Timeline: Major Developments for the Lear

1938 — Paul Revere Williams is hired and the cornerstone is laid.

1939 — The First Church of Christ, Scientist is completed and opens for services.

1982 — The building is listed in the Nevada State Register of Historic Places.

1993 — Congregation member Edda Houghton Morrison hatches the idea of converting the church into a theater to support the local theater community.

1994 — The Reno-Sparks Theater Community Coalition (RSTCC) is incorporated as a non-profit with the express purpose of working toward purchase and renovation of the church building.

1996 — The RSTCC selects architects Dolven Simpson (later Fred Dolven and Associates) to design a master plan for adaptive reuse of the historic church.

1997 — Moya Lear offers a donation of $1.1 million toward the purchase of the building by the RSTCC, provided the organization match her donation, which they do. The Nevada Commission for Cultural Affairs (CCA) awards the building a grant of $175,000, the first of several CCA grants received annually and totaling over $1 million.

1998 — The purchase of the church building by the RSTCC is finalized and it is named the Lear Theater. A small brick house at 528 West 1st Street that formerly served as the church’s Reading Room and an L-shaped parking lot west of the church building are included in the purchase.

1999 — The church building is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and the Reno Historic Register. The Wiegand Foundation pledges $600,000 to the project as a matching grant.

2000 — A capital campaign is begun with the goal of raising $9 million to fund the costs of renovation, an endowment, and firstyear operating expenses. Construction activities begin.

2002 — RSTCC purchases a small brick house adjacent to the Lear Theater office and sets it up as a rental. Barron Hilton makes a $100,000 donation.

2003 — IGT pledges $600,000 to the project.

2004 — The Lear Theater receives just short of $400,000 from Save America’s Treasures.

2005 — Dan Rosenblatt takes on the role of Executive Director with a new vision to develop a professional theater company. The RSTCC is renamed Lear Theater, Inc. The Nevada Legislature grants the Lear matching funding for the Save America’s Treasures grant of $600,000.

2006 — A new architect, JCJ Architecture, is hired and, over the next three years, designs a plan to drastically reconfigure the interior structure for a full theater experience.

2007 — Around the end of the year, with declining success in fundraising, the Lear begins to explore pursuing Historic Tax Credits and New Market Tax Credits as a revenue source and hires a firm, BAC, to develop a Part 2 Application (Description of Rehabilitation).

2009 — Architect Mercedes de la Garza designs a new plan with Dolven’s 2000 built design and limited parts of JCJ’s proposed design. This work provided 30% design development (DD) plans from which to obtain construction estimates and an updated and approved Part 2 application providing eligibility for Historic Tax Credits and New Market Tax Credits to offset up to 60% of the construction costs. This leads to a revived fundraising campaign with the strong support of Mayor Bob Cashell.

2010 — The deepening recession stifles the fundraising campaign. Lear Theater Inc. announces significant debt, lays off its remaining employees, sells its rental property, and closes its administrative office.

2011 — With reports that $7.7 million has already been spent on the building to date, Lear Theater, Inc. donates the Lear Theater plus the adjacent brick house and parking lot to the non-profit organization Artown.

2018 — Artown selects the Sierra School for the Performing Arts as the new owner of the building after soliciting proposals from the community.

2020 — Artown announces it has ended negotiations with the Sierra School and is working with Ken Krater Consulting on a plan to renovate the theater, close the adjacent sections of Ralston Street and Riverside Drive to vehicular traffic, and construct an adjacent multi-story apartment building between the Lear Theater and Bicentennial Park to help serve as a revenue stream for the Lear’s renovation.