The next time you stand in the covered entrance area underneath the lighted marquee of Bellingham’s historic Mount Baker Theatre, don’t look in through the three sets of double doors. Look up at the four original light fixtures.
Hanging from the ceiling behind and above the ornate sidewalk ticket booth, the boxy multicolored lights are topped with a horizontal circle. A metallic circle. A … circular toy?
Yes, theater staff confirm: Slinkys. The stair-stepping spring toy that was invented more than 80 years ago.
“Back in the ’50s, we were having trouble with birds that were nesting up in our beautiful lights,” said volunteer Maureen Scott, who leads MBT tours. “We had people that had to clean up the mess every day. One of our custodians got tired of it. So he went up to the local toy store and bought four Slinkys, brought them back and put them at the top in a circle and locked them in.”
That, she said, kept the birds from nesting. And messing.
Scott said that as far as anyone at MBT knows, the original Slinkys have never been replaced. They also have consistently worked well in their theatrical role of what Facilities and Operations Director Jim Zoehrer called a “bird prevention device.”
Scott said visitors are surprised when they are told about the metal Slinkys, which are still sold today. “But then,” she said, “they all laugh.”
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Frank Catalano writes about business and related topics for CDN; reach him at frankcatalano@cascadiadaily.com.
