Amendment 21: The Making of a Bellingham Bar
Stepping into the Hotel Leo is more than just entering the lobby of downtown Bellingham's newest hotel. It's also a little bit like time travel. Few places in the city are more recognizable or more inextricably linked to Bellingham's history than the building that rises several stories above Cornwall Avenue.
When the recent renovation of the original nine-story tower and adjacent wing was mapped out, with the former becoming apartments and the latter transformed into the Hotel Leo, a Bellingham bar was always part of the plan—after all, the original Leopold Hotel served the first legal post-Prohibition cocktail in town, so we have a tradition to uphold. Weary travelers need a place to unwind and have a cocktail and a bite after checking in, and for those who live here year round, an additional cocktail bar in Bellingham is always a welcome addition to the local landscape.
Bellingham Nightlife: Past Meets Present
Given our stewardship of one of Bellingham's most iconic downtown locales, when we designed Amendment 21, the idea was to create a gathering place that celebrates our rich local history while being an elegant and inviting space for folks to get together for Bellingham happy hour or date night out on the town. The atmosphere is warm and welcoming, with decor that hearkens back to the building's 1929 origins—indeed, thanks to the rich photo archive at the Whatcom Museum, our walls are covered with photos depicting earlier eras of life in Bellingham and the many characters and personalities that make this town what it is today. You could spend your entire visit to Amendment 21, drink in hand, wandering the perimeter of the room and taking in the visual history of the town. We can think of no more enjoyable way to learn about Bellingham's—and the Hotel Leo's—colorful past.
Bellingham Cocktails With a Twist
Speaking of drinks, we named our Bellingham bar Amendment 21 for a reason. Like many cities of its time, Bellingham didn't exactly spend the Prohibition era as a dry town. Given our proximity to Canada and the scrappiness of our local population, bootlegging was alive and well here. As we're all well aware, the Prohibition experiment was a national failure and in 1933—shortly after the current iteration of the Leopold was built—it was repealed by the 21st Amendment. Considering the Leopold was the place where the first cocktails in Bellingham were served after Prohibition, it seemed a fitting tribute to name our Bellingham cocktail bar Amendment 21.
The name also inspired our cocktail menu and on it you'll find a host of house-made tonic styles to go with the 20-plus varieties of gin we have on hand. Never had homemade tonic? Neither had we until decided to open a Prohibition-era Bellingham bar, and we can vouch that it is complex, refreshing and as removed from anything you'll find at the grocery store as Prohibition was from Bellingham's gin-soaked history. Our tonics range from the Model A, which is the piney taste of the Pacific Northwest distilled into a glass, to the bright and fruity Model B, to the smoky and peaty Model D.
However, if gin and tonics aren't your brand of libation, our friendly and knowledgable bartenders are happy to mix a drink from our menu of Bellingham cocktails made with great care from local ingredients. In the name of historical accuracy, we suggest the Atomic Highball, which just happens to be that first post-Prohibition drink, a concoction made from dry gin, falernum, curacao, absinthe, lime, passionfruit and soda. But if you opt for a traditional Moscow mule or a mai tai (the drink so popular it depleted the world's supply of rum in the '40s and '50s), we certainly won't mind one bit. Of course, it wouldn't be a Bellingham bar without local beer and cider on the menu and all of ours comes from breweries and cideries within two miles of our downtown location.
It's not a Bellingham happy hour or date night without delicious food to accompany your expertly crafted cocktails, and Amendment 21 has you covered there as well. Whether you're craving snacks or want to make a meal of it, you can choose from sliders made with Alaska salmon, Waygu beef or oysters courtesy of Taylor Shellfish. Our array of crostini features ingredients such as Lummi Island Wild albacore tuna, Samish Bay vache cheese, Lummi Island Wild salmon roe and other ingredients sourced with care. Our vibe is relaxed and our space is comfortable, but our commitment to local ingredients and purveyors is as serious as it gets.
Back when the Leopold was pouring that first Atomic Highball after Prohibition ended, it occupied a place among the best bars in Bellingham. We like to think that Amendment 21 builds a bridge from the past to the present of Bellingham nightlife to occupy a place all its own.