Empty Lear Theater Experience and History. Explore This Famous Empty Former Church!

Join Aaron as he explores the largely empty and unused Lear Theater in Reno Nevada.Show more

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www.hisojourner.com

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ABOUT

1870 and 1950, downtown Reno had a total of 24 churches. The First Church of Christ, Scientist, which began with a congregation of just four members, was one of those churches.

In the late 1930s the congregation sought an architect to build them a new church and Luella Garvey recommended legendary African American architect Paul Revere Williams for the project. Williams, also known as "the architect to the stars," first achieved fame in Los Angeles during the Golden Age of Hollywood.

Anna Frandsen Loomis served as the chairperson of the building committee.

Located on the Truckee River the Church was designed in the Neoclassical Revival style.

The building was used to hold church services from its completion on October 22, 1939, until the congregation built a new church and moved in 1998.

Moya Lear purchased the building and donated it to the non-profit Reno-Sparks Theater Coalition in 1998. There have been attempts to jump start the building several times. The doors were closed in 2002 and it has remained largely unused since.

HISTORY

Urban legend tells us that when Moya Lear’s long time friend Edda Morrison leaned over in church and whispered “Wouldn’t this make a great theater?”, the long-time patron of the arts and wife of aviation innovator Bill Lear, agreed wholeheartedly.

Moya Lear envisioned a community space that could host anything from a children’s dance recital to a world-renowned string quartet. In 1997 she worked to make that vision a reality...

The Theater Coalition managed the theater and its various iterations of renovations until 2011. During 2001 and 2002 it was briefly opened as a functioning theater, with several shows staged. Renovations however were never completed and the theater has been closed since 2002.

In December 2011 ownership of the building was transferred to Artown.

In recent years, a sculpture garden as well as several significant Burning Man Installations have been curated around and adjacent to the property, reinforcing its culturally significant positioning.

ARCHITECT

“Paul Revere Williams, FAIA (February 18, 1894 – January 23, 1980) was an American architect based in Los Angeles, California. He practiced largely in Southern California and designed the homes of numerous stars including Frank Sinatra, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, Lon Chaney, and Charles Correll.

Williams won an architectural competition at age 25 and three years later opened his own office. Known as an outstanding draftsman, he perfected the skill of rendering drawings “upside down.” This skill was developed so that his white clients (who might have been uncomfortable sitting next to a black architect) could see the drawings rendered right side up across the table from him. Struggling to gain attention, he served on the first Los Angeles City Planning Commission in 1920. From 1921 through 1924, Williams worked for Los Angeles architect John C. Austin, eventually becoming chief draftsman, before establishing his own office. Williams became the first African-American member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) in 1923.[1] In 1939, he won the AIA Award of Merit for his design of the MCA Building in Los Angeles (now headquarters of the Paradigm Talent Agency).
A. Quincy Jones (1913–79) was an architect who is claimed to have hired Williams and later collaborated with him on projects in Palm Springs, including the Palm Springs Tennis Club (1947) and the Town & Country (1948) and Romanoff’s on the Rocks (1948) restaurants.

He became the first African-American to be voted an AIA Fellow.

In 1951, Williams won the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., Man of the Year award and in 1953 he received the Spingarn Medal from the NAACP for his outstanding contributions as an architect and member of the African-American community.

Williams was posthumously honored in 2008 with the Donald J. Trump Award for his significant impact on the evolution, development and perpetuation of real estate throughout Greater Los Angeles. The award was accepted by his granddaughter, Karen Hudson. Donald Trump presented the award to Hudson via video presentation.
Williams famously remarked upon the bitter irony of the fact that most of the homes he designed, and whose construction he oversaw, were on parcels whose deeds included segregation covenants barring blacks from purchasing them.”

IMAGES

Paul Revere Williams Image - LAX:
PHOTO COURTESY OF KAREN HUDSON

Paul Revere Williams Image Drawing:
Shirt sleeves at a drawing table: Paul Williams/Getty Images

Paul Revere Williams 1952 Print:
Portrait of Paul R. Williams, 1952, Julius Shulman. \
Gelatin silver print. © J. Paul Getty Trust.
Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles (2004.R.10)

Moya Lear Image Credit:
Creator: Paul Harris
Credit: Getty Images
Copyright: Paul Harris Photography