Highway 99, Shaping BellinghamÕs History The first European settlement of Bellingham was at the base of Whatcom Creek in 1853. The mouth of Whatcom Creek was also the site of the first lumber mill started by city founders Russell Peabody and Henry Roeder. Along Bellingham Bay four towns blossomed within close proximity of each other: Fairhaven, Sehome, Bellingham and Whatcom. By 1904 all four towns had consolidated to form the City of Bellingham. BellinghamÕs history and physical shape has been influenced over time by the changing development of land and water transportation routes that have provided the city with ever-greater travel accessibility. From early pioneer trails to military roads to state highways, the land-based pathways connecting Bellingham to the rest of the country have left historic reminders of another time and another way of life. In the early Twentieth Century a Washington State group named the ÒGood Roads AssociationÓ successfully lobbied for a network of Ògood roadsÓ to better serve the needs of Washington residents. Their efforts resulted in the construction of, among others, WashingtonÕs Primary State Highway 99 also known as Pacific Highway 1, stretching along the West Coast from Mexico to Canada. Highway 99 became the main road to and through Bellingham bringing more people from greater distances than ever before. As a result of the increase in tourism a number of new businesses flourished along the HighwayÕs path. Gas and service stations catering to the traveler proliferated as did motels, cafes and gift shops. In 1966 Highway 99 was usurped by Interstate 5 (I-5) as the main north-south route through Washington State. While I-5 followed ÒOld 99Ó through parts of the State when it got to Bellingham it by-passed the congested city streets, skirting the eastern limits. Although many of the buildings and businesses that lined the route of Highway 99 through the city remain, there are a number of those that are gone or have been converted to other uses. The few remnants from the travel boom of Highway 99 are conspicuously out of place among the changed neighborhoods and provide clues to what Bellingham must have looked like during that period. Building a Military Road In the late 1850Õs there was active military in Bellingham and on the Puget Sound. Potential military conflict was aggravated by the dispute between the US and the British over the San Juan Islands. Locally, Captain George Pickett and his Infantry slashed a road along the shoreline to Squalicum Creek. After bridging the creek the trail went uphill onto present day F Street and along the bluff crossing Whatcom Creek about one block north of present day Dupont Street. A wooden bridge, called Military Bridge, was built in 1858 to cross Whatcom Creek. A plaque on the East Side of the present reinforced concrete bridge commemorates the first wooden version as Old Pickett Bridge. From the bridge the road went past the present city center and turned south at the corner of State and Holly Street. Nationally, in March of 1857 a Congressional Act was passed to build a Military Road from Fort Steilacoom, south of Tacoma, to Bellingham Bay. The purpose of the road was for the movement of troops and supplies in case of Indian raids. The path of the road was filled with such dense vegetation that pack animals could not be used in the construction. By 1859 the construction contracts were given out and the trail was started. The ArmyÕs head topographical engineer, Colonel J.J. Albert, said in 1859 that the building of the Military Road was a Ònecessity,Ó and went on to say Òits completion would also induce settlement along the shore of Puget Sound.Ó For those purposes, $50,000 was asked for in 1860 to improve Military Road in addition to the original cost estimate of $42,500. Even with the additional funds, Military Road remained incomplete. Ultimately, Whatcom County took control of Military Road, maintaining it for several years. Although the majority of the roadÕs travelers were on foot, there were occasional horses and even wagons. This makes Military Road the first wagon passable road in the Northwest. The Good Roads Association In Washington State, where dense forest growth makes highway transportation more difficult than other parts of the country, roads have always been important. The Cowlitz Convention in 1853 wanted to divide the Oregon Territory, which at the time included Washington, and stressed the need for improved travel. In an article for the Pacific Northwest Quarterly, Oscar Winther quotes a Cowlitz Convention attendee as saying ÒThat there is now about three thousand souls North of the ColumbiaÉ[yet] it is impossible for them to prosper in commerce or advance one step in the improvement of roads and highways.