Another downtown landmark is the towering red brick bell tower and four cupolas of the Whatcom Museum of History and Art. Built a century ago as the City Hall, the exterior is restored to its original look. Although the interior has been remodeled, some original features remain, including the paneled hallway and the grand staircase balustrade. We toured the exhibit honoring the 75th anniversary of the formation of the Women Painters of Washington. The paintings of Zama Vanessa Helder were especially appealing. What really made us smile was the exhibit entitled Gone to the Dogs … through vintage photographs (all of which contained a dog somewhere) the history of Bellingham came alive.

Across the street at the Arco Building (a part of the Whatcom Museum complex) the exhibits continued with Motorcycles…the Good, the Bad, and the Custom. Here we saw displays of key historic and contemporary bikes … like the 1949 CZ Motorcycle owned by James Dean (his first bike). There were so many beautiful bikes to photograph ... but alas, cameras were not allowed.

One unusual museum located downtown is Mindport. It looked deceptively small and we almost didn’t go in. Boy, are we glad we did. We spent over an hour having our brains stimulated.  It was hard not to get excited and playful as we interacted with the intriguing and thought provoking displays.

Mindport also includes an impressive display of glass art. We especially enjoyed this Yellow Submarine floating in air.

As we explored Old Town our mantra became: “So much to see ... so little time". Before we left, Danny was able to shoot a panorama of a mural depicting historic Bellingham.

We vowed to return and spend more time exploring the historic neighborhoods adjacent to old town … here ornate mansions with bay views are mixed in with simple cottages.

We regret that we spent way too little time in Fairhaven. This small community south of downtown contains not only  historic buildings, restaurants, unique shops but a park designed by the Olmstead brothers. As we ate lunch in the park, we vowed to revisit this fascinating area.

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