Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
GETTING AROUND
Rental cars are available at Bellingham International
Airport from Avis, Budget, and Hertz. If you need a taxi, contact
Yellow Cab
(
&
360/734-8294
). Public bus service around the Bellingham area is provided
by the
Whatcom Transportation Authority
(
&
360/676-7433;
www.ride
wta.com).
WHAT TO SEE & DO
MUSEUMS
If your interest is art, you shouldn't miss the
Western Washington University
Outdoor Sculpture Collection,
off the Bill McDonald Parkway south of down-
town. With more than 20 large sculptures, including one by Isamu Noguchi,
this is the largest collection of monumental sculptures on the West Coast. You
can pick up a map and guide to the collection at Bellingham/Whatcom County
Convention & Visitors Bureau, at the university's visitor center, or at
Western
Gallery
(
&
360/650-3900;
www.westerngallery.wwu.edu), which is also on the
campus and features exhibits of contemporary art. When the university is in ses-
sion, the gallery is open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from 10am to
4pm, Wednesday from 10am to 8pm, and Saturday from noon to 4pm.
American Museum of Radio
These days MP3s, CDs, and DVDs are
so much a part of everyday life that it is easy to forget that sound recording is
barely 100 years old. At this not-to-be-missed museum in downtown Belling-
ham, you can examine more than 800 antique radios (mostly pre-1930s wooden
table-top models) and lots of other unusual instruments of early electrical tech-
nology. Among the displays is a mock-up of the radio room from the
Titanic,
and if you're lucky, curators Jonathon Winter or John Jenkins might demon-
strate the Tesla coil, which can generate enough electricity to light up a fluores-
cent light several feet away. There's even an original Theremin, which was sort
of a forerunner to modern electronic synthesizers.
1312 Bay St.
&
360/738-3886.
www.americanradiomuseum.org. Free admission. Wed-Sat 11am-4pm.
Whatcom Museum of History and Art
This museum is housed in the
former city hall building, which was built in 1892 and is one of Washington's
finest examples of Victorian municipal architecture. Inside you'll find recon-
structions of old stores from early-20th-century Bellingham, and a variety of
exhibits on area history. You'll also find a large collection of Native American
baskets, and exhibits focusing on Northwest artists. Up on the museum's third
floor you'll find old toys, tools, and fashions. A building across the street houses
the gift shop and a gallery that often is used for unusual art installations. A block
away, in the city's old fire hall, you'll find a photo archive and more historical
exhibits.
121 Prospect St.
&
360/676-6981.
www.whatcommuseum.org. Admission by donation. Tues-Sun noon-5pm.
FAIRHAVEN HISTORIC DISTRICT
Though downtown Bellingham has a fair number of restaurants and a few gal-
leries, the
Fairhaven Historic District
is the most interesting neighborhood in
town (and is also the site of the Bellingham Cruise Terminal, the southern ter-
minus for ferries to Alaska). Fairhaven was once a separate town, and many of
its brick buildings, built between 1880 and 1900, have now been restored and
house interesting shops, art galleries, and several good restaurants. Around the
neighborhood, you'll find more than two dozen historical markers, many of
which commemorate the seamier side of life in Fairhaven in the 1890s.