Ó Not surprisingly, the new Washington Territorial government first enacted ten new road measures in 1854. A renewal of interest in road building again originated in Washington State, the most troublesome of areas. Samuel Hill, who made his wealth working with the Great Northern Railroad, came to Washington from Minnesota in 1898 and founded the Washington State Good Roads Association, dedicated to the construction of well-built roads for greater public accessibility. Of the 100 people Hill was able to coax into agreeing to attend the first convention in Spokane only a handful actually did. Among those 14 original members at the first meeting two were representatives of Bellingham, R.L. Cline and prominent lumber mill owner J.J. Donovan. The Good Roads Association grew after the first meetingÕs success. The group continued to meet annually and worked on drafting a bill to introduce a statewide system of roads. Their theory of a good road, as explained by Donovan, was that it would connect one county seat with all others, and join together the already existing principal trade centers along the most feasible route. Samuel Hill, the associationÕs founder, was also involved in construction of another form in the early Twentieth century. Hill constructed the Peace Arch, a public monument to the friendly relations between the United States and Canada located at the Blaine border crossing north of Bellingham. In 1913, the group was finally able to vote in favor of introducing their Good Roads bill into Washington State government. Washington soon implemented the act, instituting a hierarchical system of state highways: primary, secondary and county. Primary State Highway 1, or Highway 99, was one of the roads initiated by the bill. Three years later, in 1916, WashingtonÕs highway system received a Federal boost with the passage of the Federal Aid Road Act to construct rural roads for better post delivery and other purposes. J.J. Donovan continued to represent the interests of Bellingham throughout his involvement with the Good Roads Association, and was even the organization's president in 1920. At the groups convention in 1927 Donovan gave a lecture discussing the AssociationÕs progress and specifically confirming their selection of using concrete as the roadbed. Donovan confirmed the groups aim that, ÒEvery State road is in the broad sense a farm to market road.Ó On behalf of Whatcom County Donovan stated ÒWhatcom County connected every village by paved roads at its expense and waits for the State to pave the second half of Pacific Highway 1 (Highway 99) within its boundaries.Ó By 1928 the state of Washington had spent the past 18 months paving Pacific Highway 1/Highway 99, completing the 69 miles needing work between Blaine and Ferndale and Everett and Seattle. By 1928 Highway 99 would be the most continuous and quick route through the state. Used by most north-south travelers west of the Cascade Mountains. Highway 99 When President Woodrow Wilson signed the Federal Roads Act in 1916 construction of Highway 99 already under way by the State of Washington was hurried along. In 1925 a national numbering system was designated to all Highways; even numbers were given to east- west roads and odd numbers to north-south roads. The 275 miles of Highway 99 stretching through Washington were built with the latest technology and standards requiring that the roads be at least 20 feet wide and a 5% grade maximum, as the Good Roads Association had insisted. Highway 99 carried the highest density of traffic in Washington state and served a variety of travel purposes. Growing up in Everett, Seattle resident Donna Thompson remembers her father using Highway 99 for Òrum runningÓ trips to Canada during the prohibition era. In 1936 the Bellingham Herald trumpeted the completion of a new 21-_ mile segment of Highway 99 from the Triangle Service station outside of Burlington to the corner of Holly and Ellis that with its long straight stretches would cut time-off of the Chuckanut Highway. The driving time between Bellingham and Burlington was 50 minutes; along Interstate 5 today it is under 30 minutes. The Route of Highway 99 Through Bellingham As determined from an old Kroll Atlas, the route of Highway 99 from Burlington ran across the Skagit County flatland, sharply curving up at the state fish hatchery and continuing on through Alger. From Alger Highway 99 passed Lake Samish and entered Bellingham along the broad curves of Samish Way next to Lake Padden. Highway 99 continued along Samish Way, crossing where I-5 is today and curving along onto Maple St. and then Ellis St. At Holly St., Highway 99 made a left passing through the core of downtown Bellingham. Today, this section of Holly is a one-way street for traffic going west, but it would have had to accommodate the two-way traffic of Highway 99. This is evident by examining the positions of stoplight poles. From Holly, Highway 99 turned right onto Prospect and followed onto Dupont St. where it crossed Whatcom Creek one block south of where PickettÕs bridge was located. Highway 99 then veered right onto Elm St., veered left onto Northwest Ave. and exited Bellingham along West Maplewood, continuing to Canada. There was also a scenic Alternate 99 that diverted from the main branch of Highway 99 at Burlington going onto Chuckanut Drive and winding along Puget Sound. This road was frequently closed due to weather and rockslides. The Alternate 99 left Bellingham from Meridian St., heading