According to facts provided by the Whatcom Museum, Beck's Theatre was built by Jacob Beck, a German immigrant and Whatcom area developer. The theater was designed in Louis XIV style and built of Chuckanut sandstone at a cost of $150,000. Total seating capacity was 2,200.
 
Opening night was December 13, 1902 and the comic opera "Foxy Quiller" was presented.
 

American Theatre Robert Morton organ, c.1920. Chester Walton on left. Identity of individual on right is unknown. Photo courtesy Jeff Fox.
 

Same photo, wider view of stage. Photo courtesy Jeff Fox.
 

Frank P. Hayes at the console, date unknown. Photo courtesy Jeff Fox.
 

c.1902-1906
 

Beck's auditorium in January 1903, just five weeks after opening. Note first and second balconies. The town was still called Whatcom at that time, would not be Bellingham until the consolidation of towns in 1904. Photo courtesy Jeff Fox.
 
 
The theatre operated as Beck's from 1902-1912, the Metropolitan 1912-1915, and then American from 1915 until it was demolished in the Spring of 1959.
 

c.1906
 

Beck's Theatre program, c.1908. Courtesy Jeff Fox
 

Theatre program, Dec. 18, 1910

June 14, 1911

 

Postcard ad for Beck's Theatre, 1911
 
Jacob Beck died in 1914, and in 1915-1916, the upper balcony was removed. The theatre was renamed American at this time.
 

Removal of the second balcony in progress, c.1916. Scaffolding from the stage to the upper balcony was used to bring down the seats and take up materials. Photo courtesy Jeff Fox & Whatcom Museum.
 

Removal of second balcony completed, c.1916. Photo courtesy Jeff Fox & Whatcom Museum.
 

Note footlights in 1916 remodel photo

Footlight bulb, as found c.1962

 
The red light bulb shown above was purchased by Jeff Fox for $1.00 at the Lighthouse Mission second hand store in Bellingham in 1962. According to Jeff, when he went to purchase the bulb, the older lady working there mentioned that she was the one who had donated it to sell in the store. She told Jeff that her brother was a janitor at the American Theatre many years ago and he had brought this bulb home. The bulb measures 6 inches from tip to tip and it still works!
 

Chester Walton at the Morton accompanying a play, title unknown. Photo courtesy Jeff Fox
 
In the photo above, note the inset on the proscenium arch. According to Jeff Fox, this was added in 1916 when the theatre became a photo-play house and the name changed to American. Its purpose was to frame the screen but it narrowed the opening for live shows. The clocks were most likely added at this time as well. The grand piano is a Baldwin.
 

Beck's Theatre program for the week of May 4, 1919. Courtesy Jeff Fox. According to Jeff, "Chester E. Walton was organist and Charles Bowen was assistant organist at this time. Bowen had a piano studio in the Fine Arts Bldg. on East Holly Street in Bellingham."
 

American Theatre, c.1921. Photo by J. W. Sandison, courtesy Whatcom Museum
 

The Eternal Flame, 1922

Theatre lobby, date unknown

 

The Storm, 1922

The Traveling Salesman, 1921

 
Photos by J. W. Sandison, courtesy Whatcom Museum.
 

The Robert-Morton organ was removed to storage. Some ranks such as the Muted Horn were taken but the great majority of the instrument went to the Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Sedro Woolley where it remained until about 1976. The following ad appeared in the Bellingham Herald, November 1974.
 

Bellingham Herald, November 5, 1974. Courtesy Jeff Fox
 
The instrument was purchased by Bill Carson and split up for parts. The 5HP blower is now owned by Russ & Jo Ann Evans of Kenmore, Washington.
 
The American Theatre building was sold by the Beck family for a price barely more than the original cost. The building was demolished in the Spring of 1959 to make way for the new J.C. Penney and Woolworth stores.
 

A glimpse of the American Theatre on right, c.1950s
 

American Theatre after closing, c.1958. Photo by Galen Biery, courtesy Jeff Fox
 

Demolition in progress, Spring 1959. Photo by Galen Biery, taken from inside the adjacent Bellingham National Bank building after the hotel and theatre lobby had already been removed. Courtesy Jeff Fox.
 
According to Jeff Fox, the opening to the right of the stage is one of the former box seats, walled off when the theatre converted to a photo-play house in 1916. The chambers for the Robert Morton organ were in back of the grille located very high in the theatre above the former box seat.
 

Photo by Galen Biery, taken from Horn's Dept. Store. The hotel and the theatre's lobby are gone and the site cleared to make way for the auditorium's demolition. Note the different wallpaper designs on the wall. These are from the rooms of the American Hotel. Courtesy Jeff Fox.

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