‘Rocket ships’ getting a little snazzier on Bellingham’s waterfront
For those craving more lighting as daylight wanes during Bellingham’s winter months, the Waterfront District has another viewing option.
The Port of Bellingham recently installed lights to the six digester tanks (dubbed by many as the waterfront’s rocket ships), enabling them to glow in a variety of colors depending on events and seasons. Expect to see a deep sea blue glow when the Seattle Kraken NHL team picks up its first win, for example, or orange during Halloween and red and green for Christmas.
The digester tanks, which are 56 feet tall and once were used to turn wood chips into pulp, should be easy to spot from downtown, nearby hillsides or from Bellingham Bay. Also regularly lit up in the district is another piece of Bellingham’s manufacturing history, the Acid Ball.
Near the digester tanks, the port also recently completed construction of the Peter Paulsen Community Stage. Paulsen, who made a donation for the stage, is the original owner of Hotel Bellwether. The stage was built with red bricks from the former Georgia-Pacific pulp and paper mill, according to a news release from the port.
While the stage doesn’t have scheduled events for the winter months, right now, a number of groups have already expressed interest in using the stage next summer, Mike Hogan, spokesman for the port, wrote in an email.
The lighting and community stage are among a variety of recent additions to the area, including the bike park, Kulshan Brewery’s Trackside beer garden, the Selkie Scoop ice cream shop, a grass lawn area and a basketball court.
With colder, damper weather arriving, Selkie Scoop has begun reducing its operating hours and plans to close November through February, Hogan said. The Filling Station restaurant is scheduled to begin outfitting its container next month, while other operations, such as the DISH Foundation’s coffee shop and the Sun-E-Land Bikes rental and service, are expected to arrive next spring.
This story was originally published October 14, 2021 at 3:12 PM.
