Through all of this, we've found not only do the people we talked to in the community want to save the building.

It's really about saving that theater experience.

The movie theater experience.

How the Garland Theater was saved came down to three unlikely heroes and a local real estate developer.

In 2023 the Garland's previous owner was looking for a buyer and was actually negotiating with Chris, Jasmine and Tyler to take over the business, but never reached a deal and instead decided to close the theater.

Chris just couldn't let that happen.

I just felt compelled because I, you know, we had just lost White Elephant here in town.

And I was thinking, oh man, now we're going to lose the Garland Theater.

And and I knew that the theater was special to a lot of different people in Spokane.

I didn't know how special.

We all of a sudden see this thing that the theater's going to close.

So everybody freaks out and they're like, oh, no, somebody's going to save the theater.

So we're like, cool.

And then so that's not happening anymore.

Wait, it actually is happening.

Chris decided to make an appeal to Spokane to save the Garland with a GoFundMe campaign.

It quickly raised $50,000.

I need your help.

Spokane.

so what do you think?

Are you in?

I could use a hand.

Yeah, he pulled me in with Those beautiful blue eyes on that that video.

I just felt it was very genuine and from the heart and I thought about for a few days, and I was like, maybe I can help, you know, maybe I can.

I don't know what I can do, but something I have this huge passion for movies, I love films.

Let's just see if we can help use whatever reputations we've built from our other businesses.

Tyler Arnold's business, Jedi Alliance Arcade and Church of Pop Culture is in Spokane Valley.

And this building, this theater, it has a way of sucking you in.

It has a way of making you care about it.

More than going to a theater at the mall.

Chris Bovey owns the business Vintage Print and Neon.

Well, my place is two doors down, right next door.

I moved here intentionally and set up my first brick and mortar store.

Because of this place, because of the theater.

And then when my landlord comes to me and says, hey, we're closing down, I could in my head I could see this ripple effect that would affect the entire district, because this is the anchor, this is the heart and soul of this neighborhood.

And so we worked really hard.

And then at the very end, she came to us and she said, hey, I'm going to sell it.

And, and we're both looking at each other like, oh, there, there goes the things done, we're dead.

And she said, I'm selling it to this guy named Jordan Tampion.

I thought about that name for a while, and then I was like, I have a buddy named Josiah Tampion.

I wonder if they're related.

And so I asked him and he's like, yeah, that's my brother.

And I reached out to him and he said, yeah, I'm buying the theater, but I have no plans to run it.

I'll never forget.

He's like, do you guys still want to run it?

Do you still want in?

Chris, Jasmine and Tyler couldn't hardly believe that their dream came back to life.

This thing was so dead we had already had the funeral.

All of a sudden there's this fourth piece and then it was real.

I don't know, it was just like in one minute it went from.

Yeah.

Well, I'm moving on with my life, too.

We're going to be the owners of the theater, right?

Turns out Chris's first job was at the Garland Theater when he was 18.

One of my favorite jobs that I've ever had.

It was an honor, and I just, cherished it.

And a special place in my heart.

Jasmine first came to the theater as a customer at 19, then at 21, decided to work there during a summer for college and never left.

I just love this place.

It's, you know, like we were talking about it being a community entity.

You get to go to work and you get to see people coming and enjoying themselves.

It's a job where everybody walks in with a smile and leaves with a smile.

You get to be part of people's really special moments, like you get to see first dates happen.

You get to see kids come to their first movies.

Tyler started coming to the Garland in 1988 at age ten.

I saw a lot of movies here over the years that became a part of my routine.

The Garland Theater originally opened on Thanksgiving Day, 1945 as a premier movie house on the West Coast.

One of the main attractions for youngsters at the opening was the snack bar, said to be an innovation in the field and an import directly from Hollywood.

The theater has had several owners through the years and even closed briefly during the 60s and again in the mid 80s.

It reopened under a new owner in 1988 to become Spokane's first dollar movie theater.

But over the last 80 years, the Garland has begun to show its age.

I kind of saw it with nostalgia guys, and I would approach the lobby especially and see it had kind of fallen into disrepair for me, like coming at it from a creative standpoint, from artistic standpoint.

I saw the potential of like, oh man, this has some really cool architectural features.

It'd be awesome to be able to highlight a lot of those features.

Repaint, add more neon.

With the help of the community, the trio have been busy bringing their shared vision to life.

The screen was opened up, so it's now 20% wider.

The amps were rebuilt so the sound system is now performing at 100%.

The lobby has been transformed with paint.

Additional neon, a small arcade and a movie museum.

And to freshen up the theater's facade, Jordan and four Degrees Real Estate will spend upwards of a half million dollars.

Like all the cosmetic stuff has been really awesome.

People walk in and there's like this wow factor.

Now, I think from like a staffing perspective, things are getting fixed.

Working has been easier.

I'm not stressed every day wondering what's going to break.

The feedback and the gratefulness.

that's coming from the community is just awesome.

It's fantastic.