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| area_total_km2 = 22.33
| area_total_sq_mi = 8.62
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| population_as_of = [[2020 United States census|2020]]
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| population_footnotes = <ref name="2020 Census (City)"/>
| population_total = 5884
| population_density_km2 = 388.08
| population_density_sq_mi = 1005.20
| population_metro = 231,919 (US: [[Metropolitan statistical
| population_density_metro_km2 = 42.25
| population_density_metro_sq_mi = 109.4
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| population_demonym = Blaineite
| timezone = [[Pacific Time Zone|Pacific (PST)]]
| utc_offset = -8
| timezone_DST = PDT
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| blank1_info = 2409860 <ref name="GR3">{{cite web|url=http://geonames.usgs.gov|access-date=January 31, 2008|title=US Board on Geographic Names|publisher=[[United States Geological Survey]]|date=October 25, 2007}}</ref>
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'''Blaine''' is a city in [[Whatcom County, Washington|Whatcom County]], [[Washington (state)|Washington]], United States. The city's northern boundary is the [[Canada–United States border|Canada–U.S. border]]; the [[Peace Arch]] international monument straddles the border of both countries. It is the fourth largest incorporated city within the [[Bellingham, Washington|Bellingham Metropolitan Area]].<ref>https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/blainecitywashington,US/PST045223</ref> The population was 5,884 at the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]].<ref name="2020 Census (City)">{{cite web|title=Explore Census Data |url=https://data.census.gov
==History==
The area was first settled in the mid-19th century by pioneers who established the town as a seaport for the west coast logging and fishing industries, and as a jumping off point for prospectors heading to [[British Columbia]]'s gold fields. Blaine was officially incorporated on May 20, 1890, and was named after [[James G. Blaine]] (1830−1893), who was a [[United States Senate|U.S. senator]] from the state of [[Maine]], [[United States Secretary of State|Secretary of State]], and, in [[1884 United States presidential election|1884]], the unsuccessful [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] presidential candidate. The city has a "turn-of-the-century" theme, marked by remodeled buildings and signs resembling designs that existed during the late 19th century and early 20th century.
[[Image:Plover1.jpg|thumb|left|The {{MV|Plover}} once conveyed workers to and from the cannery in the
The world's largest [[salmon]] [[cannery]]<ref>{{Citation |last=Hrutfiord |first=Jan |title=Blaine: forged by fish and timber |newspaper=The Northern Light |location=Blaine, Washington |date=August 2, 2001 |url=http://www.thenorthernlight.com/news/article.exm/2001-08-02_blaine__forged_by_fish_and_timber |access-date=<!-----October 11, 2009-----> |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101231064402/http://thenorthernlight.com/news/article.exm/2001-08-02_blaine__forged_by_fish_and_timber |archive-date=December 31, 2010 }}</ref> was operated by the [[Alaska Packers' Association]] for decades in Blaine; the cannery site has been converted to a waterfront destination resort on [[Semiahmoo Spit]].
The Cains are the most notable family in Blaine's short history, credited with its founding and achievements. At one time owning most of present-day Blaine, the Cain brothers erected the biggest store north of Seattle, a lumber and shingle mill, a hotel (largest in the state at the time), the first public wharf, and donated large public tracts of land.
Nathan Cornish and family moved to Blaine in 1889.
On May 9, 1970, approximately 450 Canadian protestors demonstrating against the [[Cambodian campaign]] of the [[Vietnam War]] crossed the border and conducted a "symbolic invasion" of Blaine.<ref>{{cite news |date=May 11, 1970 |title=Canadians vandalize U.S. city |page=1 |work=[[The Albertan]] |agency=[[Canadian Press]] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/114339360/canadians-vandalize-us-city/ |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |accessdate=December 8, 2022}}</ref> Several buildings' windows were smashed, flags were torn down, and the Peace Arch was vandalized before police officers and vigilantes pushed the protestors back to the Canadian side of the border.<ref>{{cite news |date=May 12, 1970 |title=Canadian mob invades Blaine |page=1 |work=Vancouver Express |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/114339101/canadian-mob-invades-blaine/ |via=Newspapers.com |accessdate=December 8, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Dougherty |first=Phil |date=August 2, 2007 |title=About 450 Canadians invade Blaine on May 9, 1970. |url=https://www.historylink.org/File/8242 |work=[[HistoryLink]] |accessdate=December 8, 2022}}</ref>
==Geography==
According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the city has a total area of {{convert|8.43|sqmi|sqkm|2}}, of which, {{convert|5.63|sqmi|sqkm|2}} is land and {{convert|2.80|sqmi|sqkm|2}} is water.<ref name="Gazetteer files">{{cite web |title=US Gazetteer files 2010 |url=https://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/files/Gaz_places_national.txt |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |access-date=December 19, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120112090031/http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/files/Gaz_places_national.txt |archive-date=January 12, 2012 }}</ref> Blaine's motto is "Where America Begins": the community is also known as "The Gateway to the Pacific Northwest", and the "Peace Arch City". All these phrases are commentaries on Blaine's unique locale.
