There’s a partially hidden world of public art in the trails along Whatcom Creek in downtown Bellingham.
Totem poles, steel salmon and little signs line the trails, sometimes in plain sight, and sometimes easily missed, as part of the City of Bellingham’s Whatcom Creek Salmon Art Trail.
On the north side of the creek, between Grand Avenue and Dupont Street, a small totem pole depicting an eagle stands near a steel salmon, embedded in the underbrush. The Eagle Memorial Totem was carved in cedar by Mike McRory in 2000, and sits off trail, next to the “Returning Salmon,” a steel salmon nestled into the ground near the Eagle Memorial Totem.
The art trail is a self-guided tour of 10 artworks, intended to connect community members to nature and share the “community’s environmental history,” according to a city pamphlet.
It also includes more visible pieces of public art like the Centennial Story Pole at the Whatcom County Courthouse, the “Confluence” statue by Gerard Tsutakawa at Maritime Heritage Park and the Centennial Mural, located near Whatcom Museum on Prospect Street.
A previous version of this story incorrectly spelled Mike McRory’s name on one occasion. The story was updated to correct the error at 4:21 p.m. on Oct. 14, 2024. Cascadia Daily News regrets the error.
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Charlotte Alden is CDN’s general assignment/enterprise reporter; reach her at charlottealden@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 123.
