven neighborhood and was completed in 1989 and provides easy interchange between various modes of ...

is adjacent to the Amtrak station and serves as the southern terminus of the

Alaska Marine Highway The Alaska Marine Highway (AMH) or the Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS) is a ferry service operated by the U.S. state of Alaska. It has its headquarters in Ketchikan, Alaska. The Alaska Marine Highway System operates along the south-central ...

, a state-run

ferry A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi ...

for passengers and vehicles. The ferries provide service to

Ketchikan Ketchikan ( ; tli, Kichx̱áan) is a city in and the borough seat of the Ketchikan Gateway Borough of Alaska. It is the state's southeasternmost major settlement. Downtown Ketchikan is a National Historic District. With a population at the 202 ...

Juneau The City and Borough of Juneau, more commonly known simply as Juneau ( ; tli, Dzánti K'ihéeni ), is the capital city of the state of Alaska. Located in the Gastineau Channel and the Alaskan panhandle, it is a unified municipality and the se ...

, and Haines. The terminal is also served by San Juan Cruises, which provides seasonal passenger ferry service to the

and Friday Harbor.

Notable people

Danny Abramowicz Daniel Stanley Abramowicz (born July 13, 1945) is a former American football player and coach. He played wide receiver in the National Football League for the New Orleans Saints and San Francisco 49ers and college football at Xavier University. ...

– former NFL wide receiver *

Bob Arbogast Robert "Bob" Arbogast (April 1, 1927 – March 21, 2009) was an American radio broadcaster, voice actor, and television host. Early life and education Bob was born in Bellingham, Washington, the only child of Lewis, a champion tennis player, st ...

– radio-television host and voice actor *

Jon Auer Jonathan Paul "Jon" Auer (born September 29, 1969) is an American musician who co-founded the power pop band The Posies, along with Ken Stringfellow. Auer and Stringfellow also participated in the rejuvenated Big Star and in 2003 released ''Priv ...

– vocalist, guitarist, songwriter, founding member of

the Posies The Posies were an American power pop group. The band was formed in 1986 in Bellingham, Washington, United States, by primary songwriters Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow. Their music has its origins in Merseybeat and the Hollies. They are i ...

* Steve Baker – professional motorcycle racer and member of the AMA

Motorcycle Hall of Fame The AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum is an offshoot of the American Motorcyclist Association, recognizing individuals who have contributed to motorcycle sport, motorcycle construction, or motorcycling in general. It also displays motorcycles ...

* Carlos Becerra – Carlos from Carspotting on Discovery * Billy Burke – television and film actor, ''

Twilight Twilight is light produced by sunlight scattering in the upper atmosphere, when the Sun is below the horizon, which illuminates the lower atmosphere and the Earth's surface. The word twilight can also refer to the periods of time when this il ...

'', ''

Zoo A zoo (short for zoological garden; also called an animal park or menagerie) is a facility in which animals are kept within enclosures for public exhibition and often bred for Conservation biology, conservation purposes. The term ''zoological g ...

'' *

Misha Collins Dmitri "Misha" Collins "My mom went to Russia when she was in college, and ��she had a boyfriend whose name was Mitya, which she thought was the same as Misha, which it's not. And his real name was Dmitri, so my real name, actually—my birth c ...

– actor, ''

Supernatural Supernatural refers to phenomena or entities that are beyond the laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin (above, beyond, or outside of) + (nature) Though the corollary term "nature", has had multiple meanings si ...

'' *

Ramsey Denison Ramsey Denison is a director, producer, editor and documentary filmmaker who is best known for his critically acclaimed documentary ''What Happened in Vegas,'' which went to #1 on iTunes documentary charts in June 2018. Early life and education ...

– documentary filmmaker, editor *

J. J. Donovan John Joseph Donovan (September 8, 1858 – January 9, 1937) was a Washington State pioneer and the president of the state Chamber of Commerce, as well as one of the key founders of the City Council of Bellingham, Washington. During his life, D ...

