Who built the Peace Arch at the border north of Bellingham?
The builder was none other than Washington’s famous Sam Hill, businessman, road builder and philanthropist. The Arch was built between 1914 and 1921 and was one of the first structures built with earthquake resistance in mind. The name Peace Arch denotes the friendly relations between Canada and the U.S.
If you’ve driven I-5 north, heading for Vancouver, Canada, you’ve gone through the checkpoint at this famous place. It sits in a lovely park; did you ever get out and walk around in that park?
(From Washington Curiosities, by Harriet Baskas, 2008.)
i danced in Peace Arch Park with Nordahl Tur Danser. We were guest performers out of Kelso, WA with 3 other couples.
How many are aware that the Peach Arch holds “caskets” with remains from the Mayflower and The Beaver? They are up high and this info is on signage at a park off to one side of the arch as well as noted when looking up. Not sure if those caskets are on the inside or the outside of the arch.
Our exchange student Peter Agh and I walked under the peace arch. He wanted to know when we were entering Canada. I told him we were already in Canada. He was so surprised as he was here in 1994 and his country, Slovakia, had only come from under communist Russia in 1989, just 6 years before. He couldn’t believe we could walk into another country. He also could not believe that we could walk on the grass.