Bellingham is a city of 81,000 situated between the two great cities of the Pacific Northwest, Vancouver and Seattle. Though it is small, it certainly feels like a big city with a vibrant downtown, an active shipyard and large marina (rivaling Chicago, a much larger city), and access to the Pacific Ocean. It is quite cultured as well, and very in touch with the environment despite hosting a pulp mill in the past (arguably good riddance and an improvement to the waterfront when it left). Bellingham, like many cities, started as a collection of smaller towns that were eventually absorbed into one. Fairhaven on the south side has its own historic downtown with a plethora of amenities. Why some wanted to drop a steel frame and glass clad boating center in this area during a project of mine is still lost on me.