north to another border crossing into Canada. Chuckanut Drive is still a pleasant way to reach Bellingham, enjoying picturesque views of Puget Sound and Bellingham Bay. Although it was the fastest road through Western Washington, Highway 99 still had crossroads, stop signs and lights and ran through congested city streets. These features make for an interesting journey, but also slowed down driving. By 1956 heavy traffic on Highway 99 through downtown Bellingham made parking impossible and slowed traffic to a near stop. In 1950, the State of Washington performed a traffic survey of Bellingham examining the traffic problem and proposing ways to alleviate it. In 1950, when BellinghamÕs population was around 34,000 people there were approximately 38,000 cars using Highway 99 every day, most with destinations outside of Bellingham and most without stopping. The traffic study concluded that the roads and highways did not adequately serve the travel demands, and recommended Òthe improvement and/or relocation of the north-south route, namely US 99, Primary State Highway No. 1.Ó A new theory of what constitutes a Ògood roadÓ was emerging. Instead of directly connecting each county seat and principal trade center, like J.J. Donovan and the Good Roads Association originally pushed for, the StateÕs Department of Transportation thought roads should tackle Òthrough and local traffic alike and should function as a downtown by-pass yet lie sufficiently close to the downtown area to provide easy access for local trips.Ó The Department of Transportation suggested creating a freeway that would follow Highway 99 to the south of Bellingham, skirt around the Central Business District to the east, and then continue north in a direction similar to Highway 99. What they suggested in 1950 was under construction within the decade. In 1956 President Truman started the Highway Defense Fund when the idea of a possible atomic attack incited enough public support. The new highways were required to be at least four lanes wide to handle greater volumes of traffic. WashingtonÕs geography and population pattern necessitated keeping the basic route of Highway 99. In fact, for years the highway construction occurring was referred to as Ò99 expansion.Ó However, by 1966 the roadÕs title changed to Interstate-5 (I-5). BellinghamÕs first section of the new freeway was 5.2 miles from Samish Way to Northwest Ave., opening in 1960. Cutting the ribbon for the ceremony was Miss Washington, Connie Hughes from Bellingham. BellinghamÕs downtown merchants were unhappy with the new road that would direct the bulk of travel around their businesses; they had lobbied for a viaduct along the waterfront. Frequent interchanges were built in an attempt to compensate the downtown proprietors. Remarkably, the 5.2-mile route of I-5 through Bellingham has more interchanges per capita than any other city in Washington. The two photos of the construction of I-5 were both taken in 1958. One shows the Alabama Street bridge being built and the other shows early work on the Lakeway overpass. For the next six years Highway 99 was still the main route north of Northwest Ave., but by 1966 all 227 miles of Interstate 5 through the State of Washington were complete. Highway 99, soon referred to as ÒOld 99Ó, was no longer the main path of north-south traffic. Although some sections are abandoned and dead ended, parts of Highway 99 have been adopted into the city and county road system and used for less demanding service. Tracing the route of Highway 99 through Bellingham today gives only a little insight into what effects it had on the city. The change in land use patterns over the decades can be clearly seen using old city directories that also depict a historic image of Bellingham. Following the Streets through History Samish Way (Average Daily Trips in 1997: 6,700-13,800) In 1935, a few years after Highway 99 was completed, there was nothing listed along this street. Ten years later it is referred to as Samish Highway and along with some new residential housing there is the Knox Cedar Chest Inn and the Spanish Village Auto Camp. By 1955 the business Highway 99 brought to Bellingham resulted in a surge of new motels, gas stations and other automobile oriented business along Samish Way. A short list includes the Lakeside Motor Motel, the Evergreen Court Motel, Park Motel, MastinÕs Drive-In Restaurant, and JohnsonÕs Motor Service. The businesses along Samish Way west of I-5 have stayed travel and auto oriented through today largely due to the location of one I-5Õs interchanges for on and off service. The Evergreen Motel, east of I-5 on Samish Way, was built in the 1950Õs on Highway 99Õs approach into BellinghamÕs core area. Now, it seems a little unusual to have a small motel along a street used mainly by local residents who live in the area or by citizens traveling to Lake Padden Park. To the west of I-5, the Aloha Motel (built in the 1960Õs) seems out of place among the larger motels with more recent designs. Doris Pilkey has lived in Bellingham her entire life. When she and her husband began to build their home just off of Samish Way in 1954 they were the only house along their street and one of the few residents in the Samish neighborhood. Highway 99 was just a block uphill from the Pilkey residence but Doris does not remember much traffic noise or other related problems, however she remarked that Òthe noise from the freeway (now a couple blocks downhill from her home) is much worse.