– Washington state businessman and politician *

Ben Gibbard Benjamin Gibbard (born August 11, 1976) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. He is best known as the lead vocalist and guitarist of the indie rock band Death Cab for Cutie, with whom he has recorded ten studio albums, and as a membe ...

– lead singer for Death Cab for Cutie *

Ryan Hietala Ryan Hietala (born November 8, 1973) is an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour and the Nationwide Tour. Hietala was born in Bellingham, Washington. He played college golf at the University of Texas-El Paso, graduating in 199 ...

– professional golfer *

Yolanda Hughes-Heying Yolanda R. Hughes-Heying (born October 30, 1963) is an American professional female bodybuilder from the United States. Biography Yolanda Hughes-Heying (born Yolanda Hughes) was born in Murfreesboro, Tennessee on October 30, 1963. She was rais ...

– IFBB professional bodybuilder * Paul Jessup – world record holder for discus; competed in the

1932 Summer Olympics The 1932 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the X Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1932) were an international multi-sport event held from July 30 to August 14, 1932 in Los Angeles, California, United States. The Games were held duri ...

* Oscar Jimenez – soccer player for

Louisville City FC Louisville City Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in Louisville, Kentucky. The team plays in the USL Championship, known through the 2018 season as the United Soccer League (USL), which is currently the second tier of th ...

* Anna Leader – poet and novelist *

Jake Locker Jacob Cooper Locker (born June 15, 1988) is a former American football quarterback. He played college football at the University of Washington, and was drafted by the Tennessee Titans eighth overall in the 2011 NFL Draft. A backup during his ent ...

– (born in Bellingham), quarterback for

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

and NFL's

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their h ...

Dana Lyons Dana Lyons is an American folk and alternative rock musician, who wrote and performed the 1996 comedic folk song "Cows With Guns". Life He was born in Kingston, New York, grew up in Niskayuna, New York, and graduated from Swarthmore College in ...

– folk and alternative rock musician, author, environmentalist *

Cuddles Marshall Clarence Westly Marshall (April 28, 1925 – December 14, 2007), nicknamed "Cuddles", was an American professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball as a relief pitcher for the New York Yankees and St. Louis Browns between 1946 ...

– major league baseball player for the New York Yankees and St. Louis Browns *

Philip McCracken Philip "Phil" McCracken (November 14, 1928 – June 6, 2021) was an American visual artist, who worked mainly in sculpture. Born in Bellingham, Washington, he graduated from the University of Washington in 1953, having interrupted his studies to se ...

– artist, sculptor, activist *

Jason McGerr Jason McGerr (born July 19, 1974) is an American musician, best known as the drummer for the band Death Cab for Cutie. Musical career Early years McGerr was born and raised in Bellingham, Washington. At age ten, he began learning to play the ...

– drummer for Death Cab for Cutie *

Finn McKenty Finn McKenty (born September 7, 1978) is an American marketing strategist, music commentator, writer and graphic designer who currently runs the YouTube channel The Punk Rock MBA and is director of marketing at the online education platform URM Aca ...

- (born in Bellingham) American Internet Personality, Music & Entertainment Journalist, Host of the Punk Rock MBA *

Tommy Noonan Tommy Noonan (born Thomas Noone; April 29, 1921 – April 24, 1968) was a comedy genre film performer, screenwriter and producer. He acted in a number of high-profile films as well as B movies from the 1940s through the 1960s, and he is best ...

– Actor. He played a wealthy fiancé of Lorelei Lee (

Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as wel ...

) in '' Gentlemen Prefer Blondes'' *

Doug Pederson Douglas Irvin Pederson (born January 31, 1968) is an American football coach and former quarterback who is the head coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL). Pederson spent most of his 13-season playing career as ...

–

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

of the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team play ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

Alfred Pettibone Alfred W. Pettibone (March 14, 1835 – September 2, 1914) was one of the first Bellingham residents and pioneers who actively participated in the city's formation, in particular developing the merchandise trade and real estate businesses. Pett ...

