Edwards Cinemas Boise

Deeds: Remember the Boise Spectrum? Yeah, that place

B ill Gage oversees an entertainment mecca built around a 22-screen Edwards Cinemas complex with 3D projectors and the only IMAX theater in Idaho.

Yet sometimes he must feel trapped in the Middle Ages.

Gage’s business , D.D. Dunlap Companies, purchased the Boise Spectrum in 2008. Because Boiseans apparently still believe the Earth is flat — hey, we’re always a few years behind, right? — many of us dare not venture there.

“We have to convince everybody that if they cross the Interstate south,” Gage jokes, “they won’t fall off the face of the Earth.”

I admit it. Until I made the quick drive to the Spectrum last week to check out its weekly concert series Thursday Thunder, I hadn’t set foot there in years.

Thursday Thunder was laid back and sort of refreshing. It’s like a smaller version of Alive After Five, except most people sat at tables and chairs that had been set up. Drinks were a little cheaper. There was a bounce house for kids.

Also, most of the few hundred people in attendance actually appeared to be watching the band. (Highlights at Thursday Thunder this summer included Marshall Crenshaw and Cash’d Out. The season finale next week is local cover band Pilot Error.)

“It’s part of the effort to help brand the Spectrum,” Gage explains, “and get people to realize that this is still a relevant center in their choices for entertainment and eating and drinking.”

The Spectrum remains a major entertainment destination. Monthly attendance at Edwards, including the IMAX, averages more than 120,000, according to Gage.

“The theater business is still huge,” he says.

But the newness and excitement of the late 1990s and early 2000s, when Edwards made its cannonball-like splash into Treasure Valley, is a distant memory.

Empty retail spaces dot the Spectrum. Existing attractions — which range from Legends Pub and Grill, Gameworld and GamersCave to CK Hawaiian BBQ, Pollo Rey, Guang Zhou and Moxie Java — depend heavily on weekend crowds motivated by moviegoing.

Deeds: Remember the Boise Spectrum? Yeah, that place - A Boise ...

B ill Gage oversees an entertainment mecca built around a 22-screen Edwards Cinemas complex with 3D projectors and the only IMAX theater in Idaho.

Yet sometimes he must feel trapped in the Middle Ages.

Gage’s business , D.D. Dunlap Companies, purchased the Boise Spectrum in 2008. Because Boiseans apparently still believe the Earth is flat — hey, we’re always a few years behind, right? — many of us dare not venture there.

“We have to convince everybody that if they cross the Interstate south,” Gage jokes, “they won’t fall off the face of the Earth."

I admit it. Until I made the drive at the Spectrum last week to check weekly concert series Thursday Thunder, I had not set foot for years.

Thursday Thunder was a kind of relaxed and cool. It's like a smaller version of alive after five, but most people sitting at tables and chairs that had been set up. Drinks were a little cheaper. There was a bounce house for children.

Also, most of the hundreds of attendees seemed to be actually watching the band. (Highlights of Thursday Thunder this summer included Marshall Crenshaw and Cash'd Out.The season finale next week pilot error is local covers band.)

"It's part of the effort to help the brand of the spectrum," says Gage, "and get people to realize that it is still a relevant center in their choice of entertainment and food and drink."

The spectrum remains a major entertainment destination. Monthly attendance at Edwards, including the IMAX theater, averages more than 120,000, according to Gage.

"The theatrical business is still huge," he said.

But the newness and excitement of the late 1990s and early 2000s, when Edwards made its cannonball-like splash into Treasure Valley, is a distant memory.

Empty retail spaces dot the Spectrum. Existing attractions — which range from Legends Pub and Grill, Gameworld and GamersCave to CK Hawaiian BBQ, Pollo Rey, Guang Zhou and Moxie Java — depend heavily on weekend crowds motivated by moviegoing.

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