Bellingham, WA -- This time long ago, White City Amusement Park

In the Silver Beach neighborhood by Lake Whatcom, 101 years ago, White City Amusement Park was built. It closed in 1919. Having been in this region since I was a child, I knew people over the years who remembered and told me about the excitement of this great amusement park. We have never had anything like it since. This was not some dinky site, but spectacular. There was the Silver Beach Hotel nearby and it was serviced by the street car. There was a large wooden roller coaster ( I mean big not like at the carnival) and a ferris wheel and White City was known for ice cream cones, picnics, dancing, roller skating and boating. Sometimes when I drive by that neighborhood, I am amazed that something so large was, at one time, at that location. 100 years changes things a lot! One man I know says that, when he was a child, structural remnants of White City were still apparent at the site. He and his friends played there. Those antiques are long gone now. Because so many of the old photographs of White City are protected by copyright, I am not going to directly post them here, but I wish I could as a teaser.  Instead, this map looks pretty generic and gives an idea of the scale and location of the sight, so I will post it. I first saw the actual slides that my links will take you to during a Galen Biery magic lantern presentation -- these were famous in Bellingham and the tradition continues. I have located a couple good online sites for you, easy to navigate, with these old and incredible photos. This first one (here) is from the Bellingham Herald. In my view this other (here) online project done by grade school children is absolutely wonderful and the best, just click on their links to see the slides. If you live in Bellingham, please check these out. You have got to see these old photos that capture the town back then.

Steven L. Smith

www.kingofthehouse.com

Bellingham Home Inspector