Bellingham in Whatcom County, Washington — The American West (Northwest)

Performance Theater in Bellingham

Photographed by Andrew Ruppenstein, July 21, 2021

1. Performance Theater in Bellingham Marker

Inscription. Performance theater has had an extensive history within the original towns around Bellingham Bay. The first theater, the Purdy Opera House was built in 1888 in the town of Whatcom. Additional entertainment houses now gone included the Casino, Lighthouse Theatre, Thistle Opera House, Bellingham Opera House, Beck's Theatre/American Theatre, Le Petit/Grand, Pantages/Panama, Sullivan & Considine, and the Edison/Liberty/Eqyptian Theatre. Our local Bellingham Theatre Guild has been active since the late 1920s and there have been productions at Western Washington University since its inception in 1899.

Vaudeville shows and plays were performed from the late 1880s into the mid-1930s on all the local stages. A variety of well-known productions and famous performers including Al Jolson and Frances Gumm (Judy Garland) were booked here. Shortly after the development of the first motion picture by Thomas Edison in 1893, opera houses and theaters were transformed to accommodate movie projectors and showed a combination of vaudeville, plays, and movies.

The popularity of motion pictures and radio combined with a variety of social and economic factors, led to the rapid decline and virtual collapse of vaudeville during the early 1930s. Local performance theaters were torn down to make way for more modern structures, parking garages, or drive thru

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facilities. The only surviving performance theater in downtown today is the Mt. Baker Theatre, built in 1927.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Arts, Letters, Music • Entertainment. A significant historical year for this entry is 1888.

Location. 48° 45.108′ N, 122° 28.806′ W. Marker is in Bellingham, Washington, in Whatcom County. It is at the intersection of West Champion Street and Bay Street, on the right when traveling east on West Champion Street. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Bellingham WA 98225, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Washington’s Puget Sound Region.

It is also on the American Pacific Coast,

in the Pacific Northwest,

and in the Lewis & Clark Corridor.

Globally, it is in North America,

in the Cascade Range,

in the Inside Passage,

on the Ring of Fire,

in the Pacific Rim,

in the Western Hemisphere,

in the Western World,

and in the Anglosphere.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 3 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Downtown was the hub of commercial activity (here, next to this marker); Bellingham grew up along its streetcar lines (about 700 feet away, measured in a direct line); Bellingham bloomed during its Tulip Festival in the 1920s (about 700 feet away); Metasequoia glyptostroboides (Dawn Redwood)

Performance Theater in Bellingham Marker - wide view image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Andrew Ruppenstein, July 21, 2021

2. Performance Theater in Bellingham Marker - wide view

(approx. 0.2 miles away); Bellingham Public Market Had Everything Under One Roof! (approx. 0.2 miles away); The Great Water Fight (approx. 0.2 miles away); Washington State's Oldest Brick Building (approx. 0.4 miles away); The Legacy of Byron Elmendorf (approx. 2.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Bellingham.

Other markers no longer nearby. 1857 Pickett Bridge (was approx. ¼ mile away but has been permanently removed); Pickett Bridge (was approx. ¼ mile away but has been permanently removed).

More about this marker. The other side of the panel for this marker is the "Downtown was the hub of commercial activity" marker.

Marker inset: <i>Charlie Chaplin contest at the Liberty Theater, 1921</i> image. Click for full size.

courtesy of J. Wilbur Sandison Collection, Whatcom Museum of History and Art, 1921

3. Marker inset: Charlie Chaplin contest at the Liberty Theater, 1921

Marker inset: <i> Looking down Commercial Street at the Mt. Baker Theatre, circa 1927.</i> image. Click for full size.

courtesy of the J. Wilbur Sandison Collection, Whatcom Museum of History and Art, circa 1927

4. Marker inset: Looking down Commercial Street at the Mt. Baker Theatre, circa 1927.

Credits. This page was last revised on July 23, 2021. It was originally submitted on July 23, 2021, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California. This page has been viewed 534 times since then and 40 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on July 23, 2021, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California.