ABOUT SAVE THE GARLAND

Help us save the Garland Theater! This gem of Spokane is on the edge of closing within months and not years and after this theater is gone, it may be gone for good!

When the Garland Theatre opened in November of 1945, it was the premier movie house in the west. According to the Spokane Sentinel newspaper, “there is nothing like it on the Pacific coast, even in Los Angeles, it is 20 years ahead of Spokane.” One of the main attractions for youngsters at the opening was the snack bar, said to be “an innovation in the field and an import directly from Hollywood.”

Showing on opening night was a double feature: “It’s a Pleasure” (starring Sonja Henie) and “Double Exposure”. The luxurious lobby was filled with baskets of flowers from studio well-wishers along with congratulatory telegrams from Bing Crosby, Cary Grant, Dorothy Lamour, Bob Hope, Ginger Rogers and Eddie Cantor. The lobby floors were covered in rose-colored carpet, brown oak walls and a purple and lavender ceiling set above center columns of dark purple tile.

An innovation in marketing at the time was to have a record and gift shop at the theatre, and the Garland was no exception: as the music faded from the screen, a slide was shown informing patrons that they could purchase the music they just heard right there at the theatre.

The theater existed for many years by playing second-run movies. There was a time when movies would come out in theaters and there was a window of time before they would hit video or streaming. Since the pandemic now that window is gone.