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Lettered Streets Neighborhood, Bellingham WA

Residential street in the Lettered Streets covered in fallen cherry blossom petals, with houses and parked cars along both sides
Cherry blossom season in the Lettered Streets, April 2025. Photo: Robert Ashworth, CC BY 2.0

Last updated: October 2026

Every fall at Maritime Heritage Park, on the south edge of the Lettered Streets in Bellingham WA, hatchery Chinook salmon gather at the mouth of Whatcom Creek from late August into October.1 People stop on the creekside paths to watch. The salmon do not watch back. They have somewhere to be.

Up the hill from the park is the grid of lettered streets where the town of Whatcom began in the 1850s, and where the 1856 Pickett House still stands.2,3 Duplexes and small apartment buildings sit between the old houses, some of which now hold offices, and downtown starts at the edge. Detached single-family houses make up only about a third of the homes.4

Looking at an old house or a duplex here? Get in touch with our team and we can help you sort out what to check first.

On this page:

What is daily life like in the Lettered Streets?

Whatcom Creek at low water, lined with autumn trees, at the mouth of the creek by Maritime Heritage Park
Whatcom Creek meets the bay at Maritime Heritage Park. Photo: Allyn, CC BY-SA 4.0

The city describes the Lettered Streets as single-family homes, small apartment buildings and offices in older houses, plus newer buildings and small parks.3 Whatcom Middle School and Battersby Field are inside the neighborhood. So is a fair amount of foot traffic, because downtown is right there.

On Saturdays a lot of residents walk down to Depot Market Square for the Bellingham Farmers Market. It runs 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Saturday from April through the third week of December, plus the third Saturday of January, February and March. This year's weekly run ends December 19.5,6 You go for vegetables. You come home with a jar of something you cannot name and a small plant.

Where are the Lettered Streets, and how do you get around?

Downtown and the waterfront are next door, and WTA's Bellingham Station, the main downtown bus hub at 205 East Magnolia Street, is a short walk away.7 Plenty of errands happen on foot here, which is the point of living this close in.

What parks and open space are in the Lettered Streets?

Lawn and paths of Maritime Heritage Park seen from the top of the amphitheater, with the waterfront and hills beyond
Maritime Heritage Park, 500 West Holly Street. Photo: Allyn, CC BY-SA 4.0
  • Maritime Heritage Park, at 500 West Holly Street, sits on Whatcom Creek between downtown and the Lettered Streets and forms the neighborhood's southern edge.3,8 It has a fish hatchery, salmon viewing, trails and an amphitheater with room for up to 300 people.9
  • The Old Village Trail is a nine-block path built as a neighborhood connector.3
  • Elizabeth Park, just over the line in the Columbia neighborhood, is the oldest public park in Whatcom County. Henry Roeder gave the land and named it for his wife, which beats flowers.10,11

Why are the Lettered Streets called Bellingham's oldest neighborhood?

Two-story reddish wood house with an enclosed porch behind a trimmed hedge, the Pickett House
Pickett House, built 1856, at 910 Bancroft Street. Photo: Benjamin Cody, CC BY-SA 3.0

Settlers came in the 1850s for the lower falls on Whatcom Creek, which powered the sawmills, and the sawmills made a town.3 Two buildings from that decade still stand here.

The Pickett House at 910 Bancroft Street was built in 1856 for Captain George E. Pickett, who had come with his infantry company to build Fort Bellingham. It is the oldest building in Bellingham.2,12 The T.G. Richards Building at 1308 E Street went up in 1858, during the Fraser River gold rush, as a store, bank and warehouse. The city calls it the first brick building in Washington State. The gold rush ended that fall, Whatcom County bought the building, and it served as the courthouse until 1884.13 Gold rush, then government. A familiar arc.

Most of the neighborhood filled in during the late 1890s and early 1900s as a middle-class district next to downtown. The Great Northern depot, the Aftermath Clubhouse and the Roth Block are all on the National Register.3

What do homes in the Lettered Streets look like?

Most homes here date to that late 1890s and early 1900s building wave. That means original trim and wavy glass. It also means older wiring, older foundations and aging sewer lines. A thorough inspection and a sewer scope are cheap compared with the alternative.

