I am a big fan of Lyric Cinema Café, and eagerly await the opening of their new facility on north College this fall. Until that happens, they are using the Masonic Temple to show movies. I went to see one there. What did I think?

Lyric Sign
Dave Jensen, TSM
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Lyric Cinema Café has been in Fort Collins since 2007; they’ve been very successful. So successful in fact, that they’ll be opening a great big ‘campus’ at their new location on north College in the fall of 2017. Their last day at the old Mountain Avenue spot was February 28, 2017. A couple of weeks later, they opened up a temporary location – 'The Temple of The Lyric' at the Masonic Temple on Oak Street. They were showing a movie that I wanted to see recently, so I went.

The first thing you need to know is the location of the Masonic Temple.  It’s at the corner of Oak and Hover. Boom- I just saved you a ton of time wandering around downtown: “It’s on Oak… Oh.. WEST Oak. My bad.’ Once inside you quickly realize that you’re not in Kansas anymore: It is an old Masonic temple, for Pete’s sake. It kind of feels like you’re on a field trip to the museum.  You reach the ‘ticket window’ (there is no window) and the popcorn machine. You get a ticket and proceed down the hall to the ‘theater.’

I would have thought the Temple would have an awesome theater, with all the ceremonies they do. That was not the case. The room IS large, for sure. The big screen fits right in. That’s just about where the fun ends.  You approach rows and rows of folded chairs on a flat surface (no incline) awaiting your caboose for a 2-hour movie. You’ll give them a break, ‘it’s temporary, it’s not going to be perfect.’  You’ll move on.

Then the movie starts, and you’ll want to turn over your shoulder and yell at your mom to stop vacuuming because the movie's starting, and you’ll find that your mom isn’t there at all. It’s the sound of some fans or something up in the ceiling in the back of the ‘theater.’ ‘Oh my god, this is great..’, you’ll hear someone sarcastically comment. Probably a short, bald guy with glasses.

Let’s get down to the brass tacks:  The old Lyric had its share of quirks and problems, but…. you were able to have a cocktail while enduring the weirdness!!  That is not going to happen at the Masonic Temple. You need to let that go, immediately. May I suggest a couple of beers at the Trailhead, prior to your showing- it’ll give you the right feel. I would NOT have martinis at Jay's Bistro and then hit the temple. No.

And bring your wallet- they are still charging $9 for a movie (though, the matinee I saw was only $7).

My Score: 4 out of 10 ‘Free Cartoons.’  

I’ll see you all at the north College location!

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