Theater bringing new from old

In his day, Paul R.Williams was known as the "architect to the stars," the man who designed icons such as the Beverly Hills Hotel and the Sak's Fifth Avenue building in Beverly Hills.

When he turned to the design of the First Church of Christ Scientist in Reno,Williams worked like most architects in the 1930s.

He spent many hours at the construction site at Riverside Drive and 1st Street along the Truckee River, making decisions as the building rose.

And that presents a challenge today to Neil Bartlett, the Clark & Sullivan Constructors employee who is supervising renovation of the building now known as the Lear Theater.

"The original drawings were vague," Bartlett said one recent morning as he walked through the building.

"They didn't have as much detail as we have now."

That was crystal clear when crews began removing a wall inside the building, one of the first steps toward creating an open backstage area.

They discovered quickly that the wall actually was load-bearing.

The problem wasn't difficult to solve the Clark & Sullivan team demolished a section of wall, shored up the building, demolished another section, put some more shoring in place and so on.

Other challenges in the project arose from the age of the original construction.

A basement area to be converted into workshop conference space, for instance, was found to contain both asbestos and lead-based paint that required specialized removal.

More obvious, Bartlett said, was the need for Clark & Sullivan crews to work with exceptional care in a building that's one of the architectural treasures of Reno.

Williams, its designer, was involved in more than 3,000 projects during his 60-year career, and was the first African American elected to the American Institute of Architects College of Fellows.

The exterior of the Lear Theater is remarkable for its stately white columns.

The inside, meanwhile, includes intricately crafted moldings and other millwork.

Much of that millwork today rests on the building's floor, awaiting reinstallation in the completed building.

Crafted paneling on the front of a balcony also will be carefully removed when construction crews begin its reconstruction and expansion.

Less-obvious challenges arose from the nature of the project work undertaken by a nonprofit group that is methodically raising funds even

as the construction progresses.

The Theater Coalition, owner of the building, has set a $9 million budget for the renovation.

The work will run in four phases utility upgrades, major structural work, finish work and site improvements and each phase has depended on the success of fundraising efforts.

The fundraising effort kicked off with a $1.1 million donation from Moya Olsen Lear, who died in 2001, that was matched by another $1.5 million in gifts and pledges.

The fundraising campaign centers on the need for a mid-sized art and theater venue in the community.

When the project is completed, the Lear Theater will include a 425-seat main auditorium, a 99-seat studio theater, an outdoor plaza and a studio for dance and rehearsals.

Bringing the 1939 building up to code, meanwhile, has required addition of elevator and wheelchair ramps, expanded restroom facilities and upgraded mechanical and electrical systems.

Construction of a similar theater building from scratch would cost anywhere from $15 million to $30 million, The Theater Coalition estimates.

The work that's most evident to passersby these days construction on the 1st Street side of the building is creating space for the backstage areas, dressing rooms and a stage lift.

The renovation project was planned by Dolven & Associates, Architects and Planners.