The Lettered Streets also has one of the highest shares of middle housing in the city: duplexes, small multiplexes and older houses split into units. Out of 1,626 homes in the city's November 2025 count, about 36% were single-family and about 27% were middle housing, second only to Roosevelt among Bellingham neighborhoods.4 That mix draws first-time buyers, investors and people who want an old house close to downtown. Planning to add a unit? Check the zoning and ADU rules for that exact lot with the city's planning department.

What should buyers know before buying in the Lettered Streets?

Trade-offs and who it suits

This is an old, mixed neighborhood, and that cuts both ways. Most homes date to the late 1890s and early 1900s, so inspections matter. Detached houses are only about 36% of the homes. Offices in converted houses and small apartment buildings sit next to single-family homes, and downtown starts at the edge, so expect more coming and going than on a purely residential street.

Who it suits: buyers who want an older home or a small income property within walking distance of downtown.

Market snapshot and homes for sale

Housing and population (City of Bellingham housing and population model, as of November 2025):4

  • Estimated population: 3,312
  • Total housing units: 1,626 on about 251 acres
  • Single-family homes (including ADUs): 578 (36%)
  • Middle housing (duplexes, triplexes, townhomes and similar): 434 (27%)
  • Multifamily units: 614 (38%)

The city models these numbers from county assessor parcels and state household figures, so the split between single-family, middle and multifamily housing in the Lettered Streets is an estimate, not a count.

Prices and listings: The Lettered Streets only see a few sales a month, too few for a neighborhood median you could budget around. For a citywide benchmark, Bellingham's median sale price was about $675,000 for July through September 2026, counting houses and condos together.14 Ask us for recent sales on the specific blocks you like.

Before you tour, see how much home you can afford.

Schools

The whole neighborhood falls in one set of zones, which keeps this simple. The district's attendance-area maps put the Lettered Streets in the Parkview Elementary (3030 Cornwall Avenue), Whatcom Middle School (810 Halleck Street) and Bellingham High School (2020 Cornwall Avenue) areas, and Whatcom Middle sits inside the neighborhood.15,16 We checked 1507 F Street, 2217 I Street and 2314 D Street, and all three map to those schools.

One pending decision is worth watching. The superintendent has recommended closing Columbia and Carl Cozier elementary schools after this school year, with new boundaries from August 2027, and the school board is expected to vote on November 12, 2026.17,18 Under the plan, Columbia's students would move to Alderwood. Parkview is not one of the schools the plan names.19 Proposed lines aren't on the district's maps yet, so look up the exact address before you commit.

Frequently asked questions about Lettered Streets

How close are the Lettered Streets to downtown Bellingham?

Right next door, since downtown starts at the neighborhood's edge. Maritime Heritage Park, at 500 West Holly Street, sits on Whatcom Creek along the south edge, and WTA's Bellingham Station is a short walk away.

What are the oldest buildings in the Lettered Streets?

The Pickett House and the T.G. Richards Building. The house at 910 Bancroft Street was built in 1856 for Captain George E. Pickett, who came to build Fort Bellingham, and it is the oldest building in Bellingham. The brick Richards Building at 1308 E Street dates to 1858, and the city calls it the first brick building in Washington State.

Can I buy a duplex or income property in the Lettered Streets?

Often, yes. As of November 2025 the city counted 434 middle-housing units and 614 multifamily units here, together outnumbering the 578 single-family homes. Check the zoning and ADU rules for a specific lot with the city's planning department before you plan changes.

Which schools serve the Lettered Streets?

On the district's maps as of October 2026, the whole neighborhood is in the Parkview Elementary, Whatcom Middle and Bellingham High attendance areas. Whatcom Middle School sits inside the neighborhood at 810 Halleck Street. The school board is expected to vote November 12, 2026, on closing Columbia and Carl Cozier, which would redraw some nearby elementary lines from August 2027, so confirm each address.

When can I see salmon at Maritime Heritage Park?

Hatchery Chinook salmon typically reach the mouth of Whatcom Creek in late August and keep returning into October. The park, at 500 West Holly Street on the south edge of the Lettered Streets, has salmon viewing, trails, a fish hatchery and an amphitheater with room for up to 300 people.

Which neighborhoods are near Lettered Streets?

