National Register of Historic Places
Garland Theater
Spokane, Spokane County, Washington
The record
- Listed
- December 24, 2013
- Type
- Building
- Address
- 924 W. Garland Ave., Spokane
- County
- Spokane
- State
- Washington
- Contributing resources
- 1 building
- Coordinates
- 47.69370, -117.42561
- Reference number
- 13000999
Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.
David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesUSGS Historical Topographic Map Collection
The story
Written by AI from this property's National Register nomination and the record above; every sentence is checked against its sources before it appears here. Corrections: privacy@treealive.com
The Garland Theater is a movie theater at 924 W. Garland Ave. in Spokane, built in 1945 in the Streamline Moderne and Art Deco styles. The Spokane firm of Funk, Molander and Johnson, whose partners were Albert Funk, Edwin William Molander and Carl Herbert Johnson, designed it, and Roy L. Bair built it.
Why it's listed
It was listed in the National Register in 2013 under criteria A and C, with local significance in entertainment, recreation and architecture. Its period of significance runs from 1945, when the theater opened, to 1961, when its contract was forfeited and the property reverted to original owners.
Physical character
The walls are common brick and reinforced concrete faced with terra cotta, topped by a terracotta cornice and parapet with garland-design tiles. Inside, the foyer walls were finished in bubinga wood veneer, and the 980-seat auditorium had continental seating and a balcony set behind, not above, the main floor, under an oval ceiling bowl ringed with indirect lighting.
Historical context
Joseph J. Rosenfield bought the theater in 1961, and Katherine Fritchie purchased it in 1999. It hosted a Spokane Philharmonic pop-concert series in 1948, ran x-rated films in 1977, and reopened in 1988 as Spokane's first discount movie house.