The Y

Except for my home, I probably spend more time here than any other place in Bellingham, at least in the winter -- in the warmer months we play pickleball outdoors at Cornwall Park. Some of my followers might be a little surprised by that statement, perhaps wondering if I'd forgotten about some of my watering holes.

In any event, the Y will serve as the reference point for my one street project. It's located on the SE corner at the intersection of State Street and Holly -- the main east-west corridor through downtown. You can see the buildings in my first one street blip just to the right. I'll mark the location on the map.

The Exchange Building, as it was originally named, was constructed around 1906, and housed businesses and stores. In the mid-1920s, it was converted to the Hotel Henry, and was taken over by the YMCA in 1942.

I've seen a photo of a misguided attempt to "modernize" the building by covering it with perforated metal screens, but I wasn't able to find a copy for my blip, nor could I find any information about the addition and removal of the screens.

I much prefer the original design.

Correction: The construction year was 1906