Lake Cinema 4
306 S. Beech Street,
Moses Lake,
WA
98837
306 S. Beech Street,
Moses Lake,
WA
98837
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Got a chance to tour the interior with the owner. No longer recognizable as as a theater inside. A second level has been built in a portion of the auditorium. Windows and doorways have been cut into the auditorium wall on the sidewalk side to create office spaces.
From the April 2nd, 1956 “Motion Picture Daily” the following news:
“Texas Rancher Adds Nine Theatres to His
Farms, Motel, Hotel, Store, Model School
Special to THE DAILY SEATTLE, April 1.— Peter Barnes, a Texas rancher who also operates six theatres in this area, has expanded his holdings with the purchase of nine theatres of the Columbia Basin circuit in Eastern Washington. His 15 theatres now comprise the largest independent circuit in that area.
The newly purchased theatres are the Lake, Ritz and Basin Drive-in at Moses Lake; the Lee and Marjo, Ephrata; Park-in Drive-in, near Soap Lake; the Lake, Soap Lake; Basin, Othello, and the Warden at Warden.
Barnes made his first investment in Washington 10 years ago when he
bought six theatres in Oroville, Chelan, Manson and Okanogan.
Besides his theatre interests, Barnes owns a motel at Chelan, Wash.; a date farm near Palm Springs, Cal.; a 1,400-acre farm in Canada; the Wasaga Beach Hotel on the coast of British Columbia; a department store in Ontario; a new home development in Vancouver, an interest in a modeling school in Seattle, a few Canadian theatres, as well as a large ranch near San Angelo, Tex.
People here wonder what he does with so much spare time."
The above theatres were owned by the Lee family prior to this. Moses Lake and the nearby towns mentioned above are served by the TV stations located in Spokane which went on the air in the early 1950’s. I wonder about the wisdom of buying theatres just after Television hit the same market.
The Lake was at first a single screen. Judging from it’s appearance, I would guess 1940’s or early 50’s construction. In 1979 or 80, the original auditorium was split and 2 new ones added alongside for a total of 4. It closed when the Fairchild Cinemas opened.
This is a run-of-the-mill 1980’s vintage theater if I recall correctly.