I Went to the Movies & It Reset My Perspective

Being a Millennial is not a personality trait – but how we consumed media, music and films is not ever going away!

Our local discount theatre is that of legend.

Many sent flowers on the day it opened, and a few Hollywood actors sent telegrams-- Bing Crosby (a Spokane native), Carey Grant, Bob Hope, and Ginger Rogers -- as well as a few others who wished the theatre well upon its opening. – via savethegarland.com

Growing up, we would go to the Garland Theatre to cool off from the summer heat.

During summer weekday mornings, they offered a free morning show. My favorite was the Sandlot.

A buttery bucket of huge popcorn for everyone to dig into, a Diet Coke as big as your head (my mom and I would share), and you were allowed to be immersed in the land of movies.

Back then, a movie at the Garland was only $1, and later $3.50.

Today, a ticket will run you $5 -- Not bad.

A bucket of popcorn went for around $3.50, and a large drink was probably closer to $2.50.

The street and theatre are named after Judy Garland (fun fact).

The Garland sold last year for just under 2 million big ones.

The new owners are doing a wonderful job.

This past weekend, I went to see Waterworld for the first time (and my last, lol – I had to decompress after that film).

Splice and Waterworld are weird film cousins. They have to be.

I still had such a blast, regardless of how weird that film was.

Walking into the re-vamped theater is a treat.

It’s not overly done, but it is updated to be exactly what the Garland Theatre should be.

Vintage, honest, truthful, artistic, and a real crowd-pleaser.

You can still donate to the GoFundMe. They have a goal of $300,000 and have just over $49,000 reached.

Movie lovers get to step through time and space, see Hollywood costumes, buy posters, get concessions, make a b-line to Bon Bon for a cocktail —

If you are lucky — you get to visit Oz every time you go to the restroom.

It has been neatly redone, and I couldn’t love it more.

As millennials do, the new owners have opened an adjoining arcade where the box office used to be.

I didn’t get a chance to check it out, but I thoroughly enjoyed the neon signage.

As you sit in the seats, drink of choice in hand, you can escape into a new realm of make-believe.

I honestly had such a blast – Watching a 35 mm film is a treat in today's world.

Moviegoers got a sweet introduction to the film life as a projectionist as well.

Did you know that being a projectionist used to be a dangerous job?

They had a union (we were told).

A film reel could run its length all the way from the Garland theatre to Riverfront Park's Looff Carrousel.

Crazy!

Even when I worked in a movie theatre in college, the managers would have to sit and watch films run all the way through before they played for an audience.

That was before digital.

I found the introduction of history before the film started to be a nice touch.

It takes a lot of work to make a movie-watching experience run smoothly.

I turned my head around to see a woman in her eighties sitting with her grand-daughter, full of joy and smiling as she waited for the film to start, sitting in the low lighting with the theatre's original fixtures lined on the wall -- it must have felt a million times as special for her as it did the rest of us.

Afterward, you quickly shift from the dark theatre to lowly lit fixtures, and small and delicate details encapsulate your eyes for a second.

You look around and find that you are back to reality, and you can check in with your crew to see if they had any thoughts on the film, as well as sharing your own.

Afterward, we went to Bon Bon for a nightcap.

Vintage drinks and fire breathing performers entertained us in the front of the parking lot as we ordered drinks and others exited the movie theatre.

Garland Street is a small Spokane street with lots of personality and history.

It’s always a good time at the Garland!

xx,

Nikita