Ó Doris Pilkey primarily used Highway 99 to travel to work at the Georgia Pacific paper plant in Bellingham. As she recalls, BellinghamÕs downtown businesses have changed significantly since 1954. The Comb ice cream parlor is gone and so is The White House Market, a precursor to Haggen grocery stores formerly located on the corner of Railroad and Magnolia, whose slogan was ÒYou may never be the president, but weÕll see you in the White House.Ó When the construction of Interstate 5 began Doris Pilkey was excited that Bellingham was building a Òbetter road that was faster and would bring more business." Donovan rock, a glacial deposit after the last ice age, was a local attraction in the Samish neighborhood and was also in the impending path of Interstate 5. After they blew up Donovan rock to clear the way Doris Pilkey gathered a couple pieces of the boulder that now decorate her yard.Ó Today, thirty years after the freewayÕs construction, she believes that even I-5 is not big enough to meet the traffic needs of Bellingham and worries about the unsafe interchanges. Doris Pilkey has seen the entire Samish neighborhood blossom ÒitÕs changed so much that where there was nothing thereÕs something.Ó She believes that the pace of life in 1954 was slower than it is today, and that Highway 99 fit in real well. These old photos show how Samish Way must have looked in the late 1940Õs and early 1950Õs. Taken in 1954, the photograph of Lake Padden shows a serene, snowy background for the highway driver. A little further to the north the postcard for the Lakeside Motor Hotel, converted to apartments and still used today, advertises ÒThree miles south of business center on U.S. 99.Ó The postcard is of Lake Samish, just south of Bellingham, along Highway 99. East Maple and Ellis Street (Average Daily Trips in 1997: 13,800) Surprisingly, not much has changed along these two streets, probably because they were only short curving sections of Highway 99. In 1935, the land use was primarily residential the only businesses being United Machine Works and Buzzard Henry Blacksmith (which lasted through 1975). By 1955 BellinghamÕs Radio and TV station, KVOS, had established itself along Ellis Street. One can assume that these streets look similar to when Highway 99Õs heavy traffic was moving past them. The photo taken in 1951 shows a busy intersection at the corner of Maple and Ellis. Signs directing traffic to BellinghamÕs City Center and Vancouver B.C. (mis-spelled Vancover B.C.) and labeling Highway 99 no longer adorn the Street. Holly Street (Average Daily Trips in 1997: 14,500) Before Highway 99 was ever conceived, BellinghamÕs Central Business District was already established and growing around the location of Holly Street. This was the connection to the Òprincipal trade areaÓ J.J. Donovan and the Good Roads Association wanted. By 1935 numerous offices for lawyers and dentists and stores lined the route, as did Bellingham National Bank, Gus & NapÕs Beer Parlor (now located along Railroad Ave.) and WoolworthÕs 5 & 10. While various businesses have changed over the years the level of economic activity along Holly Street has remained relatively constant. Two motels built in the 1960Õs that are still in operation are the Shangri-La Motel and the Bellingham Travelodge. The Royal CafŽ, next to the Bellingham Travelodge, has been on Holly Street since the 1940Õs. Prospect and Dupont Street (Average Daily Trips in 1997: 8,000) The scene in this archived photo from 1948 is of traffic conductor, Cliff Bullard, guiding the steady stream of automobiles along Highway 99 from Holly St. onto Bay and Prospect. West of Downtown, more automobile based businesses sprang up due to Highway 99. In 1935 Prospect St. had Standard Stations Inc. Gas and the stores along Dupont included Bellingham Auto Top & Body Works and at least 3 service stations. By 1945 a tourist could stop along Prospect and visit the Bellingham Public Museum (today the Whatcom Museum of History and Art) get lunch or dinner at MaryÕs Coffee Shop and before moving on fill their gas tank at Boyd Collins Gas Station. Dupont Street offered the hungry traveler both a Safeway and KnollÕs grocery store and then a re-fueling at the Ninety-Nine Service Station (re-named Hi-way Ninety Nine Service Station by 1955). In the 1960Õs the main branch of BellinghamÕs US Post Office was built at the West End of Prospect Street, before crossing Whatcom Creek. The archived photo shows the Post Office when it was first built. Today, the moderately traveled Prospect Street does not seem like the best location for a heavily used post office. It is more understandable knowing that it was built when Highway 99 was the main route through the city. Elm Street and Northwest Avenue (Average Daily Trips in 1997: 8,500-12,700) Today, on the 2400 block of Elm Street is the Lions Inn Motel. The Lions Inn Motel seems oddly out of place next to apartments and single-family homes. Other businesses on Elm Street are more to serve the neighborhoodÕs needs than the needs of people from out of town. Forty years ago, when it was called the City Center Motel, this one level motel must have fit right in with other tourist commercial activities such as Ted StuartÕs Service Station and BillÕs Market. The postcard of the City Center Motel from the 1950Õs declares ÒElegance without extravagance.