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Mapping downtown Bellingham’s murals

Spend an afternoon exploring city's art

By Audra Anderson Assistant Editor

As the days get longer and warmer weather starts to tease spring, take the opportunity of a nice afternoon to explore downtown Bellingham’s vivid art scene — it’s not inside. 

From large-scale landscapes to mythical creatures, dozens of murals decorate the sides of buildings, brick walls and alleyways of the city. Much of the work is legal and commissioned by popular regional muralists like Gretchen Leggitt, Shawn Cass and Ryan Henry Ward. 

Bellingham even boasts the largest mural in the state of Washington, painted by Leggitt on Puget Sound Energy’s Encogen Facility. The pastel mountainscape spans the length of two football fields. 

This roughly 2.5-mile walk through the core of downtown will take a couple of hours, counting time to gaze at the detailed works. Finding even more murals along the way is an added bonus. 

Note: Some murals did not have artist information available.

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