===Climate===
Blaine lies between the mountains east of [[Vancouver]], the flatlands of [[Skagit County, Washington]], the [[North Cascades]] (including [[Mount Baker]]), and the south end of [[Vancouver Island]]. Blaine has a borderline climate between [[mediterranean climate|mediterranean]] (''Csb'') and [[oceanic climate|maritime]] (''Cfb''), which provides fairly mild weather from the rest of the [[Pacific Northwest]]. With annual precipitation of about {{convert|40|in|sp=us}} and its milder location, Blaine enjoys more sunny days and a milder climate than neighboring communities.{{
▲Blaine lies between the mountains east of [[Vancouver]], the flatlands of [[Skagit County, Washington]], the [[North Cascades]] (including [[Mount Baker]]), and the south end of [[Vancouver Island]]. Blaine has a borderline climate between [[mediterranean climate|mediterranean]] (''Csb'') and [[oceanic climate|maritime]] (''Cfb''), which provides fairly mild weather from the rest of the [[Pacific Northwest]]. With annual precipitation of about {{convert|40|in|sp=us}} and its milder location, Blaine enjoys more sunny days and a milder climate than neighboring communities.{{cn|date=August 2022}}
{{Clear}}
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Blaine is home to two main West Coast [[port of entry|ports of entry]] between the United States and Canada. The [[Peace Arch Border Crossing]], which is the northern terminus of [[Interstate 5|I-5]] and southern terminus of [[British Columbia Highway 99|B.C. provincial Highway 99]], serves as the primary passenger vehicle port of entry. The [[Pacific Highway Border Crossing]], approximately one mile to the east, serves as the primary point of entry for heavy truck traffic, and thus is also known as the Truck Crossing. The latter is reached via [[Washington State Route 543]] which departs I-5 on the south side of Blaine and connects at the border to B.C.'s Highway 15 (Surrey's [[British Columbia Highway 15|176th Street]]) and then to the [[Trans-Canada Highway]].
Construction of a new Land Port of Entry (LPOE) was completed by the U.S. [[General Services Administration]] in 2011.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gsa.gov/Portal/gsa/ep/contentView.do?contentType%3DGSA_BASIC%26contentId%3D23738%26noc%3DT |title=Peace Arch Project News |access-date=July 6, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100616091247/http://www.gsa.gov/Portal/gsa/ep/contentView.do?contentType=GSA_BASIC&contentId=23738&noc=T |archive-date=June 16, 2010 }} Peace Arch Project News GSA page retrieved July 5, 2010</ref> A large public art installation entitled "Non-Sign II" was erected near the crossing booths. The art piece is a "blank space" in the shape of a [[billboard]] sign, surrounded by a mass of twisted metal rods.<ref>[https://www.wired.com/underwire/2010/10/ghost-billboard/# Ghost Billboard Erected on US-Canada Border]. [[Wired.com]], October 22, 2010.</ref> On the Canadian side, a new Port of Entry building was constructed by the [[Canada Border Services Agency]].
International border intrigue has always been a part of Blaine's ambiance. Smuggling became an underground industry in 1919 with the passage of the [[Volstead Act]] banning liquor sale and use in the United States. [[Rum-running]] and border jumping thrived along Blaine's shared coastline with [[British Columbia]], due in part to the area's largest whiskey still<ref>{{Citation |last=Lambert |first =Barbara Ann|title=Rusty Nails and Ration Books: Memories of the Great Depression and WWII 1929–1945 |publisher=Trafford Publishing |year=2002| isbn=1-55369-853-3}}</ref> being located on [[Texada Island]], which is located in the northern [[Strait of Georgia]] offshore from the city of [[Powell River, British Columbia]]. This continued until Prohibition was repealed in 1933 (coincidentally, the US Congressional law which re-legalized alcohol is named the [[Blaine Act]]). In subsequent decades, the situation was reversed due to restrictive drinking and entertainment laws in British Columbia, notably a ban on Sunday drinking, which led to Blaine and its sister border towns of [[Point Roberts]] and [[Sumas, Washington|Sumas]] booming with taverns and adult entertainment of various kinds. Those days are long gone and now Blaine's retail sector consists of goods such as gasoline, dairy products and clothing outlets, as these goods are cheaper in the U.S.
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The International Peace Arch, dedicated September 6, 1921, by [[Samuel Hill]], is located within [[Peace Arch State Park]] in Blaine and is occasionally used as a focal point for peaceful demonstrations and debate, such as the annual setting of crosses for each American killed so far in the Iraq War. But most of the people who visit or pass by the park each year remember it for its beauty and peaceful shoreline setting (although the beach is not officially accessible from the park).