Cornwall Park borders the Lettered Streets to the north. Southeast past downtown, York is another close-in neighborhood, and Sehome climbs south toward WWU. All of our neighborhood write-ups are on one index page.

Ready to look in the Lettered Streets? Our agents are at Bellingham Real Estate Agents.

Sources

  1. Hatchery Chinook typically arrive at the mouth of Whatcom Creek in late August and keep returning into October. City of Bellingham: Inside Bellingham, Aug 27, 2026. Checked Oct 17, 2026.
  2. Pickett House: 910 Bancroft, built 1856 for Capt. George E. Pickett, who led the company that built Fort Bellingham; oldest building in Bellingham. City of Bellingham: George E. Pickett House. Checked Oct 17, 2026.
  3. 1850s settlement at the lower falls; late 1890s and early 1900s construction; National Register buildings; housing and office mix; Whatcom Middle School and Battersby Field; Maritime Heritage Park as the southern boundary with salmon viewing; nine-block Old Village Trail. City of Bellingham: Lettered Streets neighborhood. Checked Oct 17, 2026.
  4. Population, housing units, acres and housing mix (Nov 2025 model; single-family includes ADUs); middle-housing share second to Roosevelt. City of Bellingham: neighborhood housing estimates. Checked Oct 17, 2026.
  5. Farmers market: Depot Market Square, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., every Saturday April through the third week of December, plus the third Saturday of January, February and March. Bellingham Farmers Market. Checked Oct 17, 2026.
  6. Second source for the 2026 season: April 4 to December 19, 2026. Visit Bellingham: Saturday Market. Checked Oct 17, 2026.
  7. WTA Bellingham Station at 205 E Magnolia Street. WTA: Facilities and hours. Checked Oct 17, 2026.
  8. Maritime Heritage Park: 500 W. Holly Street, between City Center and the Lettered Streets; fish hatchery, trails, amphitheater. City of Bellingham: Maritime Heritage Park. Checked Oct 17, 2026.
  9. Amphitheater has room for up to 300 people. City of Bellingham: Maritime Heritage Park Amphitheater. Checked Oct 17, 2026.
  10. Elizabeth Park is the oldest public park in the county, created by Henry Roeder and named for his wife. City of Bellingham: Eldridge Historic District. Checked Oct 17, 2026.
  11. Second source for Elizabeth Park: Roeder donated the land; named for Mary Elizabeth Austin Roeder; located in the Columbia neighborhood. (The two sources give different years, 1883 and 1884, so the page gives no year.) Whatcom Watch: Elizabeth Park. Checked Oct 17, 2026.
  12. Second source for the Pickett House date, Fort Bellingham and oldest-building status. HistoryLink: Pickett House. Checked Oct 17, 2026.
  13. T.G. Richards Building: 1308 E Street, built 1858 during the Fraser River gold rush as a store, bank and warehouse; first brick building in Washington State; sold to Whatcom County and used as the courthouse until 1884. City of Bellingham: Territorial Courthouse. Checked Oct 17, 2026.
  14. Bellingham-wide median sale price $674,959 for the three months ending September 2026 (July through September), all home types, 291 homes sold. Redfin: Bellingham housing market. Checked Oct 17, 2026.
  15. School addresses; boundary lookup; note that proposed boundary changes are not yet on the district's maps. Bellingham Public Schools: schools and boundaries and district boundary lookup. Checked Oct 17, 2026.
  16. Attendance areas covering the neighborhood (Parkview, Whatcom, Bellingham) and sample-address results, from the school attendance layers (elementary last edited Sept 2022, middle and high June 2021). City of Bellingham GIS: report layers 11 to 13. Checked Oct 17, 2026.
  17. Superintendent's Sept 29, 2026 recommendation to close Columbia and Carl Cozier after this school year, pending school board approval; Columbia students to Alderwood; new boundaries from August 2027. Bellingham Public Schools: facilities update. Checked Oct 17, 2026.
  18. Public hearings Nov 2 and 3, 2026; board vote expected at its Nov 12, 2026 meeting. Cascadia Daily News, Oct 15, 2026. Checked Oct 17, 2026.
  19. Schools affected by the plan (Columbia, Carl Cozier, Alderwood, Sunnyland, Wade King; small Birchwood change). Bellingham Public Schools: Facilities Plan. Checked Oct 17, 2026.