The Lettered Streets Neighborhood Association aims to facilitate a sense of place and connection in our neighborhood by creating opportunities for shared learning, community building, and civic engagement. Early white settlers built sawmills near the mouth of Whatcom Creek in the 1850s and established the town of Whatcom, later incorporated into the City of Bellingham in 1903. Forming the first neighborhood in Bellingham, the Lettered Streets were built on bluffs overlooking the mudflats of Bellingham Bay and along the northern shore of Whatcom Creek. Today, the neighborhood has a mix of businesses and offices, schools, small parks, and single family homes and midsize apartment buildings housing over 800 households. The Lettered Streets Neighborhood Association creates opportunities for shared learning and community building in this place we call home. We aim to build a sense of place and connection in our neighborhood. The board is composed of renters and homeowners spanning multiple generations. All residents within the boundaries of the Lettered Streets Neighborhood are considered members of the Association and are entitled to a voice and vote in organizational matters. We welcome your participation in our informational meetings and social gatherings. Please contact us anytime at [email protected]. The lower falls on Whatcom Creek provided energy for the sawmills, which attracted the first settlers to the town of Whatcom beginning in the 1850′s. The brick building located in the 1300 block of “E” Street and the Pickett House, at 910 Bancroft, survives from this early period.More important than individual histories, however, is the collective historical character of the neighborhood. Constructed for the most part in the late 1890′s and early 1900′s, the neighborhood was established as a middle-class community adjacent to the city’s downtown district. Non-residential structures built during the same era of the early 1900′s also contribute to the historic character of the neighborhood. The Great Northern Depot (1927), Aftermath Clubhouse (1914), Roth Block (1890), and First Christian Church site at Girard and A Streets are all on the National Historic Register. The Roeder School (1908), Unity Church (1884), the buildings along W. Holly, and Aker’s Taxidermist (1906) at “I” and Astor – originally the Baptist School of Industries – all have local historic significance.Today, this diverse neighborhood includes single family homes, a growing diversity of apartment and commercial offerings, offices in older homes and new buildings, small parks and the Whatcom Middle School/Battersby Field complex. Attesting to its ongoing popularity, the neighborhood was home to nearly 3,000 Bellingham residents according to the 2000 census.Maritime Heritage Park, located on Whatcom Creek, defines the southern boundary of the neighborhood and is a popular multi-use park, fish-hatchery, and educational facility. The public can also learn about the life cycle of the salmon and view the large numbers of fish returning each year to the hatchery. The nine block long Old Village Trail was developed as a useful neighborhood connection.
