Where it's at

The Lettered Streets Neighborhood is wedged between three main streets; Broadway, Cornwall, and W. Holly. F St. runs East and West through the very center of the Neighborhood.

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Updates to Marine Heritage Park

Marine Heritage Park across from Jalapeño’s is getting two new upgrades.
First, the native plant signs, which distinguish local botanicals to passersby, will be replaced with new ones by this summer. The previous signs were made by students from Columbia Elementary. The new signs are going to be made by Whatcom Middle School 8th graders. The Washington Native Plant Society is working with the students to put together the signs. Like the old signs, the new ones will contain information about local plants, including historical facts and Native American names for specific plants like “Kinik Kinik,” a plant that natives smoked with their Tobacco. The term literally translates to “something to smoke.”

The second upgrade to the park is going to be a new playground. The old playground is not fit for children any longer. Ray Edwards, a lettered street resident wrote, “The current playground equipment does not meet current city safety standards, is not wheelchair accessible and does not have good visibility lines into or out of the play area.”
The idea to change the playground originally came from Jonathan Schlik of the city Parks and Recreation Dept who then shared the idea with the Lettered Streets Neighborhood Association. You can post your ideas for the new playground plans to the Lettered Streets Neighborhood Association’s Facebook page.

Check out the Washington Native Plant Society’s homepage @

www.wnps.org

or the Lettered Street Association homepage @

http://letteredstreets.org/

for playground ideas---- check out the pictures @

www.ebaumsworld.com/pictures/view/80577079

Saturday, May 29, 2010

An Old Town Brothel

Down by the antique shops and Teriyaki restaurants in Old Town Bellingham, there is a building that has been around for over a hundred years. Currently, it serves as a marine consignment shop called the Pacific Marine Exchange, but less than 100 years ago the building was a brothel.
What it is Today

For the past 14 years, the Pacific Marine Exchange has operated as a venue for consigned marine supplies. The isles are stacked high with boater paraphernalia from sails to complicated self steering mechanisms and GPS devices.
Lettered Street resident Mike Kimmich started the store in 1993. In 1994, his wife started the marine art gallery in the other half of the store. The couple has managed to create a successful business that caters to the 1,417 boats at the Port of Bellingham.
The Kimmich’s have been renting the building from the Parberry family, whose name is painted on the side of the building over a mural of an Orca Whale. The old brick building appears to have seen better days on the inside and the out. In the basement there are buckets to catch drips falling from the ceiling and there are spider-web fractures in the walls. One can’t help but to imagine the days when the old building was a newly built bordello.

The U.S. Hotel

The building acted as a hotel at the beginning of the 20th century. The U.S Hotel was the name of the place. It was a hotspot for local fishermen and industry workers. Kimmich said guys would come up from Seattle for a night of excitement and then head back down when they needed to go to work. In his book, “Brothels of Bellingham,” Curtis S. Smith writes about the estimated 27 brothels in Bellingham and Fairhaven. Smith writes, "Bellingham was a liberty town for service men. During World War II, 700 to 800 men were in the city on the weekend to be entertained." In the book, he includes pictures of the U.S Hotel in the early 1900s when it employed prostitutes and madams.

An Attempted Abolition

In 1910, the city of Bellingham began to institute some rules regarding the sex industry. The Bellingham Municipal League passed an ordinance to abolish the red light district in Bellingham. Rules are meant to be broken, though, as the old saying goes. Prostitution continued despite the ordinance. At the time, Bellingham Mayor J. P. de Mattos confessed that the city wasn’t going to crack down on prostitution because, although it was banned, it brought a lot of revenue to the city. He insisted that without the collection of sex worker fines, the city would have to dismiss two fire trucks. Over time, the city grew less tolerant and eventually shut down all the brothels. (Smith)

The Craigslist Killer

Prostitution is still illegal in Washington but you don’t have to look much further than the Craigslist adult section to find ads like this one---
“Hello I am a petite, fit, warm and friendly long legged, exotic brunette and i have some time today until early afternoon 31 yrs 34 a 24 34.”
The rules governing online sex ads like this are becoming more regulated after a man killed a woman he met over Craigslist about a year ago. The site’s founder, Craig Newmark, decided to eliminate the erotic services section. Now, Craigslist has human sorters look over every ad in the adult section to scan for illegal activity.

