Panida lobby project taking center stage

SANDPOINT — The Panida has long been considered the community's heart.

But is there a way to make the treasured community theater even better? That's the decision facing the historic theater's board of directors: Are changes to the Panida lobby area needed and, if so, what are they and how could they be done?

To that end, the Panida is hosting an open house Saturday, Jan. 11, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with an exhibit of various plans for lobby improvements. Panida board members will be on hand to provide details and context for the different plans, which range from a no-changes option to plans that would augment the lobby space with access to the theater's currently vacant northern retail space; or further, with a pass-through to the adjacent Little Theater. 

"The bottom-line factor about any change for the lobby is to strictly maintain its historical character," said Panida Board President Sean Behm. "But assuming any change does adhere to its historical character — or can even return the lobby to its original functions — how can we best address the crowding that occurs in the lobby at sold-out performances?" 

Panida Executive Director Robb Talbott said Panida officials are looking to decrease the time it takes to get through lines during crowded shows including the lines to bathrooms, the concessions, and bar. 

"We are also looking to open up the historical lobby and improve patron movement by removing the current concession stand which currently inhibits ingress and egress," Talbott said.

The concessions are — a critical piece of funding for modern theaters — also are a big contributor to crowding in the Panida's lobby. 

The lobby's concession stands are a more recent addition to the theater. In fact, Behm said that when the Panida was built in 1927 during the era of vaudeville and silent movies, theaters didn't offer food and drink on site. Instead, patrons would bring in snacks or drinks from nearby restaurants — if food and drink were even allowed in the performance space. 

Nowadays, however, concessions are a critical revenue source for all theaters, including the Panida.  

"So one big question is, how can we continue to offer and improve access by audiences to our food and drink concessions, while reducing the extreme crowding?" Behm asked. 

The issue isn't a new one, Talbott said. Instead, crowding in the lobby has been a issue during bigger events of 300 or more. With the Panida hosting more such events than in the past, both due to demand and community growth, theater officials said the time has come to seek possible solutions.

And for that, they need the community's help.

The hope with any lobby change is, if possible, to provide greater ingress and egress without blocking some of the foyer doors as the current concessions do, Panida board members said. Other goals include featuring the historical fountain in the lobby's eastern wall — something that's been obscured for decades — and to provide a more spacious and dramatic entryway to the theater, as audiences would have experienced in the 1920s when the Panida opened as the town's most luxurious performance space. 

Because no set plans have been identified — the board is firm on wanting the public involved in the process and in any decision — there is no framework for potential work or costs, from making no changes to utilizing the vacant retail space or the Little Theater.

"Currently, we have received multiple individual donations as well as a grant to get us started," Talbott said of the lobby project. "We will continue to ask for community support as the staff and volunteers continue to see out grant opportunities to get us over the finish line for any of the options we are considering."

Behm said the theater board and staff have already held separate presentations of the different plans with Panida stakeholder and volunteer groups. The open house on Saturday is an opportunity for general public comment before the board considers a decision at its regular Feb. 6 meeting, which is also open to the public.  

“We'd love to see a great turnout from the community to see these plans and give us feedback,” said Behm. 

Information: panida.org