Magic Lantern Closes Once Again

Fri., Jan. 1, 1999

As silently as a James Bond assassin, the last venue for alternative film in Spokane has closed its doors.

The Magic Lantern Cinema and Pub, the latest manifestation of the downtown movie house located at 123 S. Wall, closed for good Thursday night.

Cary Craig, one of the theater’s owners, said the closure was strictly a business decision. He indicated that the theater was up for sale.

The Magic Lantern originally opened in 1973 as part of a then-burgeoning Spokane art scene. The first feature was a retrospective showing of the 1948 John Huston film “The Treasure of the Sierra Madre.”

Over the years, the theater attracted a small but loyal following, yet it continually struggled financially. Despite screening a virtual encyclopedia of great world cinema, along with the occasional clinker, the Lantern closed a number of times.

However, it always managed to find new ownership.

In September, the current owners began a new marketing scheme: They showed movies while serving a selection of food and drink to patrons age 21 and older. According to Craig, though, needed renovations exhausted the theater/pub’s operating funds.

And so the Magic Lantern is history. Yet again.

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Magic Lantern Closes Once Again

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