Opening Delayed For 6-Screen Theater

Post Falls folk will be having a merry little cinemaless Christmas.

Plans to open a six-screen theater just hours after Rudolph’s dust settles were delayed for several reasons, said Larry Blair, co-owner of the Post Falls Cinemas.

There have been problems getting water to the Seltice Way theater. There was the need to make sure the women’s bathroom meets the required rules for capacity.

There were questions about where the counter goes in the bathroom - to the right or to the left of the sinks. The harsh winter weather also has delayed construction. And the furnace worker disappeared halfway through the project.

Now one inspector wants a letter from the projector manufacturer certifying it’s safe. “It’s the same equipment I have in Sandpoint,” said Blair, who also is co-owner of Spokane’s Magic Lantern Cinemas.

“The code book for theaters probably exceeds any code book in the world,” he added. But “you have to go through this agony of defeat.”

Electrical inspectors couldn’t be reached for comment. Post Falls Building Inspector Larry Dallman said there were questions about the fire rating of the ceiling proposed for the theater, but that it should be easily rectified.

Victory should be achieved sometime next week, Blair said. In the meantime, he has scored better seats for the theater, which is not that easy.

“There are so many new theaters going up that it’s hard to get the equipment you need for nine to 10 months,” he said. In fact, some of the Post Falls Cinema’s equipment is coming from a five-plex in Texas.

Blair is as disappointed in the Christmas Day delay as potential moviegoers.

“Around Christmastime they release the bigger movies,” Blair said. And “Christmastime is one of the best times for movie attendance.”

, DataTimes