Nonprofit organization Tourism Cares and the National Tour Association have awarded a $2,500 grant to the Lear Theater in Reno, Nev.
The Lear Theater, adjacent to Reno’s downtown area on the Truckee River, is housed in a former First Church of Christ Scientist building, and is listed on city, state and national registers of historic places.
The theater dates to 1938 and was designed by architect Paul Revere Williams, the first African-American member of the American Institute of Architects.
The building was named after Moya Lear, widow of Lear jet inventor Bill Lear Jr., a member of the church who purchased the building to transform it into a theater.
"NTA convention delegates wanted to leave a legacy to the city that hosted them,” NTA President Lisa Simon said in a statement.
The grant was funded by donations from NTA delegates during NTA's annual convention in 2009, as part of the NTA Gives Back Program. The funds raised were then matched by NTA.
The grant will go toward renovation of the building. No date has been set for when the Lear Theater will be open to the public, but Cathy Blankenship, chief operating officer for the theater, said the "grant from NTA and Tourism Cares will expedite our restoration efforts."