Leadership - Historic Plaza Theatre Restoration

Board of Directors

Board Duties

The restoration of the Plaza Theatre requires the efforts of a committed group. We established the Palm Springs Plaza Theatre Foundation to work with the City of Palm Springs to lead this effort. The Palm Springs Plaza Theatre Foundation Board of Directors is made up of community leaders who represent a wide range of interests and experience.

The Save the Plaza board formed in 2022 in response to a $5 million challenge grant from David Lee to support the restoration effort. David has worked extensively in television comedy, writing, and producing Cheers and The Jeffersons, and writing, directing and co-creating Wings and Frasier. Another anonymous donor has pledged $2 million along with other smaller donations. Recently, the foundation board secured an additional $4.5 million with additional pledges of $2 million from the City of Palm Springs and $2.5 million from the State of California.

The Foundation has already raised approximately $15M but must continue to raise an additional $10M to cover the construction costs and contingencies plus startup expenses for the iconic building.

We have hired Architectural Resources Group, Inc. to complete the design and oversee the renovation of the Plaza Theatre. Architectural Resources Group has completed a number of theater and other historic projects of similar scope including New Mission Theater in San Francisco and The Alameda Theater.

The firm has an Architectural Conservator on board who will be instrumental in the restoration of the Plaza Theatre.

The Foundation Board will also identify options on how to assist the City in sustaining the theatre after it is restored through endowments and community programming. Typically, box office revenue supports only half of a theatre’s operating costs. The Foundation Board will be tasked with developing an ongoing revenue stream to create an endowment for maintenance and operating expenses.

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