Bellingham Rock

https://mybellinghamnow.com/news/297792-bellinghams-i-5-graffiti-rock-broken-up-will-no-longer-be-relocated/

Bellingham’s I-5 graffiti rock broken up, will no longer be relocated - My Bellingham Now WSDOT is planning to share a limited number of pieces with interested members of the public.

WSDOT: Bellingham Rock broken up, no longer being relocated

The 'Bellingham Rock' will not be relocated, state says The painted rock has served as a community message board along I-5 for more than 50 years.

WSDOT quietly broke Bellingham’s I-5 boulder into pieces; it won’t be relocated

Sad day in Bellingham.

The Rock, as we knew it, is effectively gone.

What was presented as a relocation has become demolition. Instead of being preserved and moved, The Rock has been blasted apart into over 100 pieces, with even these larger fragments expected to be broken down further.

For many, this feels like a devastating bait and switch.

WSDOT, Kiewit Construction, and project partners have reduced a longtime community landmark, a piece of local culture, history, and expression, into rubble.

This update is not meant to diminish the cherished memories, creativity, or decades of community expression tied to The Rock. Generations of people painted it, celebrated it, protested on it, honored loved ones on it, and marked milestones through it. For countless residents, seeing The Rock meant you were home.

While its physical presence has now been destroyed, its meaning does not disappear. The Rock may be gone from the roadside, but it will continue to live on through the memories of those who experienced it, painted it, and loved what it represented to Bellingham.

For those wanting to see its final state, now is the time. The paint is largely gone, and what remains are fractured remnants of something that once stood as a symbol of community identity.

It is official. The Rock, in its original form, is gone.

But for many, it will always remain part of Bellingham’s heart.

It begins... ☹️
The Bellingham Rock, covered and scaffolded, in preparation for remediation & eventual dismemberment. Sad day indeed.

Martin "This was my marriage proposal 40 years ago in 1985. At the time I was commuting to Western everyday from Marysville. The answer was yes and we're still married!" - Beckie Martin and Bill Martin