Steven L. Smith, Bellingham, Wa. Home Inspector

Bellingham, WA -- This time long ago, White City Amusement Park

06-17-07

bellingham wa home inspector

In the Silver Beach neighborhood by Lake Whatcom, 101 years ago, White City Amusement Park was built. It closed in 1919. Having been in this region since I was a child, I knew people over the years who remembered and told me about the excitement of this great amusement park. We have never had anything like it since. This was not some dinky site, but spectacular. There was the Silver Beach Hotel nearby and it was serviced by the street car. There was a large wooden roller coaster ( I mean big not like at the carnival) and a ferris wheel and White City was known for ice cream cones, picnics, dancing, roller skating and boating. Sometimes when I drive by that neighborhood, I am amazed that something so large was, at one time, at that location. 100 years changes things a lot! One man I know says that, when he was a child, structural remnants of White City were still apparent at the site. He and his friends played there. Those antiques are long gone now. Because so many of the old photographs of White City are protected by copyright, I am not going to directly post them here, but I wish I could as a teaser. Instead, this map looks pretty generic and gives an idea of the scale and location of the sight, so I will post it. I first saw the actual slides that my links will take you to during a Galen Biery magic lantern presentation -- these were famous in Bellingham and the tradition continues. Here you can see a photo of the amusement park.

Bellingham WA home inspector

Steven L. Smith

Bellingham Home Inspector

Fairhaven, a scenic district in Bellingham

05-13-07

Fairhaven was mainly called south Bellingham or the south side back when I was a kid. At that time it was thought to be a rundown and old part of town. But over the last few decades, it has risen like the phoenix and become one of the leading tourist attractions in Bellingham. It is a desirable place to have a business, or to wander, with quaint shops, excellent hotels, restaurants and small specialty retail stores. There are great bookstores, one of which is an anchor business for the whole city. The legendary character Dirty Dan Harris was associated with Fairhaven (the original settlement in Bellingham) over 100 years ago and the district still celebrates his image and spirit with statues, artwork, a restaurant with his name and an annual "Dirty Dan Harris Days" event. Micheal Eisenberg, another informative Active Rain, has information on that, with a picture of Dan's statue, at the localism site. By the way, the famous ski to sea race (that attracts teams from around the world) ends in Fairhaven and Fairhaven is the southern terminal of the Alaska Ferry system. If you are looking for something to do on a nice weekend day, you can't go wrong visiting Fairhaven.

Thanks for taking a look,

Steven L. Smith

Lummi Island

05-11-07

Lummi

Earlier, I wrote about the ferry ride, on the Little Chief, to and from Lummi Island -- which is part of the San Juan Islands and located near Bellingham, WA. Lummi Island has a tiny population. At the sign that welcomes you, they claim just over 816 residents and the 2000 census only boosted that to 822 folks. Obviously, this island, which is gorgeous on a summer day, really does operate on "island time." It is a haven for artists and, in the summer every year, they have a weekend where those of us from the mainland ferry over to view, and buy, the artist's creations. As is typical with the whole Bellingham area, Lummi Island has a number of real estate opportunities and building is taking place on an ongoing basis. The views are spectacular, as you will see from my photos below. As a home inspector, I make several trips a month to Lummi. I took these photos today and have included pictures that show just how pretty, and quaint, an island really can be. The photo at the top, is from the Lummi Island informational website. To visit that, click on this link:http://www.lummi-island.com/

Bicyclists arrive for a fun day The beach near the landing at Lummi

Speaking of waterfront homes! The view from the shore at Lummi

Thanks for looking,

Steven L. Smith

Seven bucks and six minutes

05-11-07

http://www.co.whatcom.wa.us/publicworks/ferry/schedule.jsp

So, how far can you get in ten minutes, for $7.00. The most populous island community near Bellingham, Washington is Lummi Island. Now, it is not very populous, but it has a thriving island community. I will write more about Lummi Island, with some photos, in another blog. This time, I am writing about the Little Chief. That is the ferry that takes passengers from the mainland over to Lummi. It is a tiny ferry but manages to keep the economy of Lummi Island moving. When I went across this morning, for a home inspection, I was sharing the boat with a big concrete mixer truck. I did not even know that size vehicle would fit on the little ferry, but with the building going on at Lummi, I guess that it is mandatory. $7.00 is paid on the way over, and that is round-trip, so you might say it is free on the way back. I have included some photos that you might enjoy of this short, but scenic trip. It can be a pretty exciting ride when the water is rough. Many people who work in Bellingham, and other parts of Whatcom County, live on Lummi and take the ferry daily. They get better rates of course than the rest of us who travel there on occasion. For ferry schedules, if you think you want to visit, go to:

Mainland terminal, ferry arriving Lummi Island ferry terminal

Little Chief underway View, arriving at Lummi dock

Thanks for reading,

Steven L. Smith