The Parkade’s Mural

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By: Sam Shapiro

There is a twenty foot mural hidden in Bellingham that portrays store fronts and apartments with children playing in the windows.

Not familiar with one of Bellingham’s largest murals?

That’s because the painting is underground, in the Parkade.

The Bellinghamsters who make their way down into the Parkade will be surprised at the hidden gem, lost in Bellingham’s busy downtown. The beautiful, large and lively colored mural is hidden from the world like an ancient Aztec temple lost in the forests of Mexico, waiting to be discovered.

The location of the mural is somewhat puzzling. It seems like it would make more sense to display such a beautiful and intricate piece of art for all of Bellingham to benefit from, instead of the select Parkade users.

Downtown Bellingham is home to many beautiful street murals, the street scenery mural on the side of Rocket Donuts, the Bellingham Centennial mural of a salmon next to the Whatcom Museum, the colorful shapes and images on the Honey Moon, and the Orca mural on the side of the Pacific Marina Exchange and Gallery, to name just a few.

The Parkade is a parking garage located at 1300 Commercial Street. One apparent reason for the murals placement could be to attract people to use the garage. Complaints of the Parkade’s usability and awareness by downtown patrons were brought up at the most recent Downtown Bellingham Neighborhood Association meeting. There were also complaints that the mural had a “creepy” feeling to it and should be removed.

Tell us what you think of the Parkade!
-Is the mural is creepy?
-Do you ever use the Parkade for downtown parking?

Growing Number of Homeless

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By Sam Shapiro

The Neighborhood Association meets on the last Wednesday of every month to discuss issues pertaining to the downtown area. “Anyone who lives, works or plays downtown” is invited to attend the meeting, partake in discussion or voice a concern.

On the Agenda for the March meeting was a talk from a Bellingham Police officer who patrols downtown and a Smart Trips presentation. Smart Trips is a website dedicated to getting people to use alternative methods for getting to and from work everyday.

The main topic members of the audience were interested in was the amount of homeless in the downtown area. The owner of “Gary’s” voiced his concern that the homeless people around his store have become more abundant and have been pan handling more aggressively within the last two years and most noticeably in the last six months.

The policeman addressed the concerns of the audience. He described the limited power the police have to deal with public drinking, aggressive panhandling and public drunkenness.

Along with the police, the Downtown Neighborhood Association is working to help the homeless, while at the same time, control the amount of aggressive panhandling in the downtown area.

An Orlando city ordinance has made it legal to panhandle only in specified areas of the city. Certain sidewalks in the city are designated and marked with big blue boxes.

http://www.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/print-edition/2013/03/08/how-do-other-florida-cities-handle-the.html

  1. Would something like this help Bellingham’s downtown?
  2. Would designating specific areas for panhandling be effective in controlling the amount of aggressive panhandling?
  3. Do you think the Bellingham Police could be effective in enforcing this? 

Solutions!

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OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

The Downtown Bellingham Partnership conducted the monthly Downtown Neighborhood Association meeting on the evening of Wednesday, February 27, at the Leopold Retirement Residence. Two solutions to last month’s concerns were addressed: street crossing times and rest areas along the South Bay Trail.

Bellingham’s six-year transportation improvement plan will convert “walk” and “don’t walk” pedestrian signals to countdown signals. Crossing times will follow new federal standards that give pedestrians 3.5 feet per second to walk instead of the previous 4 feet per second. The new signals will have LED lights and are expected to use one-tenth of the energy that current incandescent signals use.

The Bench Donation Program, coordinated by Marvin Harris of the Parks Department, will pinpoint possible donors and locations for benches along the South Bay Trail. Parks Department staff will find identify locations along the trail where opportunity to rest and a view are both available.

Donald Almer, of the Bellingham Police Department, addressed the worries of the local community, including issues such as graffiti, theft and safety.  Hanah Fiske, of North West Youth Services, announced that they will soon open a new youth homeless shelter on Downtown Bellingham that can accommodate 16 homeless youth. More information on their programs can be found at http://www.nwyouthservices.com

The Downtown Bellingham Partnership facilitates the Downtown Neighborhood Association meetings, but welcomes any and all topics for discussion. Meetings are held on the last Wednesday of every month, from 6-7:30 p.m., at the Leopold Retirement Residence (1224 Cornwall Ave.).

 

 

January Follow up – Cornwall Project

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CCS-Rendering

In January, The Downtown Neighborhood Association featured a presentation from Catholic Housing Services about their plans for development of the 1100 block of Cornwall Ave in downtown Bellingham.  Rod Butler of N3 Architects presented information regarding Phase 1 and Brad Cornwell of RMC Architects discussed conceptual designs for Phase 2 of the project.

If you missed the presentation, it can be downloaded here:

http://www.affordablebellingham.com/1100CornwallJan2013.pdf

Got Valentine’s Day Plans?