The World’s Oldest Profession


“It’s scary to think that people are meeting random hookers off somewhere alone. What if it’s a dude with a knife?” Mark Pederson, a Port of Bellingham resident, said. Dealing with anonymous people over the internet is not as safe as going to a bordello. The way it used to be was pretty safe, Smith said, the police would protect the women from their clients if things got out of hand and they would ensure that the women didn’t get ripped off.
The scenery has changed and the venue has changed, but the “world’s oldest profession” is still alive and kicking. The old U.S Hotel used to employ the same kind of people who are meeting on line and rendezvousing at the local pay-by-the-hour motels that are scattered around Bellingham today.

Although the U.S. Hotel building is old, it is not a registered historical site. Most people don’t even know about the background of the old building. Matt Marquardt, a former employee at the Pacific Marine Exchange said he had no idea it was a brothel.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

New Waterfront Height Regulations-- What do you think?

In 2005, the Port of Bellingham purchased the closed Georgia Pacific Plant. Since then, the city and the port have been drafting a plan for the redevelopment of the downtown waterfront.
Port of Bellingham Environmental Director Mike Stoner said the final draft of the plan should be completed by the end of this year.
The area in consideration includes 220 acres of waterfront property, all of which will be renovated according to the final plan.
So far, the plan includes parks and greenways along with buildings, up to 20 stories tall, which will be used for residences and commercial purposes.

The proposal announces that most buildings will be constructed to a maximum of 75 ft. However, five or six buildings may be up to 120 ft. and a few buildings could even reach 200 ft.

Lettered Street residents, Earl Hutchins and Arlene Feld, have complained that the high buildings will cut out the view from the Lettered Streets. Although the view from the Lettered Streets is disrupted, occupants of the downtown area should be more concerned since the plan is to put these high-rise buildings directly in between downtown and the bay.

Although the plan allows for seven view corridors, the Lettered Streets Residents have protested that a view corridor is merely a euphemism for replacing a good view with a sliver.

Hutchins said our tax dollars are going into these plans, which don’t include the taxpayer’s considerations.

The City of Bellingham says it will cost $28 million for the Port’s proposal, and $33 million for the City’s plan.

Should Bellingham institute new height regulations for the waterfront?


Check out the Port's plans @

http://portofbellingham.com/

and the Citie's plans @

cob.org

for building codes @

www.sbcc.wa.gov/

Saturday, May 15, 2010

The Lettered Street’s View

At this month’s Lettered Street Neighborhood association meeting on Tuesday, May 11, there was concern about the redevelopment of the Georgia Pacific plant. Neighbors were upset that their view of the bay might be disrupted.

Linda Stewart, Neighborhoods and Special Projects Coordinator for the City of Bellingham gave a presentation about the prospective waterfront design. Concerns were voiced that the view from the neighborhood would be diminished or all together blocked out by new structures.

The Plan

Currently, there are no limits in place that govern the height of buildings. Stewart said that the existing brick buildings at the Georgia Pacific location are a good determinant of the size of the future buildings. Some neighbors were enraged at the prospect of the new buildings being so high.

The new plan includes parks and greenways along with commercial and residential development. Since there are no height regulations, there is expected to be high-rise buildings which would block the view of people living towards downtown and the lettered streets.

Building Blocks

Since the installment of the Hotel Bellwether and other recent development of high-rises on Bellwether Way, Lettered Street neighbors have complained that their view is ruined. The big red crane behind Anthony’s Restaurant is stacking floor after floor on the structure which, Lettered Street residents say, is obstructing their water view.

On the edge of the bluff, there is a condo that stands in the way of Eldridge St. residents. Earl Hutchins, a Lettered Street local and attendee of the association meeting referred to this location specifically. “Want to see an example of [what’s going to happen]? Go look at 1203 W. Holly,” Hutchins noted, “My house is the one right behind it.” Others in the room agreed and said that the building was ugly. Hutchins said he had lost faith in Bellingham.

