Do you ever think about how much time you spend just looking in front of you, flitting from one point to the next, like you are wearing blinders to your surroundings beyond what you have on your to do list? I feel that way all the time. I have found myself going from point A to point B and not even remembering how I got there. Life sometimes feels like it moves so fast, so fast we don’t stop to smell the flowers or just look up.
While out on a walk I noticed something new, a building I had seen a million times had a name on the building. Once you start noticing these small details you start noticing them all over. Then you start seeing all of the beautiful ornate fixtures.
I’m calling this little Wandering ‘Hamster adventure a looking up walking tour, episode 1. The adventure I went on felt short, it was only a few blocks, but the history felt rich and the little things I saw that I felt like sharing were many. Here is a picture of the route I went on:
I started in the alleyway between Montague and McHugh Building and the Federal Building. The Montague and McHugh Building is at the corner of Commercial and Magnolia. The Montague and McHugh Building was built in 1927 as a department store. I found an original picture of the building I wanted to share in addition to the picture I took in the alley that featured some beautiful wall “character”.
Next I moved on to the Federal Building. I wanted to get a picture of the sconces because, well, they are awesome. The Federal Building was built in 1912 for $284,000. If you think that sounds like a lot of money for the time, that amount works out to be about 7.5 million dollars today.
Next on the roster I wanted to take a picture of new additions to Cornwall. I stopped at this trapeze lady outside of Cute But Crazy Socks and the beautiful building front for Chuckanut Distillery and then the building that houses Wild Oats Bakery & Cafe. I wasn’t able to find the history of that building, but I still wanted to share the beauty of just simply looking up.
Then I moved on to the corner of Cornwall and Holly. Bellingham National Bank Building is a pillar of downtown and even the house of KMRE’s recording station. The Bellingham National Bank Building was built in 1912. If you are looking across the street from that corner you can see this beautiful clock:
I kept on trucking down the street and passed the alleyway that had the beautiful Never Odd or Even Mural I previously wrote about and had to snap a picture. Next I took pictures of the Clover Building, built in 1905, this building was used to house various businesses. After the Clover Building picture, I looked up and have you ever noticed these gold decorations on the Red Front Building, right on the side of Third Planet.
Then The Black Sheep, which is in the Barlow Building and the Bellingham Hardware Building. The Barlow Building was built in 1892 and the Bellingham Hardware Building was built in 1909. I finalized my trip by looking up at the Breier Building, built in 1912 that was a clothing store, and I looked up at the Pickford where I saw this beautiful 1308.
I know I didn’t feature all of the beautiful aspects of Bellingham’s downtown. If you go on your own walking tour, make sure you wear comfy shoes. I called this episode 1, in case I wanted to write another looking up walking tour. I’m sure I missed a lot even on the route I took, if I did, please share with me your favorites!