(1835–1914) – Washington state pioneer, one of the first residents of Bellingham *

Jeff Ragsdale Jeffrey Charles "Jeff" Ragsdale () is an American author, documentary filmmaker, actor and stand-up comedian. In 2011 he posted a flyer in New York City as a "social experiment", stating his phone number and asking people to call him, describing ...

– author, activist, national game show champion *

Taylor Rapp Taylor Rapp (born December 22, 1997) is an American football safety who is a free agent. He played college football at Washington, and was selected by the Rams in the second round of the 2019 NFL Draft. Early years Rapp was born in Atlanta, Geo ...

– NFL safety for the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play ...

Roger Repoz Roger Allen Repoz (born August 3, 1940) is an American former professional baseball outfielder, who played for nine seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees, Kansas City Athletics and California Angels. He also played five ...

– major league baseball player *

Charles Roehl Charles F. Roehl (June 16, 1857 – September 19, 1927) was a pioneer and businessman of Bellingham, Washington. He was considered one of the most well-established businessmen of the city, influencing its industrial growth through his mercantile ...

(1857–1927) – Bellingham pioneer and businessman *

William Roehl William F. Roehl (September 21, 1890 – November 23, 1968) was a Washington state pioneer, liquor and cigar merchant, and property investor who lived in Bellingham. Roehl came to Whatcom (later Bellingham) in 1884, joining his brother, Charle ...

(1890–1968) – Bellingham pioneer and businessman *

Jim Sterk Jim Sterk (born June 10, 1956) is an American university sports administrator who most recently served as the athletic director at the University of Missouri. He has previously served as athletic director for Portland State, Washington State, an ...

- former athletic director for

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

– comedian on

, actor on The Drew Carey Show and Two and a Half Men *

Ken Stringfellow Kenneth Stuart Stringfellow (born October 30, 1968) is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, arranger, and producer. Best known for his work with The Posies, R.E.M., and the re-formed Big Star, Stringfellow's discography include ...

– vocalist, guitarist, songwriter, founding member of

– actress *

Al Swift Allan Byron Swift (September 12, 1935 – April 20, 2018) was an American Emmy award–winning broadcaster and politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1979 to 1995. He represented the Second Congr ...

, former member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

who resided in Bellingham. * Ben Weber – film and television actor *

Christopher Wise Christopher Wise (born 1961) is a cultural theorist, literary critic, scholar, and translator. His publications largely focus on Sahelian West Africa, especially Mali, Burkina Faso, and Senegal, as well as Palestine, Jordan, and Israel. He has also ...

– author

Sister cities

Bellingham maintains

sister city A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inter ...

relationships with five

Pacific Rim The Pacific Rim comprises the lands around the rim of the Pacific Ocean. The ''Pacific Basin'' includes the Pacific Rim and the islands in the Pacific Ocean. The Pacific Rim roughly overlaps with the geologic Pacific Ring of Fire. List of co ...

port cities and Vaasa, Finland. Tateyama and Port Stephens are also sister cities with each other. Bellingham Sister Cities Association promotes Bellingham's sister city relationships. The relationship with Tateyama is the most active and includes regular events such as an annual city hall staff exchange and community cultural visits. Tateyama frequently fields a team for the annual Ski to Sea race, or at minimum has representation in the Ski to Sea parade.

Notes

External links

* * * {{Authority control Cities in Washington (state) County seats in Washington (state) Populated places established in 1854 Cities in Whatcom County, Washington 1854 establishments in Washington Territory

History

Geography

Climate

Demographics

2010 census

Economy

Largest employers

Arts and culture

Events

Beer

Downtown

Local attractions

Music scene

Literary scene

Local theater

Activism

Future development

Waterfront redevelopment

Sports

Government

Education

Media

Newspapers

Television

Magazines

AM radio

FM radio

Infrastructure

Transportation

Notable people

Sister cities

See also

Notes

Further reading

External links