Fairhaven, one of Bellingham’s most popular communities, is located on Bellingham Bay. Known as the Historical District, Fairhaven was its own city before it was consolidated to the city of Bellingham back in 1903. In the late 1800′s, Fairhaven was a big boom city where residents were working on making Fairhaven the next hub city of the west, building railroad tracks, commercial buildings, and hotels. Seattle became the main transportation city, however; the residents were crushed and the city went into a depression for a short period of time.

Why Fairhaven?

There are several reasons why tourists and residents flock to Fairhaven. Downtown Fairhaven has reserved its turn of the century brick buildings and cobble-stoned streets, and the city has restored many of the buildings. There has been several new developments with commercial space on the ground level and condos above going into the downtown area as well, but due to the Bellingham Municipal Code the buildings are required to conform in exterior appearance to the community’s traditional 19th century style.

Fairhaven is also home to the Bellingham Cruise Terminal and transportation center, where ferries leave for Alaska and seasonal foot ferries and charter vessels provide connections to Victoria, British Columbia, and the San Juan Islands. Fairhaven is the southernmost port for the Alaskan Marine Highway System. Conveniently located next to the ferry terminal are the Amtrak Station and the Greyhound Station, where travelers can take scenic train rides to Vancouver and the Greyhound buses run several times a day to both Vancouver and Seattle.