A Lack of Trust

Feld tried to sum up the feelings of the group to Stewart, saying, “I think what your hearing is a general lack of trust.” At the meeting, there was mention of the phrase, “view corridor,” referring to a line-of-site view, purposefully left for those who are being blocked. Feld said, “A view corridor is just a euphemism for taking away the view and replacing it with a sliver.”

The plan is still in the developmental phase, Stewart said. She carried a clipboard and notepad to jot down the opinions of the Lettered Street neighbors. She insisted that people should get their voices heard, now, while the plan is still malleable.

Just Can’t Dig it

Ray Edwards, a Lettered Street neighbor, talked about how parking is going to become an issue. She brought up the fact that the buildings are going to be built on landfill. That means that digging below the surface is not an option. “There won’t be any underground parking garages,” Edwards insisted, “so they’re either going to raise the building up and make room, or people are going to park on the street.” So traffic and parking could possibly become problematic as well.

Biggest Dollar Speaks the Loudest


One resident said she remembered when you could go to Zuanich Point Park and have a perfect panoramic view of your surroundings. With the new development at the port, the view no longer exists. Hutchins was angered at the city and the port for not listening to their complaints about prior development. Hutchins said it was all about money. He told Stewart it was unfair that the plans always end up in the favor of the port. “We need to stop another Bellwether,” he said.

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Old Territorial Courthouse Inches Toward Completion

In the Brig… But Just for a Bit

The old territorial courthouse on Bancroft and E St. can boast a colorful history. At 152-years-old, the oldest brick building in Washington has been receiving a facelift and a new spine. The renovation is an attempt to keep the building structurally sound, while maintaining the atmosphere of the old courthouse. Due to financial pressures, the renovation is a bit behind schedule, but it is slowly coming along.

Bricks and Steel

As part of the retrofit, the courthouse is receiving a new roof and structural modifications that make it resistant to seismic activity. Rick Tremaine, chairman of the restoration committee for the Whatcom County Historical Society, said they are fixing the innards of the structure with steel reinforcement.

The old bricks that compose the courthouse were shipped in from California when the building was erected in 1858. They are being removed, cleaned and re-mortared back into the walls like they were when they first went in. The building will also be receiving replicas of the original windows, Tremaine said.

Waiting

Edradine Hovde, member of the Daughters of Pioneers of Washington and one of the tour guides at the Pickett site, expressed concern over the progress of the courthouse. The place has been in a sort of financial limbo, waiting for money. “It’s all about getting enough donations,” Hovde said. The project is run entirely by donations and they have not been steadily supplied with adequate funds. This makes continuous progress difficult.

The courthouse renovations began in 2004 and are still going on. The restoration committee for the Whatcom County Historical Society was shooting for completion by the 150th anniversary date of the courthouse. That was two years ago. Tremaine said the project should be finished sometime into next year, but that is “still kind of iffy.” The Historical Society hopes to have an occupancy permit by next fall, Tremaine said. He agreed with Hovde, saying, “Money is the biggest holdup.”

Two years ago, The Bellingham Herald quoted Tremaine who said, “Restoration is expected to cost $400,000 in cash and donated labor and materials.” Now he says it’s probably closer to $500,000.

Lets Meet at the Jail

Wes Gannaway, Co-author of “Bellingham Then and Now,” and member of the Historical Society, said the building will be designed according to the old plans. After they get the occupancy permit, the Historical Society will start having meetings in the courthouse. It will look just like it did in the days of Dirty Dan Harris, founder of Fairhaven.

Gannaway described how the courthouse used to be a trading post and a jail. “Usually it just held drunks,” he said, “but one night Bill Jarman killed a man in a bar fight and spent [three weeks] in the there.” If you are not familiar with Bill Jarman, he was one of the big local characters in the 1800s and early 1900s. In his book, “The Fourth Corner,” Lelah Jackson Edson describes Jarman’s escapades.

Blanket Bill

Jarman was captured by the Nootka Indians and kept as a slave for two years until Victoria Gov. James Douglas came and ransomed him with blankets. After that, everyone knew him as Blanket Bill.

Jarman, or Blanket Bill, once stole a canoe and rowed from Victoria to Port Townsend at night. Another time, he deserted a ship on Tasmania and he walked 122-miles, barefoot, to the town of Lanceton to escape his duties on the vessel. And in 1872, while working as a bartender at a Sehome Saloon, he shot a man named James Farmer for insulting his sister.

