Magic Lantern to make show business return

A building renovation in downtown Spokane may bring back a beloved name in art-house cinema.

The Magic Lantern, which operated from 1973 to 1999, is scheduled to reopen next summer in the historic Saranac Hotel building at 25 W. Main Ave.

The movie theater will have two screens and will operate as a nonprofit to bring Spokane moviegoers independent films, foreign features and documentaries that otherwise might not be shown locally.

“I never gave up on it,” said Kathryn Graham, who ran the Magic Lantern on Wall Street from 1989 to 1997 and has been trying to reopen it for years in a new location. “When I saw that space, I wanted to say, ‘Show me the papers. I want to sign right now.’ ”

The movie theater will be part of an ambitious renovation project that would create one of the most environmentally friendly buildings in the region. The project will include huge solar panels for electricity, a geothermal heat source and lights that turn off automatically when people leave a room.

Ground will be broken at 10 a.m. July 18 for the renovation project in the four-story, 32,000-square-foot building. Plans call for apartments or condominiums on the top floor, commercial and office space on the second and third floors and a restaurant and the movie theaters on the ground floor.

The building is owned by former public defender Jim Sheehan, who also owns the Community Building next door.

The Magic Lantern is expected to operate Thursday nights through Sunday afternoons, with 120 seats in one theater and 47 in the other.

In keeping with the building’s mission, Graham said she would like to use washable cups and bowls made from recycled plastic for beverages and popcorn. She also is thinking of offering memberships in the theater to help keep prices lower, she said.

“I feel like we’re making history here,” she said of the building project.

The Saranac project is seeking LEED certification, which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. The U.S. Green Building Council’s stamp of approval is awarded only to buildings that meet the highest degrees of environmental sustainability.

“One of the goals of this project has been to be exemplary for the community,” said Randy Wilkinson, the mechanical engineer designing the geothermal heating and cooling system for the building.

A pipe system will be installed into holes drilled 400 feet into the ground, Wilkinson said. Heat from the ground will transfer to water flowing through the pipe circuit. Heating and cooling will be controlled by heat pumps connected to the system.

The building also will feature 96 solar panels that will arc over the top of the building and provide 5 percent to 10 percent of the electricity, said Kurt Niven, the project’s electrical engineer. Lighting sensors in the building will be daylight-sensitive, with electric lights dimming as natural light streams through windows.

Building manager Dave Sanders said in a news release that he is trying to fill the building with businesses and organizations that promote environmentally friendly practices. The tenant for the first-floor restaurant, he said, has yet to be determined, but he is looking for one who promotes sustainable agriculture and local food production.

In addition, a rooftop garden and park are planned to serve as a small amphitheater and event space, the release said.