Ó Some modifications have been made to the motel, such as covering the brick with tan stucco and removing the pole supported covered walkway. As it left to Bellingham, Highway 99 created a boost for stores along Northwest Avenue as well. By 1935 there was already a Hi-Way Market and Grocery Meats just a short distance south of the Bellingham Auto Camp. Ten years later the new neighbor to the Hi-Way Market was the Hiway Barber. In 1965 the motels flourished around the Hi-Way Market, but the barbershop was gone. Today, because Northwest Avenue is one of the interchanges off of Interstate 5 a significant amount of commercial activity still exists. None of the 5 motels that were once there show any traces. Two have been demolished or moved within the last five years. The Northwest Motel with log cabin units, shown in the archived photo, was torn down in 1995 and a credit union went up in itÕs place. West Maplewood (Average Daily Trips in 1997: 4,000) The last chance to stop and get gas in Bellingham along Highway 99, before heading up to Canada, was West Maplewood. West Maplewood was primarily a residential neighborhood in 1935 but within three blocks were four gas and service stations to catch those drivers heading out of town. 2858 W. Maplewood, The Garden Court Tourist Camp opening in the 1940Õs, shown as Diggs Motel in the archived photo has been converted into unusually designed apartments. In the 1950Õs The 99 Trading Post opened up next to the Garden Court Motel. The Jewel Motel and the Shamrock Motel joined the Garden Court Motel in the 1960Õs, toward the end of Highway 99Õs role as the main through street. The Shamrock Motel has survived the past 30 years because it is located off of I-5Õs West Maplewood exit. Currently, construction of a new hotel that dwarfs the Shamrock Motel is under way to serve I-5 traffic. Summary Without question, the development of Interstate 5 has changed the land use and shape of Bellingham. Compared to the average of 38,000 daily trips along Highway 99 in 1950, the combined 1997 daily average of 10,500 along the same route speaks volumes of the change. Tourist oriented businesses, and major retail stores such as Fred Meyer and K-mart, have been diverted from the route of ÒOld 99Ó and now cluster around the interchanges of I-5. Within two years after the freeway was finished, plans to expand the State Road now called Old Fairhaven Parkway (in the south side of Bellingham) to meet I-5 were already under way. BellinghamÕs roads and businesses have not only expanded east from downtown to meet with where I-5 was side-stepping the city center, but have jumped onto the other side of I-5. Residential neighborhoods have also spread beyond their previous limits. Amazingly, the downtown area of Bellingham has remained economically healthy despite the inability to even see most of it from the freeway. On the surface the route of Highway 99 through Bellingham seems to have changed little. Closer inspection shows that the numerous gas stations and motels that lined both sides of the road are either gone or converted to other uses. The few that remain, like the Evergreen Motel, the Lions Inn Motel and the main branch of the US Post Office, have almost become historic markers of a period beginning 70 years ago when Highway 99 was first laid down. References Jackson Edson, Lelah. The Fourth Corner Highlights from the Early Northwest. Whatcom Museum of History and Art: Bellingham, 1968. Washington PolkÕs Bellingham City Directory. R.L. Polk and Company Publishers: Kansas City. Prosch, Thomas W. The Military Roads of Washington Territory. WHQ II, 1907: 119- 126. Winther, Oscar O. Inland Transportation and Communication in Washington, 1844-1859. Pacific Northwest Quarterly, 1939: 371-386. The Good Roads Association Collection. Washington State Archives, Bellingham. Gray, Jerry. Old Ò99Ó ReplacedÉNot Retired. Highway News, Washington State Department of Transportation, 1963: 8-9. The State of Washington Department of Highways in co-operation with the Department of Commerce, Bureau of Public Roads and the City of Bellingham Department of Public Works. Origin and Destination Traffic Survey of Bellingham Washington. 1950. Vouri, Mike. ÒFreeway paved new way for travel.Ó Bellingham Herald: June 29, 1986. ÒNew Samish road opening on December 1.Ó Bellingham Herald. November 18, 1936. Vouri, Mike. ÒInterstate passes 30th milestone: Lives changed with I-5 course.Ó Bellingham Herald: June 29, 1986. Vouri, Mike. ÒI-5Õs impact still being felt.Ó Bellingham Herald: July 21, 1986.