What to do with Bellingham’s iconic graffiti rock? Two new options emerge
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- Two landowners proposed new sites to relocate Bellingham’s graffiti rock.
- WSDOT set a June deadline for relocation plans before demolition proceeds.
- The rock is under review for historic status by state and federal agencies.
Two landowners have come forward with proposals for relocating the iconic graffiti rock, a community billboard along northbound Interstate 5 south of Bellingham that has displayed hand-painted personal messages for more than 50 years.
The owners of two private but publicly accessible sites are looking at the steps they need to take to move the Bellingham Rock, which is in the way of a Washington State Department of Transportation road project.
One possible site is near I-5 and Slater Road south of Ferndale. The other is on Bill McDonald Parkway, between Western Washington University and Sehome High in Bellingham. Those two proposals emerged in recent weeks, as a WSDOT deadline looms.
Frank Youngblood, who owns the Timberline Apartments at 3000 Bill MacDonald Parkway, is working with city of Bellingham and WSDOT officials to satisfy the conditions set for moving the rock, including an easement for public access, logistics of the move, and environmental considerations because the rock is covered in paint.
“It’s a big open area that becomes obvious for a location. Everyone I’ve talked to hopes we can make this happen,” Youngblood told The Herald in a phone call.
Keith Cook, who manages the Bellingham Rock page on Facebook with 5,500 followers, told The Herald he hopes that one of the proposals is accepted.
“There’s a whole process that you have to go through, and it’s not easy,” he said in a phone call.
WSDOT’s R.B. McKeon told The Herald in a phone call that the process to save the rock us nearing a deadline.
“We need to know by early June if there is someone pursuing the process,” McKeon said.
If no one is able take the rock, it could be preserved in smaller pieces, perhaps by a museum, she said.
Because of its age and importance to the community, the Bellingham Rock is being registered as historic property through the Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation, Cook said.
The rock is also eligible for listing on the the National Register of Historic Places, according to the WSDOT website.
“We’ve signed a Memorandum of Agreement with Federal Highway Administration and the Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation, laying out the process we must follow,” WSDOT said.
This story was originally published May 31, 2025 at 11:12 AM.
