Reno City Council Members Pat Themselves on Back for Directing $2 Million to Help Beleaguered Lear Theater

City council members are taking to social media indicating they voted to give the Lear Theater two million dollars today through the Reno Redevelopment Agency budget for basic maintenance to prepare for its future iteration and save it from disrepair.

Outgoing councilwoman Naomi Duerr wrote it would be “to stabilize the interior, restore the exterior grounds, and possibly do a feasibility study. This will make the property much more attractive for community members to propose reasonable projects in response to the City RFI (Request for Information) which should go out this summer.”

“The grounds will include fencing, irrigation, landscaping, power for security, and concrete step and railing repair. When this phase is done we should be able to rent out the exterior for photos, weddings, gatherings and outdoor performances. The interior will include roof repair, ivy removal, and wall/exterior shell repair,” she added.

This follows a tight 4-3 vote last month, during which time the Reno City Council voted to direct staff to look at a Request for Proposals (RFP) process for the Lear Theater, possibly opening up the historic property to be sold to an outside entity.

The Lear Theater was completed in 1938 by architect Paul R. Williams, the first Black member of the American Institute of Architects, for the First Church of Christ, Scientist.
According to Reno historians, Luella Garvey, the wealthy widow of a Cincinnati steel magnate, provided most of the money to build the church. Anna Loomis, another prominent local citizen, served as chairperson of the congregation’s building committee, selecting the architect.

The structure was recognized on the Nevada State Historic Register in 1982. Seventeen years later, in 1999, the Lear Theater was added to the City of Reno’s Historic Register and the National Register of Historic Places.

In this century it has repeatedly been changing hands with less and less to no public use whatsoever, even with the City now its owner, and repeated excuses it needs to be fixed but that the necessary money to do so hasn’t been found.

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