Bellingham enjoyed an ideal location on the well-worn Pacific Coast vaudeville circuit in the early 1900s. With a population of 35,000 and a well-deserved reputation as a ?theater town? (14 theaters were listed in the 1914 City Directory), Bellingham was targeted by West Coast Theatres as an ideal site for an addition to their growing network of movie palaces.. Controlled by William Fox of 20th Century Fox Studios, West Coast Theatres brought out the majestic qualities in movie palace design while also insisting on magnificently structured buildings. Mount Baker Theatre was one result of this vision, and incorporated the most modern reinforced concrete building techniques with architect R.C. Reamer?s imaginative Moorish-Spanish motif and elaborate interior. Mount Baker Theatre was completed after only one year, the grand opening filling the house for the first time on the evening of April 29, 1927.