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Whenever I think of Valentine’s Day, I am instantly brought back to the scene in Lady and the Tramp when the two pups are gobbling up a plate of gourmet spaghetti by candlelight, only to find they have chosen the same string of spaghetti. Their mouths meet, and voila! Love is in the air.

Looking for a similar experience? Add utensils, take away the dog fur and join a loyal DBP member, Bellingham Pasta Co. for a Valentine’s Day dinner. Also known as The Table, this cozy restaurant is offering many specials to show its love for their customers tonight.

Starters include a red lentil pate, pan seared scallops on a wilted spinach cake, grilled romaine salad and a pear and chevre salad. Entrees include a Skagit Valley pork tenderloin with polenta and apple chutney, fresh cod, lamb bolognese and a roasted red pepper and gnocchi.

Top the night off with a glass of wine and decadent desserts at Pure Bliss Desserts on Cornwall Avenue.

Looking for something different??

Instead of dinner and a movie or drinks and a walk along Boulevard, check out another event that is just as fun! For sports fanatics out there like myself, make sure you finish up your gourmet dinner early and show some love for the undefeated WWU Men’s Basketball team tonight at 7 p.m. in Carver Gym, as they take on Saint Martin’s University. Don’t worry, there will be entertainment for the date you may bring with you – the WWU Cheerleaders will dance, tumble and throw girls in the air during each timeout, and the Viking Band may even play a love ballad or two. Halftime entertainment will include a dating game with three bachelors battling it out for the heart of one lucky bachelorette.

General admission prices:
Adult: $8
Students/Seniors 60+: $5
Western Student/Faculty/Staff: $3

 

Happy Valentine’s Day to all our community members out there!

Love,
Rachel Lee
Downtown Bellingham Partnership Intern

Experience. Enjoy. Connect.

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It seems like only a few weeks ago I was a shy, new intern awaiting directions for my first project at the Downtown Bellingham Partnership. The task I was given was a pleasant surprise. Instead of immediately diving into Excel spreadsheets and detailed event plans, I was given a list of downtown locations for a scavenger hunt. Off we went, a fellow new intern and me, exploring downtown Bellingham on a priceless sunny day. Being an employee at Downtown Bob’s Burgers and Brew for several years, and a college student familiar with downtown night life, I thought I knew the area like the back of my hand. Needless to say, I was downright wrong! In order to find the majority of our destinations, we had to whip out our iPhones and use Google maps to direct us. We quickly realized the locations were within a few blocks of our office where we started, which made us feel pretty silly. Through the confusion and getting completely lost, we ended up with free tickets to a Mount Baker Theater performance, several new ideas for dining options and an entirely new perspective of the downtown community we had at our fingertips. I couldn’t believe I was a senior, with years in Bellingham under my belt, and wasn’t aware of most of the places on my scavenger list. Needless to say, after that adventure, I made a commitment to myself to visit as many new businesses and destinations in downtown as possible.

I shared interests with another intern I worked closely with, one of them being a love for food, and a weekly lunch tradition was born. While distributing materials to downtown businesses for events, we made note of delicious-looking dining venues we passed by or entered. Every Friday we took our lunch break at one of these places, and over the months enjoyed eclectic food at Ciao Thyme, filling breakfasts at Daisy Café, hearty soups and sandwiches at Café Adagio, tasty treats at Rocket Donuts, yummy snacks at La Vie En Rose French Bakery, ate our fill at Old World Deli, and spiced up our lives with Taco Lobo. It was work mixed with a little bit of play and lots of delicious food!  It’s a fantastic feeling knowing you’ve taken a minute to appreciate and immerse yourself in the community you live in while working for an organization that aims to build and maintain its vitality.

It’s not only restaurants and cafes I became familiar with. Prior to this experience, I associated shopping with only the mall, shame on me. There are so many great boutiques, antique shops, thrift stores, clothing retailers, art stores, and more to be discovered in downtown Bellingham. On one particular occasion, while distributing materials for our Downtown Trick or Treat event on Halloween, we stopped in to the cutest shop named Ideal. They had so many great items, but one display especially caught my eye. It was a variety of coffee cups with a simple bicycle design in all different eye popping-colors. Nothing I had seen anywhere else, and absolutely fitting for a close friend’s upcoming birthday. She is a lover of coffee and bike riding, what better than that for a present? In addition to distributing a sign up sheet to the business owner, I eagerly pulled out my wallet and bought the perfect birthday gift. Deep down, I will always love Target, but it is retailers like Ideal that carry items with a little extra personalization that makes for the greatest shopping sprees. It makes shopping fun, which can be a challenge to achieve in many cases.

Life will always be a continuous flow of transitions. College and high school graduations, plans will change, leases will come to an end, and new adventures will take shape. I encourage all who haven’t explored our downtown community to take a day, walk the streets, visit a shop you’ve never seen, dine somewhere that teases your senses, and get to know your community a little more. They’re waiting for you.

 -Noel Pecoraro