The [[Interstate 5 in Washington|Interstate 5]] freeway extends from the U.S./Mexico border at San Diego, northward to Canada, and terminates in Blaine at the city's [[British Columbia|northern border]]. The country's only pedestrian crosswalk to cross an Interstate freeway exists in Peace Arch State Park, the Washington portion of the binational [[Peace Arch Park]]. The Canadian side of the park, designated as Peace Arch Provincial Park, is in [[Douglas, British Columbia|Douglas]], the Canadian port-of-entry and part of the city of [[Surrey, British Columbia]]. The [[Peace Arch|Peace Arch monument]], located in the park, symbolizes lasting peace and amity between the U.S. and Canada.
In 2006, a local group called the Blaine Peace Alliance unsuccessfully solicited City Council support to formalize a sister-city relationship with [[Pugwash, Nova Scotia]], where promotion of world peace had been an ongoing effort for 50 years. Because Pugwash affiliated itself with the [[Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs]], the Council ruled such a connection would be "political". Shortly thereafter, the Alliance disbanded.
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The [[Port of Bellingham]] operates a large [[marina]] in Blaine, serving a variety of pleasure craft and fishing vessels.
As Vancouver, British Columbia is just north of Blaine, across the US-Canada border and where several prime-time television series are recorded, several dozen US actors/actresses have rented houses in Blaine and commute to Vancouver rather than rent houses and apartments in Vancouver, which is much more expensive. Included series are: ''Once Upon A Time'', ''Beauty and the Beast'', ''Supernatural'' and ''Nikita''.
The United States Consulate in Vancouver has a Blaine address for mail from the U.S
Blaine had a small airport, which was popular with light [[aircraft]] owners for its low fuel prices and because it had less fog than other nearby airports. The runway measured {{convert|2539
==Demographics==
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|2010= 4684
|2020= 5884
|estyear=
|estimate=
|estref=<ref name="
|align-fn=center
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|author=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=July 31, 2013}}</ref><br>2020 Census<ref name="2020 Census (City)"/>
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The city's population has been exaggerated at times: "Population now 1,735 as against peak of 14,000 in the 1920s", declared the December 27, 1964 issue of the ''[[Seattle Post-Intelligencer]]''.
===2020 census===
As of the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]], there were 5,884 people, 2,459 households in the city.
===2010 census===
As of the [[
There were 1,994 households, of which 27.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.5% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 11.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.2% had a male householder with no wife present, and 35.3% were non-families. 30.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.85.
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===2000 census===
As of the [[
There were 1,496 households, out of which 32.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.9% were married couples living together, 12.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 4% had a male householder with no wife present, and 30.7% were non-families. 25.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 2.96.
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==Transportation==
Blaine is at the north end of [[Interstate 5]] (I-5), the main north–south freeway in the [[West Coast of the United States|West Coast states]]. The freeway terminates at the [[Peace Arch Border Crossing]] and has a spur route, [[Washington State Route 543|State Route 543]], that serves the [[Pacific Highway Border Crossing]] to the east; commercial vehicles such as trucks and buses are required to use the eastern crossing.<ref>{{cite web |date=March 27, 2018 |title=Corridor Sketch Summary – I-5 & SR 543: I-5/SR 543 Jct (Blaine) to Canadian Border |url=https://wsdot.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2021-10/CSS289-i5SR543-i5SR543JctBlaine-CanadianBorder.pdf |publisher=[[Washington State Department of Transportation]] |accessdate=August 31, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Jackson |first=Kristin |date=September 5, 2007 |title=How to beat the U.S.-Canadian border backups |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/life/travel/how-to-beat-the-us-canadian-border-backups/ |work=The Seattle Times |accessdate=August 31, 2023}}</ref> Another state highway, [[Washington State Route 548|State Route 548]], travels south from Blaine to Birch Bay and the [[Cherry Point Refinery]].<ref>{{cite web |date=October 28, 2019 |title=Corridor Sketch Summary – SR 548: Grandview/Blaine Rd Jct to I-5 Jct (Blaine) |url=https://wsdot.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2021-10/CSS290-SR548-GrandviewBlaineRdJct-i5JctBlaine.pdf |publisher=Washington State Department of Transportation |accessdate=August 31, 2023}}</ref> The city is also served by [[Whatcom Transportation Authority]] buses that connect it to Ferndale and [[Bellingham, Washington|Bellingham]].<ref name="Herald-Ferry">{{cite news |last=Gallagher |first=Dave |date=August 21, 2020 |title=Here's when Point Roberts residents can ride a Port ferry to Blaine Harbor |url=https://www.bellinghamherald.com/news/coronavirus/article245118260.html |work=The Bellingham Herald |accessdate=August 31, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Route 75 – to Blaine/Birch Bay |url=https://schedules.ridewta.com/#route-details?routeNum=75 |publisher=[[Whatcom Transportation Authority]] |accessdate=August 31, 2023}}</ref>
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| West = [[Point Roberts, Washington|Point Roberts]], ''[[Boundary Bay]]''
| Northwest = [[Delta, British Columbia|Delta]], [[Surrey, British Columbia|Surrey]], [[White Rock, British Columbia|White Rock (British Columbia, Canada)]], ''[[Boundary Bay]]'', ''[[Semiahmoo Bay]]''
| image =
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{{Whatcom County, Washington}}
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