The letter to create the neighborhood is one of diversity. It includes many single-family homes, multifamily units, small apartment buildings, offices in older homes and some newer buildings. It is one of Bellingham's older neighborhoods, with many of the homes dating back to the late 1890s and early 1900s. Some of those early buildings are on the National Historic Register. The early days of the neighborhood for people living here who worked in a sawmill at the mouth of Whatcom Creek. Maritime Heritage Park is on that site now, a popular park used for concerts, and a salmon hatchery and educational facility.

The Community Development Block Grant Program put in the streets, sidewalks, water and sewer's, street trees, and even helped retrofit many homes in the area. After GP closed down there was another resurgence of remodeling in the neighborhood.

Whatcom Middle School which is presently being retrofitted to modern-day earthquake standards and the adjacent Battersby Field complex are in the middle of the neighborhood. The lettered street neighborhood has several businesses along Holly, Dupont and Girard streets as well as the Bellingham Theatre Guild Playhouse. It also offers easy access to downtown and Squalicum Harbor.