When the Bell point out opened at ...

When the Bell point out opened at III E. Holly in July 1908 it was Bellingham's first theater dedicated exclusively to the showing of motion pictures.

Located in what had been Edward Gott's pharmacy, the Bell was what came to be known as a "store show" or storefront theater. The five-cent "nickelodeon" ticket usually got you a triple-feature of one-reel movies, each roughly eleven minutes extended

Originally financed from two California investors, the Bell was purchased in 1910 according to Wilfred Quimby, who equipped it with a sloping floor.

In 1913 Quimby had a $3000 Kimball pipe