A Newfound Rainbow in the Birchwood Neighborhood
I have lived in Bellingham, Washington my whole life. I have had the opportunity to watch my community change, adapt and evolve over the 24 years I have been here. About a year ago, I noticed that a high traffic bridge that was once plain, standard, cement-colored gray, turned into a brightly colored rainbow bridge. Since I did not live in that neighborhood at the time of the change, I rarely had to use the bridge when in commute. When I initially saw the rainbow bridge, I had wondered what inspired this pleasant conversion of the bridge, and more importantly, who painted the bridge rainbow?
The Birchwood neighborhood is diverse and experiences some environmental and emotional impacts from the members of our community who experience homelessness. After a year of hardships from COVID-19, this unique project took place on Northwest Avenue in Bellingham, Washington in late July 2021. The Birchwood community joined together to paint a high traffic bridge, otherwise known as The Coal Mine Bridge, to make the neighborhood brighter and more inviting. Kelly Morgan, the current president of the Birchwood Neighborhood Association, organized this unique neighborhood project. People of all ages and walks of life came together to create a positive image for their community. “Painting teams wore Birchwood Neighborhood t-shirts and tie-dye, and some were wearing fairy wings. The hope was to make it fun for those who drove by and saw people working on the project. Even if people weren’t working on the bridge, they could still be engaged in the fun” (Bronstein, Whatcom Talk).
Over 300 individuals were divided into 14 different teams to ensure that everyone had a chance to help and complete the project in a timely manner. Neighborhood businesses participated in this bridge project by donating water, food, paint, and cleaning supplies.
As a member of this diverse community, I decided to go out and ask two of my fellow neighbors a few questions and their opinions on the changes of our neighborhood bridge. One of my neighbors, Darbie Vest, a 27-year-old married woman, has lived in the Birchwood neighborhood for 8 years. When asked her initial thoughts about the bridge she said “The bridge used to have garbage around it and it used to be very dark and gloomy. I think that the rainbow color brightens the neighborhood, and it makes me happy when I drive over it”. Vest mentioned that she didn’t personally take part in painting the bridge but enjoys looking at it daily. “I did not know the bridge was going to be painted or else I would have offered to help in this awesome community project!” Vest told me.
My other neighbor, Bailey Canup, a 24-year-old single woman, has lived in the Birchwood neighborhood for only 3 years. Canup mentioned “I do not have a lot of memory of the bridge before it turned into ‘the rainbow bridge’. I moved into the neighborhood right before the change. I can tell you that my first impression of the bridge was that the bridge was dirty. A lot of garbage was hanging in and around the surrounding trees”. I asked Canup if she participated in the bridge project. Canup answered “No, I was not aware of the project since I was new to the neighborhood. I like to look at the bridge when I am driving to and from work. I think the bridge painting is a great change for the neighborhood, but I am not the kind of person to participate in those types of projects”.
This bridge now invites others into the neighborhood and provides a great reminder of communal unification. Overall, I think that our community can agree that the 'Unity Rainbow' bridge is a positive and innovative change to the Birchwood Neighborhood.
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