After the incident, Jarman turned himself-in to Sherriff Cootes at the County Courthouse. He was kept in solitary confinement for three weeks in that little brick building that still stands on Bancroft St.

Subject to the momentary economic pressures, the renovation process is taking longer than expected. But a place with such a rich history cannot be forgotten too long. Thanks to donations and private efforts, we will soon be able to walk through the little brick brig that holds pieces of our local history.

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Gossage Garden Gazebo Gets Groovier



A Pretty Little Pocket Park

Gossage Garden, the little park on Cornwall and Alabama is seeing some new colors this spring. Meredith Blume, 18, is repainting the Gazebo to her liking. This endeavor is Blume’s senior project at Bellingham High School. The project is due for completion this week so if you are walking, driving, or biking past, you’ll notice the new Victorian designs that Blume is stenciling in.

A Bit About Gossage-


Gossage Garden is named after a Lettered Street local, Glen Gossage, who passed away before the park opened over 15 years ago. Gossage owned a nearby pharmacy and he regularly sang and acted at the Bellingham Theatre Guild.
City parks are usually named after deceased individuals, said Judy Buchanan, the Garden’s visionary and founder. Buchanan received $10,000 in block grant money when the garden opened and then she raised $2,000 more from selling memorial bricks. Relatives of Gossage have helped fund the park over the years, Buchanan said.
Buchanan said that pocket parks like Gossage are usually unpopular with the city because they are un-kept or neglected. She said that she was proud of Gossage for its continual loveliness.

An Artist in Blume

Gossage’s Gazebo is getting a maroon and white repaint with custom designs which Blume carved into stencils. She will be there all week painting the posts and benches of the wooden structure.
Pursuing art as a career, Blume will be attending University of Oregon next fall. She plans on becoming an art teacher. She says she understands how difficult it is for an artist to get paid for their artwork. She has two paintings hanging for sale in the Anchor Café on Cornwall. In her pastime, Blume likes to draw or paint at the Anchor Café. She says she is inspired by artists like Andy Warhol and Lucian Freud.
When Blume presented the idea of repainting the Gazebo, Buchanan was thrilled. “The last time it was painted was when it was first assembled by my husband over 15 years ago.” Buchanan recalled.

A Scarecrow-

Most people would know Gossage Park by the scarecrow that looks out over F St. “Scarecrow is a misleading term,” Buchanan said. “The old lady doesn’t scare crows at all.” Sometimes the crows will even perch on the old lady, who has been named Madam Douglas after former Bellingham Mayor Tim Douglas.
You might have noticed the old lady has changed apparel a few times. Buchanan said this is because of typical wear and tear, but also for another reason. Vandals. Madam Douglas has been the victim of two incidences of vandalism. She has been provided a wardrobe change as a consequence. Weathering the brutality of vandals and rainy nights, old Madam Douglas has developed a hunch. Buchanan said she thinks its Osteoporosis.

A Home Away from Home


Buchanan does a good amount of the gardening at Gossage, but she gets help from people serving community service. “Usually, it’s Western Students who get in trouble,” she said.
A few years ago, however, there was a homeless, developmentally disabled man who was charged with possession of marijuana. Buchanan said he was a Calif. Resident and he had a medical marijuana license, but since he was caught using the substance in Washington, he was ordered to serve some community service time. He spent his time at Gossage Garden, pulling weeds and studying plants. While he was kept from his family in California, Buchanan observed that he grew to like the place. She said, “It was kind of his home away from home.”

Arrest That Gardener!

Gossage Garden has been entered into the Whatcom Bloom garden contest for the past 9 years or so, Buchanan said. It has received numerous awards over the years, raking in firsts, seconds and thirds, said Mark Turner, photographer and judge of Whatcom Bloom.
The night before Whatcom Bloom a few years ago, Buchanan was pulling weeds at Gossage. She was there at 4 in the morning, prepping the garden for the contest. The police got a call about a mysterious woman putting things in a bag. The police showed up and questioned Buchanan, discovering the mysterious woman was merely trying to get her garden in shape. Buchanan laughs about it to this day.